Pens and marking parameters

A pen is a named set of burn parameters: speed, power, frequency, delays, Wobble. A document has 12 pens (the same palette as EzCad), stored in the project file. Every object is assigned to a pen, and every hatch layer has its own pen. The pen color is the on-canvas color of its objects.

Assigning objects to pens

  • The SELECT PEN panel — 12 swatches; a click picks the active pen and, with a selection present, assigns it to the selected objects. New objects are created with the active pen.
  • Keys 0–7 on the canvas — quick selection of the first eight pens.
  • The Enabled flag: objects of a disabled pen are not marked — EzCad semantics.
  • Hatch layers pick their pen independently of the object’s pen.

The new-document palette

A new document starts with a preconfigured palette: pen 0 “Default” is the base mode, pens 1–11 are named MOPA presets for typical jobs: silver polishing and deep engraving, 585 gold engraving, steel annealing, black marking, copper color marking, wood, plastic, and more. Any pen can be reconfigured.

Main parameters

Parameter What it does Default
Loop Count how many times the pen repeats its geometry per mark 1
Speed (mm/s) marking speed 1000
Power (%) share of source power, 0 to 100 50
Freq (kHz) pulse frequency 30
Pulse (ns) MOPA sources only; the field is inactive if Pulse Width is disabled in Hardware Settings 100

Delays (µs): Start TC (laser-on before the first point), Off TC (after the last point), Poly TC (between polyline segments; higher = sharper corners). Jump speed and jump delays control the beam’s travel moves.

Wobble — beam oscillation along the trajectory (a “thick” line without hatching): diameter and pitch; the trajectory is built as a spiral in the real pipeline.

What works and what is stored for compatibility

Zenom honestly separates working parameters from fields kept only for compatibility with EzCad pen settings — inert fields carry a hint right in the dialog:

  • Working and verified on the machine: speed, power, frequency, pulse width, loops, start/off/poly delays, jump speed and minimum jump delay, Wobble.
  • Partial: maximum jump delay and the length threshold apply only in the experimental EzCad-parity mode; otherwise the minimum delay is used for all jumps.
  • Stored but not affecting the burn: End TC (EzCad does not send it to the controller either), End Comp, Accel Dist.
  • Not implemented: point mode (Time Per Point, Pulse Per Point) and conveyor Fly Speed — the values are saved with the pen, but on-the-fly marking and point mode are absent from the program.

Live editing and the pen dialog

  • The Pen Settings panel in the right column edits the active pen live — changes take effect on its objects immediately, no OK/Apply.
  • The Advanced… button opens the full dialog: pen name and color, jumps, Wobble, compensations. Copy From… transfers all parameters from another pen; Reset restores the defaults.

The pen preset library

The Pen Preset Library dialog:

  • Presets with search and a parameter summary; Save Current Pen stores the active pen with “Material” and “Notes” fields — building up a per-material mode base.
  • Apply to Pen applies a preset to the active pen.
  • Import EzCad .lib — transfer a parameter library from EzCad.
  • Presets are shared across documents; a document’s pens live in its file.

Warnings

Before marking, the program warns about pens with zero power — a “dry” pass is still allowed.

Limitations

  • Exactly 12 pens per document — no adding or removing, as in EzCad.
  • Pen selection hotkeys cover pens 0–7 only.