Universal Laser Systems VLS2.30 User Manual Download

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Important Overview

CAUTION:

Please refer to the Safety section before operating the laser system.

All ULS laser systems are designed to operate like a computer printer. The laser systems are provided with two
software components designed for Microsoft Windows based operating systems. The first component is a printer
driver that allows you to print from any Windows based graphic software capable of printing through the Windows
print system. This component shows up as a printer in the printer section of the Windows control panel. The
second component is a task bar application called the Universal Control Panel (UCP) which controls and operates
the laser system through the USB port. Laser systems cannot function unless this component is running on the
PC connected to the laser system. This component shows up as a red diamond shaped icon in the task bar.

Printing through the printer driver creates a job for the laser system which is then transferred to and stored in the
job queue in the UCP from which the job can be selected and run on the laser system as needed. The printer
driver has a printing preferences interface which can be accessed at the time of printing to set the laser system
job settings for the particular job being printed. Most of these settings can also be changed after the job is printed
through the UCP.

ULS laser systems operate in one of two modes. A raster mode in which images are marked or engraved into a
material  by  etching  a  pattern  of  dots  into  the  material  at  high  resolutions  up  to  1000  dpi  and  a  vector  mode  in
which  the  laser  follows  a  two  dimensional  path  to  cut  or  mark  a  shape  into  a  material.  The  printer  driver
determines  whether  an  element  in  the  graphic  data  being  printed  is  a  vector  or  raster  object  by  its  width.  Only
lines  and  curves  with  a  thickness  of  .001”  (.0254  mm)  or  less  will  be  interpreted  as  vector  objects.  All  other
elements of the graphic being printed will be interpreted as raster objects. In order to print vector elements, the
software you are printing from must support creation of lines with a thickness of .001” (.0254 mm) or less.

Vector  cutting  depth  and  raster  engraving  depth  (or  marking  intensity  if  you  are  surface  marking  only)  are
controlled  by  specifying  the  speed  of  processing  and  the  laser  power  level  for  raster  engraving  and  by
specifying the speed of processing, laser power level and number of pulses per inch (PPI) for vector cutting
and marking. These parameters are specified in the printer driver printing preferences interface by one of two
methods. The two methods are laid out in tabs in the printer driver interface. The first method is a materials
database  method  which  simplifies  setup  for  beginners  and  casual  users,  the  second  method  is  a  manual
method  with  allows  much  more  control  for  advanced  users.  Each  method  treats  assignment  of  laser  job
settings to colors in the graphic being printed and interpretation of raster and vector elements in the graphic
being  printed  in  slightly  different  ways  which  will  be  described  in  the  Printer  Driver  Interface  section  that
follows.