RAYGUIDE - Change log

Current MOTF belt speed can be queried in SP-ICE 3 settings dialog, MOTF tab.

Cell hatch filling has a new option for generating horizontal or vertical lines.
Further more, number of lines is multiplied by the module width (depending on the with of the smallest module).

Tool for marking a special pattern, which helps to determine the current focus position.
It can either be used for adjusting the machine, or setting a bias in the calibration.
It is accessed from the calibration tab in the deflection unit dialog.

Applies calibration to correction file.
This can be beneficial, as it does not limit the usable size of the scan field.

Additional option for monitoring deflection units.
In contrast to the exiting one, it is done by the host, not the SP-ICE-3.
The gained flexibility can used to monitor multiple statuses (with max or good values) at once.
Available signal are StatusWord, AuxTemp and RmsCurrent.

New MOTF mode for marking endless contours.
The contour must not contain any jumps and start/end must be on the same position perpendicular to the belt.

App for using remote interface without GUI.

Calling new dedicated SP-ICE-3 function for setting the head bias prevents side effects when setting the bias during execution (remote interface).

Logfile containing the stand alone configuration and the pens of the jobs will be created when starting stand alone execution with the run button in stand alone dialog.

Calling execute for the second job before the first is finished, will queue the job on the card.

New option is located in Vector optimizations -> Sort.

Setting function to 0 avoids problems with old configs (e.g. unused laser alarm).

New actions for loading simplified or default GUI appearance.

In case of custom plugins, scanning is limited to the following rules.
- dll name must contain plugin
- PluginTypes/CustromUITypes dictionary must be provided (see SDK manual chapter 3.4: Writing Plug-ins for Use in RAYGUIDE.

All obsolete members have been removed.
In case your code is not already migrated, check migration guide in SDK manual chapter 7: API update guide.

In addition to the existing .NET 4.8 version, SDK will also be deployed as .NET 8.0-windows.

For ease of use, NuGet packages for the SDK will be installed from now on.
SDK binaries will be removed by end of this year.

Validates whether repetition pitch exceeds job length and min segment width is smaller than segmentation optimization max width.

Creates a text layer (instead of a vector layer) for each merged text object,.

The default username for local admin is changed from "rayguide" to "#rayguide#".

The permission logic has been rewritten to combine OS and local administration modes seamlessly.
Old permission config is updated automatically. New config is not compatible to old RAYGUIDE versions.

For increased performance, auto re-rendering after changing job content can be disabled. Rendering can be triggered with new command: refreshviewport.

In addition to the existing authentication (windows user account), users can authenticate via user name and password.

Multiple commands can be transmitted at once. Either without separator, or separated by comma or whitespace.
Eg "abort, eol,closeAll, eol", "abort, eolcloseAll, eol" or "abort, eol closeAll, eol".

New camera offset calibration for each of the workspace's corners. The used offset is interpolated between the already available center offset and the new corners' offsets. The new offset calibration is integrated into the equalization calibration procedure.

Container creates a list of copies with freely provided transformation.

When selecting multiple thumbs via area selection, pressing ctrl is adding the new selection to the existing one.
Additionally pressing alt will subtract the selection instead.

In addition to the existing scan directions horizontal (bottom to top) and vertical (left to right), different start positions are now available: horizontal (top to bottom) and vertical (right to left).

New option for removing gaps in pen enumeration when transferring job pen set to library.

Job was still in memory after being closed.
Block gui dialog from remote interface was not disposed correctly.

Depending on angle, bounding box was calculated slightly too small.

Command could return before the action is completely done. This could cause problems when sending multiple commands in a row.

Execution time of remote interface commands decreased by up to 100ms.

Correction file will automatically be updated with new header.
Old file is kept with .bak extension.

Feature can now be used from SDK. Settings is stored in ApplicationConfiguration instead of GuiConfiguration and is not automatically migrated.

If the demanded job is already active, "setActiveJob" returns "ACK" now.

Pen value for spot magnification can be configured to use absolute (spot size) or relative (factor) value.
Can be configured in Preferences -> User -> UI and deflection unit settings.

In addition to laser on/off delay of the pen, an additional delay is added to the laser profile.
This is especially beneficial when using multiple laser in a single job.
Values are added to delays defined in the pen.

New option for generating MOTF segments based on execution time, in addition to the existing one based on belt distance.

Calculates the maximum MOTF belt speed for a job.

New dialog for automatically finding the parameter for fastest execution.

Secondary power engine for controlling laser with two cores.
In addition to sending a power value (as it was already possible), the secondary power can be ramped and calibrated (power calibration and position dependent power correction).

Current pass can be queried for jobs with repetition (similar to job elements with infinite passes).

The field transformation can be used now to improve the correction file if necessary. When creating the background image for the workspace, only the rotational component of the field transformation is compensated; gain and offset are ignored.

- executormode: Sets the execution mode to all or active
- getexecutionstatistic: Gets the statistics for the finished jobs
- setpen: Sets values of a job pen
- settransformation: Sets (parts of) job element transformation.

- modifytransformation: mode for setting transformation relative or absolute
- transform: scope for setting process transformation for all or a specified scan controller. mode for relative or absolute.

The notification panel shows the last executed transformation (not the complete transformation an already transformed object may have after the operation).

When using unique name, an index seperated by underscore is appended.

Replaces the container by creating individual objects for each item created by the container.

Gardasoft illumination controllers are supported.

Time span for connecting to devices on startup changed from 1 to 2 minutes, as SP-ICE-3 might need more than 1 minute for booting.

By reducing the number of fractional digits, position errors ( e.g. due to rounding) can be compensated, when detecting pattern and line changes.

New plugin for creating pattern used for battery foil cutting.

Origin of workspace is now used as center of transformation for the process transformation when using MOTF.
Before, center of transformation was center of current MOTF frame.

By not disabling field correction while sending config to SP-ICE-3, a sudden change of galvo position is avoided. This was resulting in clicking noise from the deflection unit.

Devices used by SPIC3Device (BaseLaserController and BaseScanHead) must be registered to device manager. This is normally done by using DeviceManager.AddDevice() instead of calling the device constructor directly.
To prevent unexpected behavior, an exception will be thrown when assigning an unkonwn device to SPCIE3Device.

AutoConnect option for SPICE3 moved to BaseDeviceController.IsAutoConnect.
Setting will be migrated automatically when using RAYGUIDE gui.
Custom applications using GuiConfiguration have to migrate it manually.

In case of multiple opened jobs, uploading a job with OnCard mode will use a different list ID per job, without overwriting other opened jobs on SP-ICE-3.

Text can be read from dialog automation into a variable. The variable can be assigned to any barcode or text object.

Removed 10ms delay, which is not necessary for APD fast mode.

In addition to setting the process transformation per scan controller, it can now be set for all scan controller defined by an job/workspace configuration.
Center of transformation is the center of the workspace.

Galvo current resulting from wobble can be validated against threshold. Max value can be configured in deflection unit, default is 3A.
Only available for deflection unit firmware >= 7130.

Multiplier for distance between adjacent character.

New option for disabling kerning and ligatures.

Ratio of smallest to widest bars can be defined from 2 to 3 (default).

- The power change setup time is taken into account now.
- In case of on-host execution the laser is not disarmed any longer before setting the APD mode and armed again afterwards (same behavior now as in case of on-card execution; i. e the arming state is not changed at all, and the laser must be operated with its "Fast APD switch" option set to "on").

All layouts get imported to separate layers.

The API function JobManager.ValidateJobDefinition() expects now a new optional parameter, which is a dictionary of scan controller names and the wanted process transformations.

There is a new command "wait, <eventName>, <timeout>, eol". <eventName> is either "JobFinishedEvent" or "WorkspaceRefreshedEvent", <timeout> is a timeout time in milliseconds.
Example: "wait, JobFinishedEvent, 5000, eol" waits 5 seconds for the event that signals the end of job execution and responds with "ACK" if the event is received or with "WAIT_ERROR" if the event is not received in this time period.

The remote interface responds with "ACK" immediately in this case now without loading the job again.

New import option for converting text into vectors. If false, text object will be added as editable text layer.

The warning is shown now only if the laser has the serial connection enabled and reported a laser not ready state.

The remote client's receive timeout is increased to 31 seconds.

The laser's frequency will be set now using the parallel port interface in case it is supported by the laser.

RAYGUIDE will not arm the laser any longer while previewing a job, and the remote server will send the message "ARM_LASER_ERROR" in this case.

A home position for each scan controller can be defined in the job presets now.

New sliders for brightness and contrast in Click&Teach panel.

Top, center or bottom of the bounding box can be aligned to a provided z coordinate.

In addition to the commanded curve (black), the resulting curve is shown in red or green (depending on ratio).

Thumbs in edit mode can snap to each other or the guide lines.
Magnetic range can be defined in Preferences -> User ->UI.

Rotation can be provided for all axes. They are executed in the following order: X -> Y -> Z.

Projection (XY, XZ or YZ) can be selected below the workspace.

Can be configured in Preferences -> User -> UI -> Hide other layers while editing.

New job element solid for importing and slicing *.stl files.

Filled area is inverted by adding a box with size of the bounding box. The size can be altered by new property quiet zone.

Command "close" will not save a job any longer.

In case there is no suitable IP address found the loopback interface will be used. The user is asked to provide a better IP address.

Linked vector graphic can be reloaded on job load or optionally during execution (like dynamic text).

Only connected cards will show up now in the drop down list of scan controllers.

The button states (armed, pilot enabled) in the laser dialog are synchronized with the button states in the execution panel.

A retrieved list of pulse durations is stored with the laser and only refreshed when pressing the refresh button in the laser's settings dialog.

Stopping the execution in the laser diagnostics dialog does the same now as the abort button in RAYGUIDE's execution panel.

Number of executed passes can be retrieved by pressing the refresh button in the process monitor's passes column.

Binning during preview can be disabled in Preferences -> User -> General.

Transformation within the job (automations) can currently only be switched when using OnHost.

There is a movable, horizontal alignment line in the live view now.

The scan field's rotation does not matter any longer when calibrating the wave length correction.

New commands: enablePointer, disablePointer, startPreview, stopPreview and setPreviewParameters.

Click & Teach: When the camera has no scan head assigned to it, the Tile button is disabled now, avoiding a misleading error message.

Binning can no longer be unchecked when using switch flow.

Pixels are semi transparent depending on the gray-scale.

A secondary correction file can be uploaded to the scan controller. The used correction file can be selected in job (incl preset) or as automation.

New checkbox for automatically starting to listen on startup.

Laser output mode can now be configured as Pulsed, CW or Selectable (Pen). Using CW will send a non modulated signal as LM.

Added new functions IJobManager.RenderAsImage / RenderAsBitmap. Old functions in JobDefinition are obsolete.

New option for adding a background for the workspace added to job settings and job preferences. The image will be scaled to fit the whole workspace.

The new command "renderAsBitmap" stores the current jobs workspace as a raster graphic.

Multiple passes are allowed if job elements contain a single path, or the filling is assigned to the path. Otherwise the job optimization "Merge vector graphics" can be used. This will convert the filling to normal vectors.

The optical pulse width (APD mode) can be changed dynamically now using the parallel port interface.

The command "upload" (it is the same as the obsolete command "download") will be executed only if the executor type is set to "card" before.

Added setActiveJob, save, modifyTransform, blockGui and unblockGui to the remote interface.

The Click & Teach add-on can be used in 2.5D environments now and allows to set the focus along the z-axis.

Defines a list of sequences, containing the number of executions with a certain pen.

System and user config path can be passed as arguments to MarkerAPI constructor.

Allows evaluating binning condition ahead-of-time, resulting in optimized execution time. Should be disabled, if condition is not set ahead-of-time.

Interpolation time can be provided or queried from the deflection unit. Transfer delay is calculated from protocol dependent delay plus interpolation time.

Reset jump is moved to field edge in belt direction.

Defines the speed used when MOTF tracking will be deactivated (eg. when waiting for parts or at the end of the job). Can be configured in the scan controllers MOTF tab.

Added workspace offset to job settings. It will be automatically filled with z offset from correction file.
Existing presets might need an update (reset workspace size/offset in presets dialog).

TabControl cannot be used as container for the job workspaces as TabControl reuses its content template by default.
ItemsControl (see sample) can be used instead.

Values are now display correctly, but might need an update if old value was expected in ms.

There is a new vector optimization function "Split paths": A path will be split into two at the position where the selected command is.

There is a new vector optimization function "Replace commands by paths": All selected commands will be moved from there original path into new paths, while each command will be put into a path containing only that command.

The automation object "Arm or disarm laser" can now additionally enable and disable the pointer.

New Laser type (IPG AMB) added.
Renamed simmer related properties in LaserProfile to SecondaryPowerTarget.

Text objects with fixed size and the height set to 0 keep the font height.
Text objects with fixed size and the width set to 0 keep the font's original aspect ratio avoiding distorted texts.

MIP will be de-asserted while waiting for signals.

Remote interface (formerly only available as tutorial) can be installed as feature.

New vector optimization functions for replacing small arcs by drills and vice versa.

Option to start RAYGUIDE with job or open job from taskbar.

A job executor that is controlled by the host application to do the very basic of execution. It processes only vector graphics, ignoring MOTF and tiling. The vector content is downloaded to the scan controller, and executed.

New trace labels are: 10 (start), 11 (end).

Specific IO or serial message can be sent after one of the following errors occurred: Laser, scan controller, deflection unit, out of field, aborted.

Changed Size to FontHeight, defining the height of 'W' in the current font.

Changing the GUI language caused loss of all permissions.

Joining layers is working now even if the vector graphic is in a group.

When combining objects located into a matrix copy object into a vectorgraphic, all *generated* objects where put into the result additionally rather than only the *original* objects.

Enhancing the wait management increases throughput by starting execution earlier.

When combining objects into a vector graphic the fillings of the object will be assigned now individually to the layers; the pen will also be assigned to the layers.

When joining layers, the pens of the joined layers are applied to its paths now to preserve information.

"SPI" laser renamed to "TruePulse Nano".

The SampleCustomUI example has a button now to open and close the listening socket for remote controlling RAYGUIDE.

Multiple ramps can be defined per path.

New option for merging, segmenting and sorting jobs during execution.

Number of shown thumbs, jump vectors and vector tips can be limited.

Mode can be defined instead of enabling/disabling sky writing.

New setting "Job template" in the user preferences. The template is loaded automatically when a new job is created.

New setting "Default job" in the user preferences. The default job is loaded automatically when RAYGUIDE starts.

Joining layers failed in case the first layer had no name.

Moved reusable code from RAYLASE.Marker.Common to RAYLASE.Shared. Replaced Point2D (RAYLASE.Common) with dvec2.

Added mode for defining size of new objects via mouse dragging.

Objects covering multiple scan fields will be split automatically.

Language can now be switched to German.

New container for marking objects larger than the scan field.

Added user defined snapping guidelines.

Feature added as sample application located in SDK\SampleCode\Tutorials\SampleCustomUI and described in section 3.5 of the SDK manual.

Similar to the job, the statistics can now be viewed at job element level.

New tool to create custom resource files for further languages.

New option to reverse the order of the filling.

Inset filling now allows to create parallel duplicates of non closed paths.

Split angle was miscalculated for arcs with negative angles.

Mark and jump vectors of skipped outline/filling are now dimmed.

Added as direction option of hatch filling.

Added menu item "Help->Contact support..." to create an e-mail containing RAYGUIDE's log files and current job as attachment. It is opened in the standard e-mail application, which enables the user to add further information before sending it.