Raster engraving and 3D

An imported image is engraved with a line-by-line scan; an STL model — as a multi-pass relief from a depth map. Pixels and the model mesh are embedded into the document — no external files needed after import.

Engraving modes

Mode What it does
Threshold brighter than the threshold — skip, darker — burn
Dither (default) a 1-bit raster with the chosen algorithm
Grayscale power modulation by brightness: every run gets its own power within the “Min % / Max %” range
3D Slice multi-pass depth engraving, layer by layer

Resolution and processing

  • DPI — scan line density, with presets from a rough draft 150 up to photo-quality 600 and a maximum of 1000; for high values the program honestly warns that marking may take a long time.
  • Bright / Contrast / Gamma / Invert / Threshold — image processing before rasterization.
  • Dithering — six algorithms: Floyd-Steinberg (the classic), Jarvis (smoother, photos), Stucki, Atkinson (contrast, line art), Ordered 4×4 and 8×8. Quick presets: “Photo”, “Line Art”, “Draft”.
  • The result preview renders right on the canvas over the object; what you preview is what gets marked (identical value clamps).

How it burns

Raster rows are encoded as runs: the beam jumps over light areas and burns dark ones as continuous segments — “black = mark”. A bidirectional scan snakes (even rows forward, odd rows back); the offset of the return rows is compensated by BiDir Offset, tuned with the BiDir calibration wizard. In grayscale mode every run additionally gets its own power.

Relief from STL

  • The imported model is oriented in 3D right on the canvas (Top/Front/… buttons and mouse orbit); a depth map is built from the chosen view — a single projection is engraved.
  • The Calculate button builds an honest engraving preview; changing the orientation or dimensions resets the calculation.
  • Parameters: layers (2–256 depth passes), depth per pass (the total depth is shown immediately), direction — Inward (Intaglio) or Outward (Relief) with a frame shape for background clearing, a scan angle increment between passes, cleanup passes every N passes at reduced power, and the executing pen.

Machine verification status

The raster scan (threshold/dither/grayscale) and the 3D pipeline are fully implemented and work in simulation and on the emulator; their systematic verification on the machine is still in progress — unlike vector marking, which is machine-confirmed. We do not present these modes as machine-verified until the validation matrix is closed.

Limitations

  • Raster and 3D objects are not compatible with continuous mode — they run only as regular bounded passes.
  • Raster engraving is not supported on the rotary axis; vectors on rotary work.
  • A single STL projection is engraved — this is not 4/5-axis machining; the model mesh itself cannot be edited, only the projection’s orientation and scale.
  • The image lives in the document; no link to the source file is kept.