Material test grid

A material test grid is the fastest way to dial in a new material. The dialog produces a grid where each cell is engraved or cut with a different power / speed combination. You compare the result and pick the cell that looks right.

What you need

• A piece of scrap material at least 100 × 100 mm.
• The machine connected.
• ~15-30 minutes including the actual burn.

Steps

1. Open the Material Test

• Menu: Machine → Quality Tests → Material Test.
• The dialog opens inside the Quality Test Shell.

2. Set the operation

• Operation: pick what you want to test. Fill, Line, Cut, Score, or Offset Fill.

3. Set the axes

Most useful default: X axis = Speed, Y axis = Power.

• For X (Speed):
  • Param: Speed.
  • Count: 5-7 cells.
  • Min / Max: bracket what you think might work. For diode lasers on wood: 1000-4000 mm/min. For CO2 on acrylic: 5-30 mm/s.
• For Y (Power):
  • Param: Power.
  • Count: 5-7 cells.
  • Min / Max: 10-90%.

4. Set cell size

• Cell W / H: 10-15 mm each is a good readable size.
• Cell Spacing: 2-5 mm.

5. Enable text labels (optional but recommended)

• Enable Text: on.
• Set a moderate Text Speed and Power so the labels are readable but do not damage the cell.

6. Preview

Click Preview. Verify the grid fits on your material.

7. Run

Place the material. Frame. Run.

8. Inspect

When the burn finishes, look at the grid. The cells form a heatmap of how the material reacts:

• Cells too light: increase power or decrease speed.
• Cells too dark / charred: decrease power or increase speed.
• Cells with the look you want: note the speed / power.

9. Save the winning cell to the Material Library

• Open the Material Library panel.
• Click + Add.
• Set the name, material, thickness, operation, and the winning speed / power values.
• Save.

For future jobs on the same material, drop the preset onto your layer.

Tips

• For cutting tests, look for the lowest-power / highest-speed cell that still cuts cleanly through.
• For engraving tests, look for the darkest cell without charring.
• For fine-tuning, run a second test with a narrower range around the winning cell.
• Recipes (saved test configurations) let you re-run the same test for different materials without re-entering all the parameters.

Verify it worked

• One or more cells show the result you want.
• Material Library has a new preset for this material.

Related

• Material Test dialog
• Material Library panel
• Focus test: run before material test if focus is uncertain
• Interval test: for raster fills
• Quality Test Shell