Laser Engraving

i dont see a problem ,
i'll look at the setup you have later today once i arrive home . so don't Panic !

Hi Andy,

Yes - I had thought about using Z-axis positioning to moderate the laser output - but I came to the conclusion that (a) the change in intensity would be very small over the Z-height range of 100mm; (b) you couldn't move the Z-axis fast enough when going from dark highly burnt areas to light unburnt areas (e.g. inside/outside strong shadows); and (c) it would change the focus of the laser leading to blurring of the burned image - analogous to increasing the pixel size within the image from small concentrated pixel burns to large lightly burned pixels - although that might be an artistic option that could work.

Micromet wrote: HYes - I had thought about using Z-axis positioning to moderate the laser output - but I came to the conclusion that (a) the change in intensity would be very small over the Z-height range of 100mm;

Some confusion here...

Image-to-Gcode outputs G-code where Z height is proportional to black-level. So I don't mean actual physical Z-height but the Z-value output by the G-code, which probably would not be connected to a physical axis at all.

changing z pos does not work , as essentialy you will move out of the focus point of the laser
you need to control the diode for the best performance