Idea: Option to MAXIMIZE travel moves

When working with some materials, heat transfer to surrounding materials is a problem when making cuts close to each other, causing melting or fire (polypropylene did this for me).

So, I thought, would it be doable with an option to maximize travel moves. Cut one shape at one end, then a shape pretty far from it, then another shape way off from them, thus allowing it to cool before the laser comes back.

Would this be useful?

(The more I think about it, maximizing travel moves would work, but is probably not optimal for it. Some other scheme would probably do it better.)

You could try utilize dot mode for this, Russ Sadler did a video on this and applied it to cutting cardboard and maybe foam (been a while since I watched it). I’ve only used it with cardboard but it works great.

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That probably works if the material doesn’t require much power, but if you need more oumpf, it won’t do.

For a similar reason (letting heat dissipate) I’d love to see a “pause” feature between cuts when doing multiple passes, with a place to set the pause time. Run a pass, pause 60 seconds, run second pass, pause 60 seconds, run 3rd pass…

Have a look at this. You have a lot of control over the order of cuts to achieve the desired output you are wanting. I would focus on the ‘Order by Layer’ order and the ‘Order by Priority’ options.

I know about that, but it’s some work, and it’s hard to get it optimal.

What I was hoping was that existing algorithms may work, but you “take from the bottom of the alternatives list”.

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