Grayscale vs depth map for fiber mopa laser?

[legepe (Leigh Pender)]

Hi all
My understanding the way a fiber mopa laser works is by providing varying degrees of power depending upon the shade of each pixel - from max power for black to mimimum power for white, which will give depth to an engraving after a set number of passes
Based on this, is there any real advantage using a depth map vs a grayscale image with a 60W fiber mopa laser?
Very confused with this??
Can anyone please advise
Thanks
legepe
PS: If there is an advantage with a depth map image. Can anyone recommend where I can look to get images?

[Albroswift (Al Fernandez)]

My bad, sorry

[jkwilborn (Jack Wilborn)]

This is from a beta thread, don’t know if you can read it or not, but I’ll put the reply Oz posted there just in case you have problems with the beta link.

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With 3D Slice, each pass is thresholded to the current threshold value, and the result is run as a 1-bit image. If you use 256 passes you get exactly one pass per gray-level in the image. Every pixel at or below brightness 255 for the first pass, every pixel at or below 254, then 253, and so on.

If you choose 128 passes, you get every pixel at or below 254 for the first pass, then 252, then …

It “clusters” the layers together into batches if you use fewer than 256 passes, and will duplicate some layers (with even spacing) if you use more than 256. 384 passes would duplicate every 2nd layer. 512 passes would duplicate every layer.

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Here are a couple of suggestions on it’s use. These use 256 passes and took about an hour and a half to 2 hours to run each. I think @Bulldog and I have very similar M60 MOPA machines.

More of an oblique angle…

Making Depth Maps and using 3D slice on Brass Coins

Making Depth Maps and using 3D slice on Brass Coins 3 uses per day for Unpaid version [20240630_093652] [20240629_174623] [20240502_185146] [20240502_110815] [20240628_071725]

C02 or fiber laser?

JPT 60 watt M7 MOPA 150 mm Lens From Richard Zhang “Class Act” Mention Nicky Norton Rocks [20230814_164552 (2)] [20230815_144300 (2)] [20230828_163910 (2)] [20230828_174444 (2)] [20230907_174935 (2)]

Hope this helps clarify 3dslice operations. I think we’re all learning these operations.

Good luck

[legepe (Leigh Pender)]

@jkwilborn

run as a 1-bit image. If you use 256 passes you get exactly one pass per gray-level in the image. Every pixel at or below brightness 255 for the first pass, every pixel at or below 254, then 253, and so on.

Here is one that I did from a grayscale image, and it has significant depth, and detail. I was just playing with settings, and not sure how many passes I ended up with?
I think I get the general idea of what you are saying but its going to take me some time to fully understand.
Where can i find a lightburn file that shows what a depth map actually is, and what it looks like in lightburn?

[Bulldog (Nicky Norton)]

…Great stuff