We have been a partner with Vectric on development of the new laser module for a couple of years now and we are happy to say they have released the new version. This new module will allow several new features in Vectric products to make it more compatible with our laser upgrade kits. In the […]

We have been a partner with Vectric on development of the new laser module for a couple of years now and we are happy to say they have released the new version. This new module will allow several new features in Vectric products to make it more compatible with our laser upgrade kits. In the past, we have been using Vectric with our lasers and post processors, but it has never been fully integrated.

There are three main new features in the laser module.

1. Ability to add “laser tools” to the tool database.
2. Addition of the “Laser Cut & FIll” Toolpath
3. Addition of the “Laser Picture” Toolpath

We will cover these in detail, but it is noted that not all machines will be able to do the “Laser Picture” toolpath. You will need to have power control on your machine for this to be able to work. Machines that have GRBL controller (X Carve, Shapeoko3, Millright, ACRO, Openbuilds, etc.) will have the ability to do picture engraving. Others that do not have power control (Axiom, Mach3, Mach4, Laguna, Shopsabre, Camaster, etc.) will not be able to use the Laser Picture toolpath in the laser module. These machine will however be able to use the “laser tools” in the database and also the “Laser Cut & Fill” toolpath.

The GRBL_mm and the GRBL_inch post processors included in 10.5 versions of Aspire, V Carve, and Cut2D will work with GRBL machines with version 1.1f or higher firmware. We will present the new post processors here.

*Note* these are BETA post processors. Please contact [email protected] to report problems.

*Right click “save link as” versus clicking the link *

GRBL 1.1 – No Z Dynamic Laser Mode (X Carve, Shapeoko3, etc)

• DOWNLOAD GRBL INCH VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD GRBL MM VERSION HERE

Mach4 – Vector Laser Mode No Z

• DOWNLOAD MACH4 INCH VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD MACH4 MM VERSION HERE

3D Printer (Using Fan Control M106/M107) with ARCS

• DOWNLOAD 3D PRINTER INCH ARCS VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD 3D PRINTER MM ARCS VERSION HERE

ShopBot (Using OP5 Connection)

• DOWNLOAD SHOPBOT INCH VERSION HERE

Onefinity

• DOWNLOAD ONEFINITY INCH VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD ONEFINITY MM VERSION HERE

Mach3 – Standard M3

• DOWNLOAD MACH3 INCH VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD MACH3 MM VERSION HERE

Mach3 – M10P1/M11P1 Direct Output

• DOWNLOAD MACH3 M10p1/M11p1 INCH VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD MACH3 M10p1/M11p1 MM VERSION HERE

Laguna

• DOWNLOAD Laguna mm VERSION HERE
• DOWNLOAD Laguna inch VERSION HERE

WinCNC (Shopsabre, Camaster)

• DOWNLOAD WinCNC inch VERSION HERE

NextWave Shark CNC HD

• DOWNLOAD NextWave Shark HD inch VERSION HERE

Axiom

• DOWNLOAD Axiom mm VERSION HERE

UCCNC

• DOWNLOAD UCCNC inch VERSION HERE

How to Set up the Post Processor

Put the post processor file in the directory:  C:\ProgramData\Vectric\VCarve Pro\VXXX\PostP
You need to click on your c:\ drive and on the “view” tab you need to click on “hidden items” to view the program data folder.  Then click on Vectric and your product folder to browse down to the PostP folder.

If you have the newer versions of Vectric, then you can install the post processor from inside the tool itself.

Setting up Your Laser Tool in the Database

Here is an example of the laser tool in the database

The new laser toolpaths are in the toolpath tab.

Here is a video on how to do a carve and laser project.

How do I select my post processor? It is not in the list.

If you don’t see the post processor listed when you calculate your toolpath, then you might need to save it separately.

1. Highlight the toolpath and then click on the “Save toolpath” icon.

2. Your post processors will show up on the list. Click on the laser module post processor you need.