- Open LaserGRBL. It can be found on the desktop. The following window will appear:
- Click on File (top horizontal menu) and the click on Open File.
- Search for the image file you would like to engrave. Once you have selected the file, click on Open (Ouvrir).
- A new window will open, with several options regarding the import of the image file.
- Depending on the imported image, you can adjust the brightness, contrast and other options in the parameters section (top left) of the window to have a nicer result for the engraving. The preview of the engraved result is visible on the right side of the window.
- For this tutorial we will use Vectorize! as the conversion tool, which will engrave all the dark areas and leave the white areas. Additionally, it will separately trace all the found edges of the image after the engraving is finished. This usually provides a better/sharper edge.
- You can also choose Line To Line Tracing, which will leave out the edge tracing in the end.
- In Vectorize! Options section it is worth noticing the Filling direction. You can choose vertical, horizontal or diagonal filling.
Filling Quality parameter gives as the number of passes (or lines) for each mm of the engraved image. Higher number will give better quality of filling but it will also prolong the duration of the entire process. Again, the preview section will give some idea about the final result.
- When happy with the settings, click Next.
- A small window will open up with several parameters for the output G-Code.
- The Speed section can be ignored. Just make sure there are numbers written in each input field.
- The Laser Options are important. Make sure the Laser ON drop down menu has the M3 selection, while the LaserOFF has the M5 selected.
Similarly, if you are not sure what you are doing, make sure the S-MIN is set to 0 and the S-MAX is set to 100.
- Finally, check that the image size (width & height) corresponds to the size of the image you would like to have in the end.
Additionally, you can set the image Offset from the coordinate system origin.
- Once happy with the settings, click Create!
- A window with the final result preview will appear. At this point we cannot change any of the parameters anymore. If you would wish to do that, you will need to reopen the image file like described above.
- If ok with the resulting output, you can now save the machine G-Code. In the top menu click File and the select Save Program.
- Write the desired name of the file (e.g. filename.nc) and click on Save (Enregistrer).
WARNING! Do not use this G-Code directly on the laser machine. Proceed to the next step!