Is there a saved setting or preference to specify a default cut direction, as in CW or CCW. ? The default direction appears to always be CW, can someone from LB confirm that ? I use the Shape Start Point tool very frequently to manage direction and start point. Tedious work Just checking that Iām not missing something, perhaps even some hidden shift key combo when drawing a shape ? In the meantime, Iāve noticed that drawing a shape, then mirroring it, does effectively āchangeā the direction; so Iām trying to train myself to use that technique on symmetrical shapes.
ok, going into āthink out loudā mode ā¦ Or if I exported to DXF or SVG, is there a āchange allā keyword I could modify external to LB, import and resume LB editing ? Ideally, inner shape levels being reverse direction from the parent outer shape, so the ability to set a default direction; and perhaps another setting to have inner shapes take the reverse direction of their parent.
Last thoughtā¦ Is there a setting to adjust the size of the Shape Start Point arrow ? and Nodes for that matter ? Perhaps pixel units, or scaled with icon size setting ?; that would make manual adjustments much less tedious because in my case, most attempts to click on the arrow are misses
I think whatās happening is that cut direction is based on node order. But it just so happens that all shapes are drawn in CW node order.
I was nodding along with you about some of your frustrations. I donāt believe thereās a way to change the default draw direction.
In Inkscape you can do Path->Reverse and this will reverse the draw order. When imported back into LightBurn the effect will be to change cut direction. I suspect other drawing tools will have something similar.
It may be my imagination but I think increasing āClick-selection Toleranceā in Edit->Settings may increase the tolerance of the click selection. If it does itās subtle so I may be wrong about this.
Thanks for the tip, that will help for sure in cases of large shape counts that need reversing.
Since rationalizing this in the post last eve Iāve come to realize that I can leverage the default directions as they are perhaps, although I canāt explain why that hasnāt occurred thus far. I never really studied the pattern until now I guess. Geometric shapes seem to be CW default, text and image traces seem to be CCW default on outer and alternating direction for progressive inner shapes; net: all that is good. So perhaps all I need to do is reverse/mirror inner geometric shapes making them CCW as well. Then I can adjust the plasma torch swirl ring to spew out the plasma jet to match the most compatible or dominant pattern in the design; but in theory it should be a perfect match since the design should be CW outer, CCW inner, and alternating from there on progressive inners. All this matters because the direction of the plasma jet swirl in conjunction with the cutting direction dictates the square edge being on the save part or the waste part, of course ideally its desired on the save part Then there is welding and cutting of shapes, what direction pattern that produces is beyond my tolerance for testing right now. I think the bottom line is, Iād be most happy with a larger Shape Start Point arrow, since I expect to continue attempting to click on it quite a bit
Update on the challenges with managing cut direction and shape cut start point with LB UIā¦
As it concerns this topic and those of us using LB for plasma process, sadly and with much trepidation I have made the leap to SheetCAM for toolpath gcode generation, plasma only. SC does just too good of a job with these two (and many more) aspects of the toolpath. And it adds to that the graphic layout including the kerf width making it easy to see areas of weak bridging between adjacent cut paths. SCās toolpath feature and benefit list for plasma process goes on and on. It just became a cost/benefit decision for me, in terms of time, quality of cut, added features, but most of all - mental toll. I have been designing projects with well over 30 pierces and cuts, and the constant manual and tedious verification of each start point, lead-in placement, direction, etc. given LBās UI on these features was getting too much for my brain to process. The design-to-cutting cycle time has dropped dramatically and I can focus on other important matters now, and the iteration loop between LB and SC is fast and smooth. Life is better
Iāve doubled the click-select tolerance for the start points tool for the next release, but aside from that tool there isnāt a way to reverse the direction of the cut.
Itās based on the order of the nodes in the shape. As an aside, the āmarching orderā of the selection pattern is a quick way to see which direction a shape will cut.
The lead-in placement is something that I want to do a much better job of - itās too manual right now, and it certainly needs improving. Iād be curious to hear specifics on how their workflow improves on what we have, as I do want plasma support at some point in the future.
Good to hear that direct LB plasma process support is still in consideration as a future feature. Metal plasma work in the artsy-crafty market is growing by leaps and bounds, with several good entry and midlevel CNC mfgs and plasma cutter choices. Perhaps what is lacking is end to end easy to use CAD/CAM sw for this market, the traditional process has largely been a blend of various vg sw + engineering CAD/CAM and/or CAM such SC; translation- high learning curve and complex workflow. LB can fix that with an all-in-one package. Quite a bit of the laser process translates to plasma, with plasma perhaps being the superset of needed CAM features. Also, I have found that blending plasma cut metal and laser cut vinyl in finished works is an asset in the design stage, since plasma has a much larger kerf, therefore fine detail, especially lettering, in artsy-crafty works can be accomplished easily with laser cut vinyl, or etching with a vinyl mask. Net, IMHO, there is excellent market potential for LB in plasma process.
re. SC workflow improvements over LB in the plasma toolpath/CAM realm, there are several small things that amount to big time and tedium savings, Iāll be happy to work up a comparison chart for you.
Just checking that Iām not missing something, perhaps even some hidden shift key combo when drawing a shape ? In the meantime, Iāve noticed that drawing a shape, then mirroring it, does effectively āchangeā the direction; so Iām trying to train myself to use that technique on symmetrical shapes.
ā¦ Or if I exported to DXF or SVG, is there a āchange allā keyword I could modify external to LB, import and resume LB editing ? Ideally, inner shape levels being reverse direction from the parent outer shape, so the ability to set a default direction; and perhaps another setting to have inner shapes take the reverse direction of their parent.
Then there is welding and cutting of shapes, what direction pattern that produces is beyond my tolerance for testing right now. I think the bottom line is, Iād be most happy with a larger Shape Start Point arrow, since I expect to continue attempting to click on it quite a bit