Universal Laser Systems VLS2.30 User Manual Download

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% Speed

This setting allows you to select processing speed from 0 to 100%. This setting determines the maximum
rate of travel of the motion system. Actual engraving time (throughput) is not only dependent on the %
Speed  setting,  but  is  also  dependent  on  the  size,  intricacy  and  the  placement  of  the  graphic  in  the
engraving field. The motion system will accelerate/decelerate at a fixed rate up to the chosen speed. If the
motion  system  cannot  achieve  the  chosen  speed  based  on  the  size  and  intricacy  of  the  graphic  or
graphical  placement  in  the  field,  it  will  automatically  adjust  its  speed  to  the  maximum  speed  it  can
achieve. This is evident when you see the motion system automatically slow down while cutting curves or
circles as opposed to straight lines. Automatic proportional pulsing (see PPI) of the laser beam will ensure
that there is no difference in the depth of cut from straight lines to curves.

% Power and % Speed work together in determining how deep the engraving or cutting will be. Higher
power and slower speeds produce deeper results. Lower power and higher speeds produce shallower
results.

Note:

100% raster speed is different than 100% vector speed. Rastering is done with the X axis focus

carriage which is light weight and has a high acceleration and top speed. Due to the inertia of the X-Axis
arm, movements in the Y-direction have a slower acceleration and top speed making vector speeds range
from one-third to one-half the maximum raster speed.

PPI

This  setting  allows  you  to  select  the  pulsing  frequency  of  the  laser  pulse  stream  being  applied  to  the
material when vector cutting from 1 to 1000 pulses per inch (PPI). The PPI setting indicates how many
laser pulses, per linear inch, the laser cartridge will emit. The pulsing of the laser beam is electronically
linked  to  the  motion. These  pulses  will  always  fire,  equally  spaced,  from  one  to  the  next,  regardless  of
changes in speed. Higher PPI settings may cause more melting, burning or charring on the edges when
cutting. Lower PPI settings may reduce this effect, but may result in a serrated looking edge. Using less
than  150  PPI  may  result  in  the  pulses  being  spread  so  far  apart  that  they  may  or  may  not  touch  one
another creating a perforated effect. A PPI setting between 300 to 500 PPI is a good nominal value for
most applications, but some experimentation may be necessary.

Note:

In raster mode, PPI is controlled by the image density selected for rasters (image densities 5 and

below fix pulses at 500 PPI and image densities 6 and 7 fix pulses at 1000 PPI).

Mode (Drop Down Menu)

Mode  allows  you  to  force  graphical  elements  mapped  to  that  color  to  be  treated  in  a  certain  way.  The
choices  are  Rast/Vect,  Rast,  Vect  and  Skip.  Rast/Vect  mode  is  the  default  setting  and  will  interpret
elements in the graphic being printed that are mapped to that color as rasters or vectors depending on
line width. Vectors must have a line width of .001” (.0254 mm) or less, everything else will be treated as
raster objects. Rast mode will force all elements of the graphic mapped to that color to be converted to
raster objects including thin line widths. Vect mode will ignore (not print) raster elements mapped to that
color  and  only  print  vector  objects  mapped  to  that  color.  Skip  will  cause  all  elements  of  the  graphic
mapped to that color to be ignored (not printed).

Z-Axis

This control lets you set the Z-Axis table to a specific height. When the auto Z feature is turned on in the
UCP and a Z height is set for a color in the color table, the table moves to the height indicated before
processing the elements in the print job graphic that were mapped to that color. This feature can be used
as a method of focusing by entering the thickness of the material to be processed. This feature requires
that the Z axis be calibrated to the focus lens being used and properly homed prior to running the job.

Set Button

After adjusting all of the color based settings for the colors highlighted you must push the SET button to
register the changes to the color table. Also note that the changes will not be permanently saved until the
OK or APPLY buttons are pressed.