Quick start

The path from an installed program to your first mark. You can walk it without a machine: the built-in controller emulator covers every step except the burn itself.

What you need

  • A computer running 64-bit Windows with Zenom installed — see Installation and updates.
  • A galvo machine with a fiber laser on the JCZ LMCV4-FIBER-M controller (an EzCad 2 family board) — or no machine at all: emulator mode is enough to get to know the program.
  • Before working with a real laser, always follow the safety requirements of your machine’s manufacturer.

Step 1. Connect the machine

  1. Plug the controller in over USB and start Zenom.
  2. If the board needs the WinUSB driver, the program offers to install it — the installer is built in, no third-party tools required. Details (and how to restore the stock driver for EzCad) are on the Connecting the machine page.
  3. You can connect with Laser → Connect USB, but the step is optional: marking and the red light connect on their own.

The status bar always shows the state: a colored dot plus text — “Connected”, “Disconnected”, and so on.

No machine? Open Hardware Settings (F3), the Connection tab, and pick Emulator mode — with an emulated connection the bottom panel shows the [EMU] badge.

Step 2. Build a layout

  • The workspace on the canvas matches the machine’s lens (for example, 110×110 mm); coordinates are measured from the center of the field.
  • Add objects: text, shapes, barcodes, or imported artwork.
  • Any command can be found by name in the command palette — Ctrl+K.

Step 3. Set the marking parameters

  • Every object is assigned to a pen — a set of laser parameters: power, frequency, speed, delays. There are twelve pens, as in EzCad.
  • For a solid burn, enable hatching: the outline is filled with lines at the spacing and angle you choose.
  • Unsure about the mode? Start at modest power and check the result on a scrap workpiece.

Step 4. Check the job without the laser

  • Simulation (SIM, F4) plays the beam trajectory right on the canvas — through the same marking pipeline that builds the commands for the machine. Exit by pressing SIM again or Esc.
  • Red Light (F1) traces the layout on the part without burning — a handy way to position the workpiece.
  • The estimated marking time is shown in the bottom panel even before you simulate and updates as you change pen parameters; after a simulation run the estimate is refined with actual statistics.

Step 5. Mark

  • Press MARK (F2). If the laser is not connected yet, the program connects on its own; if simulation is open, exit it first (Esc).
  • Esc is the unconditional stop: it halts marking and the red light no matter where the input focus is. The STOP [ESC] button does the same.
  • The part counter and pass timers live in the bottom panel; the Passes field repeats the job several times per MARK press.

What’s next