Material requirements
Number of pairs of conveyor rails (An equal number of conveyor rails are installed on each side) | Conveyable width (W) and thickness (H) | Conveyable length (L) (including 30 cm of suspended length out of the rails) | Processing length (P) |
2 pairs (original conveyor rails) | 65 mm ≤ W ≤ 545 mm 0 mm < H ≤ 14 mm | 0 mm < L ≤ 1070 mm | 0 mm < P ≤ 820 mm |
4 pairs | 0 mm < L ≤ 1690 mm | 0 mm < P ≤ 1440 mm | |
6 pairs ![]() | 0 mm < L ≤ 2310 mm | 0 mm < P ≤ 2060 mm | |
8 pairs | 0 mm < L ≤ 2930 mm | 0 mm < P ≤ 2680 mm |
Device requirement
To process materials that are too long for xTool S1, you need to use xTool S1 with the automatic conveyer feeder and the riser base that supports the conveyer feeder.
Software requirement
Only XCS that runs on the computer supports the Conveyor feeder mode. XCS which runs on mobile phones or iPads does not support this mode.
Note: The following steps show you how to place a hard material on the conveyer feeder. For more information on how to place a flexible and thin material or a soft and thick material, see the User Guide for xTool S1 Automatic Conveyor Feeder.
(1) Turn the upper knob counterclockwise to raise the pinch rollers.
(2) Place the material into the conveyor feeder. Ensure that the side edges of the material are parallel to the vertical grid lines and do not intersect with the pinch roller.
Notes:
- If the side edges of the material are not parallel to the vertical lines of the grid, the processing pattern may come out skewed.
- If the side of the material intersects with the pinch rollers, the material may deviate from the original conveying track due to the squeezing of the pinch rollers.
- When using the conveyer feeder, the laser module works only in the area above the short rails.
(3) Turn the upper knob clockwise to lower the pinch rollers to press the material in place.
Note:
- Do not set the pressure of the pinch rollers too high, or the conveyor feeder may fail to work properly.
- For how to set a proper pressure level, refer to "Appendix ––Pressure levels recommended for common materials".
You can use the lower knob to slightly adjust the position of the material if needed. Rotate the lower knob clockwise to move the material forward, and counterclockwise to move the material backward.
You can open a project to start processing or create a new project. If you create a new project, you need to design patterns and set parameters from scratch.
Note: The project file can contain information such as processing patterns, processing modes, and processing parameters. However, if the machine model, processing mode, or material thickness used in the project varies from the current situation, you need to reset the corresponding parameters.
(1) On the right side of XCS, select Use conveyer feeder.
(2) In the top-right corner, click User-defined material, select the name of your material, and click Confirm.
Note:
- If you can't find your material in the list, you can click More xTool materials to search among more materials in the Material EasySet Library.
- If you still can't find the name of your material, you can select User-defined material.
Note: After you select a material from the material list or Material EasySet Library, the software will automatically set parameters for laser processing. The default settings apply to xTool materials. You can adjust the settings based on your needs.
(Optional) (3) Turn on or off Laser module position based on your need.
Note: If you turn on Laser module position, XCS will display the position of the laser module in real time. The red cross in the canvas indicates the laser module, and the coordinates of the laser module are shown in the Laser module position section.
xTool S1 has a distance sensor, which can measure the distance between the laser module and the material surface. You can also manually measure and calculate the distance between the laser module and the material surface, and input the obtained values into XCS.
During processing, xTool S1 will perform auto-focus based on the Distance parameter.
(1) Move the laser module over the material. Ensure that the locating spot falls on the surface of the material.
(2) On the right side of XCS, click the icon under the Distance parameter, and xTool S1 will automatically measure the distance from the laser module to the material surface.
Note: Before auto-measure, ensure that the probe of the distance sensor is not extending.
(1) Use a ruler to measure the distance from the surface of the material to the top of the laser module.
(2) Subtract 100 mm (3.937 feet) from the measured value from step (1), and input the calculated value into the Distance parameter on the right of XCS.
The canvas is divided into two parts: the grey area and the editing area. The grey area corresponds to the area inside xTool S1 where the laser module does not go during processing. The laser module works only in the area above the short rails. Therefore, do not place elements in the grey area, or the elements will not be processed.
(1) Use the tools to the left side of the canvas to create objects. You can import images, insert shapes, enter text, or draw vector graphics.
Note: XCS supports importing the following image formats: SVG, DXF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, etc.
(2) Select the objects to further edit them using the features on the right panel.
Select objects on the canvas. Then, click the icon to unfold the EasySet panel and set parameters for the selected objects on the panel.
Note:
You need to set parameters for every object. A missed object may fail to be processed.
The parameters that can be set for bitmap objects and vector objects are different. You can select multiple objects of the same type and set parameters for them at once.
You can preview the processing area on the material by framing. Framing means laser dots walk along the border of the processing objects on the material. Take the following steps to start framing:
(1) At the bottom-right corner of the software, click the icon next to the Framing button to set the speed for framing.
Note: You can click the arrow buttons to control the movement of the laser module. The other three parameters allow you to configure how the laser module moves with every tap on an arrow button.
XY speed (mm/s): The moving speed of the laser module in X and Y directions.
XY distance (mm): The moving distance of the laser module with each tap on an XY arrow button.
Z distance (mm): The moving distance of the laser module with each tap on a Z arrow button.
(2) Depending on the laser module you use, wear a pair of safety goggles that can shield your eyes from the laser beams (blue light laser beams: 455 nm; infrared laser beams: 1064 nm).
(3) Click Framing in the software. Press the button on xTool S1 to start framing. The laser spot will move along the boundary of the processing pattern on the material so that you can preview the processing area.
(4) After you confirm that the processing area is proper, click Framing completed in XCS. If the area is not ideal, you can adjust the material position or adjust the element positions in the software, and then preview the processing area again.
Note: If you use the infrared laser module at a temperature of 10 ℃ or below, please preheat the laser module for 2 minutes to ensure better processing results.
(1) In the bottom-right corner of the software, click Go to process.
(2) Preview the processing pattern and path.
On the bottom-left corner, click the button, and XCS will show you the processing path.
(3) In the upper-right corner of XCS, click Start.
(4) Wear a pair of laser safety goggles. Then, close the lid of xTool S1 and press the button to start processing.