Running a mark

MARK (F2)

The main burn command: F2, the Laser → Mark menu, or the MARK [F2] button in the bottom panel. Before burning, the program:

  1. Refreshes variable text (date/time, file sources).
  2. Unwraps containers into leaf objects; hidden and locked ones are dropped.
  3. Auto-connects if the laser is disconnected.
  4. Warns about pens with zero power — without blocking: a “dry” pass is allowed.

If there is nothing to mark (no visible unlocked objects), the program says so directly. The Mark Selected checkbox limits the job to the current selection.

Passes and counters

  • The Passes field — how many times one MARK press repeats the mark. Not to be confused with the pen’s Loop Count: that is a low-level contour repeat inside the job.
  • The part counter ticks after every successful pass and on every cycle of continuous mode; next to it — a reset button for the counter and timers.
  • Also here — the live time estimate, the last pass timer, and the session time. During a multi-pass mark the status shows “pass 2/5”.

Continuous mode

The Continuous checkbox repeats the mark in a loop until Stop/Esc — the flow for serial work. It is the program’s main loop path; it is undergoing final hardware validation, so we describe it as “available, final machine validation in progress”.

If a job cannot run as a continuous loop, Zenom explains the reason and marks a single pass via the regular path (which is machine-verified):

  • external IO signals (foot pedal, ports);
  • auto-advancing variable text or barcodes;
  • raster or 3D engraving (the raster scan runs only on the regular path);
  • different Loop Count values across the pens involved;
  • pens with different parameters (a continuous loop arms one parameter set per cycle);
  • geometry too complex — if the content does not fit into one cycle, the mark honestly stops with a hint to turn continuous mode off or simplify the geometry.

Continuous mode does not combine with the rotary axis: the command is rejected with a request to switch it off — rotary always runs as regular passes.

Continue Mode

The Continue Mode checkbox — the EzCad flow for batches: after every mark the red light restarts automatically to position the next part, and F2 right from the trace stops it and marks immediately — no manual Esc between parts.

Order optimization

The Optimize Order checkbox reorders objects by nearest neighbor, cutting idle travel between them.

Red Light (F1)

Tracing the layout with the red beam without burning — to position the part. It runs in a continuous loop until you stop it (Esc/STOP), and auto-connects the laser.

  • Frame Mode: Bounds (a rectangle — the fastest), Hull (a “rubber band” around the objects), Contour (exact outlines, the default).
  • Red Light Settings: trace speed, X/Y offsets, and scale compensation — the red beam is usually slightly offset from the working laser, and the offsets remove that mismatch; the “outside shapes only” option skips letter holes.
  • A trace that would leave the field is blocked with a message.

Stop and parking

  • Esc — the unconditional stop: it kills marking, the red light, and rotary tracing regardless of input focus. Duplicated by the STOP [ESC] button and the Laser → Stop menu.
  • After-mark position — where the galvo parks after the job: center (default), no movement, one of four corners, or a custom point; set on the Marking tab of Hardware Settings.