Command line laser cutting
Epilog 36EXT Driver 9.03 Replaces version 9.02 (9/29/2014) Warning! If you are using DAT files in your driver you must update them with the DAT converter software below. Fix for vector sorting commands sent to Job Manager. Adds support for the Epilog Job Manager. Optional: Download individual files. Download install instructions. Epilog's newest laser machine combines our top-of-the-line technology and our latest features in a compact desktop format. Fusion Pro Series The Fusion Pro Series features our fastest speeds, largest work area, and highest engraving quality to date in CO2, fiber, and Dual Source configurations. Epilog Mini/Helix Driver 9.03 (01/07/15) Replaces version 9.02 (08/25/14) Warning! If you are using DAT files in your driver you must update them with the DAT converter software below. Fix for vector sorting commands sent to Job Manager. Adds support for the Epilog Job Manager. Optional: Download individual files. Download install instructions.
Overview
The immediate market for Epilog technology is driver assistance and retrofitting 50 million cars on the road today, as well as those designed for 2023 and later. The second market is traffic queue management in large spaces like airports, terminals, industrial and government buildings; tens of millions of currently installed cameras are in. Welcome to the Epilog Laser Training Suite, an invaluable resource in transforming you from laser novice to expert in very little time. Here you’ll find helpful information on topics ranging from unpacking your laser system to creating your first project to helpful maintenance tips that will ensure your machine is running at optimal performance.
One of NYCR's most popular weekly events is Lunar Laser Mondays using our Epilog mini-35 laser cutter. The only supported system is Windows with CorelDRAW and Epilog's closed source driver, which doesn't seem right for a hackerspace. Luckily, AS220 Labs has figured out how to talk to the Epilog using PJL. I've written a open source command line tool, epilog, that will translate the PDF files into commands for the cutter.
Epilog Driver Install
The tool is very stable now and I've used it for all of my laser cutter projects. There are several other users at NYC Resistor who use it as well -- since it allows you to send jobs to the laser over the WiFi, you don't have to spend time in the smelly laser room and deal with the awful Windows machine.
Usage
There are a few differences from Epilog's driver -- the most significant is that with the epilog command line tool the home position is always the upper left of the page, not the center of the bounding box as in the Windows printer driver version. The other major difference is that the lines to be cut are distinguished by color, not width: any paths that are color #00FF00 will be cut first, then any that are #FF0000 and finally any that are #0000FF. Each grouping can have its own power and speed, allowing you to do engraving, interior cutting and exterior cuts in one pass.
Epilog Driver
To use it from inkscape you will need to write out a PDF file by selecting 'Print to file' and then running the output.pdf file through the tool like this:
One of the next steps is to build a set of presets for different materials and typical work flows (fast vector pass with no power to see outlines, raster only, vector only, etc). The ability to automate these common steps in scripts will really make it easier for repeat jobs.
There is no man page yet. Until then, here's the description of the options:
Building
Epilog Driver Mac
To use the driver you will need to have ghostscript installed. This is not a problem for Linux, but can be a lengthy process on OS X. MacPorts or homebrew will do it, although be prepared for a long wait as the dependencies are installed.