Laser Marking Software

Our marking software has been designed to meet the needs of all types of users of laser marking systems.  The software was developed to be a retrofit package for existing systems, or as original software on new systems. The package provides significant advancements over previous laser marking control systems, while remaining extremely user-friendly. It’s an object oriented, graphically interactive, PC control system providing a user the ability define and execute laser marking jobs. Multiple hardware interfaces are supported giving the software the ability to control most Nd:YAG and CO2 laser marking systems.

Unlike some marking software, the operator never has to remember what fonts and logo’s need to be loaded for a particular job. The software automatically performs all required graphic loading. The software does not require users to learn any programming languages or special codes, and yet the software provides all of the flexible, graphic control users are accustomed to, including radial marking, aspect control, character spacing, angular rotations, and full justification. Text to be marked can be fixed or variable. Variable text can be retrieved at runtime from a variety of sources including, the keyboard, a bar code reader, and disk files.  Automatic date coding and alphanumeric serialization are included as variable text types. Fonts include laser engraving fonts and Window’s True Type fonts. True Type fonts can be vector filled using user specified density, angle and kerf. Graphics (sometimes called "logo’s" on other systems) can be imported from a large variety of common vector formats.  All graphic features are either menu controlled or graphically controlled via the mouse and keyboard.

The software can create various objects such as barcode, DataMatrix, text, simple geometrical objects (such as line, rectangle, round-corner rectangle, polygon, circle, ellipse etc), complex graphic objects (such as PLT & BMP files), automatic date coding and alphanumeric serialization.

There are two series of marking cards (interface cards) and relevant software: LMC and STEL. Custom-design is available upon request..

1. LMC Series Cards and Software

Our marking software has been designed to meet the needs of all types of users of laser marking systems. The software was developed to be a retrofit package for existing systems, or as original software on new systems. The package provides significant advancements over previous laser marking control systems, while remaining extremely user-friendly. It’s an object oriented, graphically interactive, PC control system providing a user the ability define and execute laser marking jobs. Multiple hardware interfaces are supported giving the software the ability to control most Nd:YAG, CO2 and fiber laser marking systems such as adjusting currents, frequency, duty ratio . and red light indication.

Unlike some marking software, the operator never has to remember what fonts and logo’s need to be loaded for a particular job. The software automatically performs all required graphic loading. The software does not require users to learn any programming languages or special codes, and yet the software provides all of the flexible, graphic control users are accustomed to, including radial marking, aspect control, character spacing, angular rotations, and full justification. Text to be marked can be fixed or variable. Variable text can be retrieved at runtime from a variety of sources including, the keyboard, a bar code reader, and disk files.  Automatic date coding and alphanumeric serialization are included as variable text types. Fonts include laser engraving fonts and Window’s True Type fonts. True Type fonts can be vector filled using user specified density, angle and kerf. Graphics (sometimes called "logo’s" on other systems) can be imported from a large variety of common vector formats.  All graphic features are either menu controlled or graphically controlled via the mouse and keyboard.

The software can create various objects such as barcode, DataMatrix, text, simple geometrical objects (such as line, rectangle, round-corner rectangle, polygon, circle, ellipse etc), complex graphic objects (such as PLT & BMP files), automatic date coding and alphanumeric serialization.

Digital card (control CO2 laser, YAG laser)

• Data transfer:usb2.0 interface

• Digital output used for scan head

• Support FPK with three ways [optional]

• Support high-speed fly marking with rotary encoder

• Eight digital input and seven digital output used for other controlled equipment

• 25 routes general digital signals(TTL compatible), 4 of the IO ports can be OC IO, can connect with relay.

• LASER Signal: TTL, used for laser On/Laser Off .

• PWM Signal: TTL, used to adjust the frequency and duty ratio.

• Tow Direction/Pulse signals, used to control stepping motor.

• START Signal: used to connect foot switch

Digital fiber card (control fiber lasers)

• Use 68-pins SCSI 3 socket, connect fiber laser module via 68-pin cable directly

• Adjustable digital/analog output used for scan head

• Mark-on-fly function with an encoder connected

• Extend axes output: Two Direction/pulse signals, used to control stepping motor or servomotor

• 25 routes general digital signals(TTL compatible), 4 of the IO ports can be OC IO, can connect with relay

• Original start signal: Used when marking contents are the same and high speed is required

• Compatible with USB2.0

PCIE card (control CO2 and YAG laser) and PCIE-F card (control fiber laser) are also available. Their functions are same as digital cards’s functions.

Dynamic focus board

• Dynamic focus .three digital output for scan head

• Support FPK with two ways (optional)

• 6 routes digital input and 6 routes digital output

• LASER signal : TTL, used for laser on/laser off

• PWM signal: TTL ,used to adjust the frequency and duty ratio

• Direction/pulse signals ,used to control stepping motor or servomotor

• DB25 connector used for IPG YLP laser directly (optional)

• Compatible with USB2.0

DA converter board

DA converter is an integrated product for digital to analogue single conversion, to enable higher marking accuracy and long distance signal transmission which is less susceptible to electrical noise.

There are two types:

1. channel: supports 2 channels output, and the digital protocol has not extended coding, which is labeled as “20071012-V101”;

2. channel: supports 3 channels output, and the digital protocol has the extended coding, which is labeled as "20080107-V103”.

Model and description for LMC boards:

2. STEL Series Cards and Software

1)    STEL-PMC2 card

• Support digital scanners by XY2-1 00 protocol.

• For analog scanners, signals converted by the DA2-1 6 daughter board.

• Built-in DSP, marking computing do not occupy computer CPU time.

• 1 0µs galvo-motor-position updating rate.

• FPK, PPK, R05 first pulse suppression.

• Two 1 2-bits analog control signals.

• Support 3-axis encoder inputs, can be used to detect the object position of fly-marking and XY table.

• PWM maximum output frequency is 1 0MHz, minimum pulse width is 0.1 µs.

• 4-axis pulse/direction digital control signals, the maximum output frequency is 2MHz.

• General purpose 1 6-bits digital outputs, 1 6-bits digital inputs.

• Specific 1 6-bits laser control digital outputs.

• Up to 4 cards installed simultaneously.

• Support for Windows XP/Vista/Windows7/Windows8.

STEL-PMC2 is a PCI bus advanced laser marking card, support digital galvo motor, compatible with XY2-100 protocol, and through DA-1 6 daughter board can control analog galvo motor precisely.

2)    LSRM-UMC4 card

• Built-in DSP, marking computing do not occupy computer CPU time.

• Support one XY2-100 digital control signal output, 10μs cycle update galvo motor position.

• FPK, PPK, R05 first pulse suppression.

• Two 12-bits analog control signals.

• PWM maximum output frequency is 10MHz, minimum pulse width is 0.1μs.

• Support offline marking, could access 16 files each contains 8 sets auto-text and 8 kinds of fonts.

• One RS232 Communication Port for PLC communication.

• Support one encoder input for mark-on-fly function.

• Support one pulse/direction digital control signal output, the maximum output frequency is 2MHz.

• Contain expansion connectors for connecting with a variety of daughter boards.

• Support for Windows XP/Vista/Windows7/Windows8.

STEL-UMC4 is a USB bus advanced laser marking card, and support digital galvo motor, compatible with XY2-100 protocol. STEL-UMC4 built-in full offline marking functions could access up to 16 files.

3) STEL-MM3D card

• Support STL 3D model

• Draw in 2D graphic

• Built in several frequently used models

• Support import 3D DXF as marking path

• Graphic Coated or projection mapping to curved surface

• Real-time preview, what you see is what you get

• Automated process control

• Support X,Y,or Z axis motion

MM3D marking software has combined the third marking axis(focal shifter) control ability, which could help user marking on irregular curve surface. After user imports the 3D model in STL format, MM3D will paste the drew graphic on the model surface. At this time, user could put the working-piece on the proper marking position to complete marking task. Not only MM3D allowed user import 3D model in STL format, but built in several most frequently used curve surface; or user could import 3D DXF file as marking path.

4) STEL-MM software: MarkingMate

• Support many kinds of language such as Chinese, English, Japanese, Deutsch

• Support Win XP,Vista,Win7,Win8

• Provide Draw Menu: Vertex, Line, Arc, Circle, Text, Barcode

• A multiplicity of Auto Text: Serial No, Date, Keyboard, File

• Best compatibility, can import variety of image formats

• Provide Object-Related Property Table, has being selected, the Property

• Mark Parameter List shows all the marking parameters users set themselves.

• Control Object-Related Property: Digital In, Digital out, Stop, Delay Time, Motion, Reset & Homing.

• Support RS-232,TCP OP Parameters

• Layer-Related Property Table

• Matrix Property

• Compensation for all lens distortion

• Provide 3-user levels

• Users can set the deviation compensation between align light and laser

• Support many types of laser marking cards such as PMC2,MC3,RTC3,4,5

• Support many types of lasers, such as CO2,YAG,fiber,green,UV

STEL-MM MarkingMate is window-based laser marking software developed which is easy and friendly to use powerful tool. Support variety vector and bitmap graphic, and provide library and OCX component for marking solution provider. Easily to mark on plane or non-plane surface, also support variety PCI or USB marking controller, able to control almost all kinds of laser.

3. STH Series Mark Control Boards and Software

3.1 STH-E1701A Modular Analogue Scanner Controller

Beside different other, common scanner cards STH-BeamConstruct also supports the only modular scanner controller card worldwide: the STH-E1701A analog scanner card. This is a low-cost scanner card with the smallest ground-size out there* and it is the only one which can be extended by additional boards* providing different signals and outputs. So it is not necessary to buy one fully featured card and to pay for functions that are not needed. Via its extension boards only these functions and I/Os can be added, that are really required.

These extension boards are plugged onto baseboard. Several of them can be combined freely according to required functionality.

STH-E1701A Baseboard is an analogue scanner card which can be extended by options described by below and provides following features:

• 16 bit analogue interface to scanhead with X and Y channel, ±5V and ±10V output

• 3x 12 bit additional analogue outputs, 0..5V output

• ILDA-capable interface

• USB 2.0 and 100 Mbit Ethernet connection

• Online XY grid correction with support for several correction table file formats (like STH-BeamConstruct HD .bco correction files, SCAPS™ .ucf, Scanlab™ .ctb and .ct5, Raylase™ .gcd, GSI/CTI™ .xml, Sunny™ .txt)

• Switching between up to 16 grid correction tables during marking process

• 10 microseconds vector cycle time and resolution (microstep period)

• Command execution time down to 0,5 microseconds

• Realtime processing of laser and scanner signals

• 26 bit internal resolution (for better quality also with 16 bit hardware output)

• Can control nearly every laser type (this may require extension boards as described below)

• 512 MByte DDR3 RAM

• 1 GHz CPU clock

• Support for Micro-SD and Micro-SDHC cards with up to 32 GByte disk space for stand-alone operations

• Internal command and vector data list with more than 17 million entries

• Continuous list concept, no need to swap between buffers

• STH-BeamConstruct PRO license included

• Open source compatibility library that emulates existing programming interface for

• fast and easy usage with existing software (contains e.g. Scanlab™ RTC4™, SCAPS™ USC™/SCI and other compatible interfaces)

• Very small size of about 87 mm x 55 mm

• Shipped with easy to use connection kit

• Hardware/firmware is quality made in EU/Germany

STH-LP8 Extension Board requires STH-E1701A baseboard as described above and provides additional signals for controlling lasers and external equipment. It offers following features and functions:

• STH-LP8 8 bit CMOS level parallel digital output e.g. for controlling laser power

• STH-LP8 latch CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• Master Oscillator CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• 8 bit 0..5V analogue output e.g. for controlling laser power

• Two laser CMOS level digital outputs for usage with YAG, CO2, IPG™ and compatible laser types (outputs can provide PWM frequency, Q-Switch, FPK-pulse, continuously running frequency, stand-by frequency), running with frequencies up to 20 MHz

• Hardware is quality made in EU

STH-Digi I/O Extension Board requires a baseboard as described above and provides additional I/Os for controlling external equipment. It offers following features and functions:

• 8 digital inputs and 8 digital outputs can be switched to opto-insulated mode with external power supply of up to 24 V

• 2 inputs can be used for 90 degree phase-shifted encoder signal for marking on-the-fly applications

• Inputs can be used to select one of up to 256 stand-alone marking jobs stored on microSD card of baseboard

• Hardware is quality made in EU

3.2 STH-E1701D Modular XY2/100 Scanner Controller

Beside different other, common scanner cards STH-BeamConstruct also supports the only modular scanner controller card worldwide: the STH-E1701D digital XY2/100 scanner card. This is a low-cost scanner card with the smallest ground-size out there and it is the only one which can be extended by additional boards providing different signals and outputs. So it is not necessary to buy one fully featured card and to pay for functions that are not needed. Via its extension boards only these functions and I/Os can be added, that are really required.

These extension boards are plugged onto baseboard. Several of them can be combined freely according to required functionality.

STH-E1701D Baseboard is an XY2/100 scanner card which can be extended by options described below and provides following features:

• 16 bit XY2-100 interface to scanhead with X, Y and Z channel

• 18 bit XY2-100-E interface to scanhead with X and Y channel

• 20 bit XY3-100 (LIA202002 standard)interface with X and Y channel

• 100 Mbit Ethernet connection

• USB 2.0 connection

• Online XYZ grid correction with support for several correction table file formats (like SCAPS™ .ucf, Scanlab™ .ctb and .ct5, Raylase™ .gcd, GSI/CTI™ .xml, Sunny™ .txt

• High-definition online XYZ grid correction with STH-BeamConstruct HD correction files (.bco)

• Switching between up to 16 grid correction tables during marking process

• 10 microseconds vector cycle time and resolution (microstep period)

• Command execution time down to 0,5 microseconds

• Realtime processing of laser and scanner signals

• 26 bit internal resolution (for better quality also with 16 or 18 bit hardware output)

• Can control nearly every laser type (this may require extension boards as described below)

• Two laser CMOS level digital outputs for usage with YAG, CO2, IPG™ and compatible laser types (outputs can provide PWM frequency, Q-Switch, FPK-pulse, continuously running frequency, stand-by frequency), running with frequencies up to 20 MHz

• 512 MByte DDR3 RAM

• 1 GHz CPU clock

• Support for Micro-SD and Micro-SDHC cards with up to 32 GByte disk space for stand-alone operations

• Extremely low power consumption of about 1,8 W (Baseboard without any Extension Boards)

• Internal command and vector data list with more than 17 million entries

• Continuous list concept, no need to swap between lists

• STH-BeamConstruct PRO license included

• Open source compatibility library that emulates existing programming interface for fast and easy usage with existing software (contains e.g. Scanlab™ RTC4™, SCAPS™ USC™/SCI and other compatible interfaces)

• Very small size of about 87 mm x 55 mm

• Hardware/firmware is quality made in EU/Germany

STH-LP8 Extension Board requires STH-E1701D baseboard as described above and provides additional signals for controlling lasers and external equipment. It offers following features and functions:

• STH-LP8 8 bit CMOS level parallel digital output e.g. for controlling laser power

• STH-LP8 latch CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• Master Oscillator CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• 8 bit 0..5V analogue output e.g. for controlling laser power

• Two laser CMOS level digital outputs for usage with YAG, CO2, IPG™ and compatible laser types (outputs can provide PWM frequency, Q-Switch, FPK-pulse, continuously running frequency, stand-by frequency), running with frequencies up to 20 MHz

• Hardware is quality made in EU

STH-Digi I/O Extension Board requires a baseboard as described above and provides additional I/Os for controlling external equipment. It offers following features and functions:

• 8 digital inputs and 8 digital outputs can be switched to opto-insulated mode with external power supply of up to 24 V

• 2 inputs can be used for 90 degree phase-shifted encoder signal for marking on-the-fly applications

• Inputs can be used to select one of up to 256 stand-alone marking jobs stored on microSD card of baseboard

• Hardware is quality made in EU

Secondary Head Extension Boardgives possibility to connect an additional scanhead which then works fully parallel to the primary one connected to the baseboard and makes use of the same laser:

• XY2/100 interface for an additional scanhead marking parallel to head of baseboard

• Up to three of these extensions can be used with one STH-E1701D baseboard to connect up to four scanheads

• Hardware is quality made in EU

The optional  STH-E1701base Mounting Kit allows faster and easier mechanical installation of all types of STH-E1701 controller boards:

• Comes with DIN rail clamps which can be installed in 2 different positions combined with 2 different orientations resulting in 4 different mounting variants

• STH-E1701 can be mounted on top of STH-E1701base with distance bolts or hex-stands using premanufactured mounting holes

• Can be used also without DIN rail clamps for custom mounting in machines and as top-cover for STH-E1701

3.3 STH-E1701C Modular 5-Axis CNC Controller

Beside common laser scanner controller cards STH-BeamConstruct also supports the only modular, 5-axis CNC controller card worldwide: the STH-E1701C. This is a low-cost CNC controller card with the smallest ground-size out there and it is the only one which can be extended by additional boards providing different signals and outputs. So it is not necessary to buy one fully featured card and to pay for functions that are not needed. Via its extension boards only these functions and I/Os can be added, that are really required.

Due to its future-proof design and its extensive interfaces and software options, it is not limited to laser applications, but it is also able to control mechanical tools such as mills. Our STH-BeamConstruct control application fully supports such machinery, beside the common laser parameters it is also able to handle the STH-E1701C and the specialities of such mechanical tools. These extension boards are plugged onto baseboard. Several of them can be combined freely according to required functionality.

STH-E1701C Baseboard is a 5-axis CNC controller card which can control lasers as well as other tools with suitable hardware interfaces. It can be extended by options described below and provides following features:

• Support for up to 5 stepper motor axes which can be controlled via step/direction signals

• Can be used with any XY-table/-gantry, XYZ-stage or similar 2..5-axis, motor-driven CNC devices

• Fully synchronous movements of all axes for real 2D/3D/... operations

• 100 Mbit Ethernet connection

• USB 2.0 connection

• Command execution time down to 0,5 microseconds

• Realtime processing of laser and motion signals

• CMOS level on/off output to toggle laser or tool

• Can control nearly every laser type (this may require extension boards as described below)

• Power ramping output to modulate laser power or tool speed during movements

• CMOS level inputs to start or stop operations by hardware signal

• 5 optionally opto-insulated reference-switch inputs which can be operated with up to 24 V external power

• 512 MByte DDR3 RAM

• 4-core system with 1 GHz clock on main CPU core

• Extremely low power consumption of about 1,8 W (Baseboard without any Extension Boards)

• Internal command and vector data list with more than 17 million entries

• Continuous list concept, no need to swap between lists

• STH-BeamConstruct PRO license included

• Very small size of about 87 mm x 55 mm

• Hardware/firmware is quality made in Germany

STH-LP8 Extension Board requires the STH-E1701C baseboard as described above and provides additional signals for controlling lasers and external equipment. It offers the following features and functions:

• STH-LP8 8 bit CMOS level parallel digital output e.g. for controlling laser power

• STH-LP8 latch CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• Master Oscillator CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• 8 bit 0..5V analogue output e.g. for controlling laser power

• Two laser CMOS level digital outputs for usage with YAG, CO2, IPG™ and compatible laser types (outputs can provide PWM frequency, Q-Switch, FPK-pulse, continuously running frequency, stand-by frequency), running with frequencies up to 20 MHz

• Hardware is quality made in EU

The STH-Digi I/O Extension Board requires a baseboard as described above and provides additional I/Os for controlling external equipment. It offers following features and functions:

• 8 digital inputs which can be switched to opto-insulated mode with external power supply of up to 24 V

• 8 digital outputs which can be switched to opto-insulated mode with external power supply of up to 24 V

• Hardware is quality made in Germany

3.4 STH-E1701M 4-Axis Motion Controller

Beside some other motors and controller cards STH-BeamConstruct supports the STH-E1701M stepper motor controller board. This is a Ethernet and USB controllable card which provides following features:

• 100 Mbit Ethernet connection

• USB 2.0 connection

• Command execution time down to 1 microsecond

• Support of up to four independent motion axes

• Generates step and direction pulses for usage with stepper motor driver

• 500 kHz maximum step clock

• Linear, exponential and s-shaped acceleration modes

• Freely definable referencing modes with auto-searching for reference switch

• Realtime processing

• Programmable via binary API (via DLL/Windows or .so/Linux) or ASCII command interface (via Telnet/Ethernet or serial interface/USB)

• 512 MByte DDR3 RAM

• 1 GHz CPU clock

• Extremely low power consumption of 1,9 W (non-insulated mode)

• 8 digital outputs providing either CMOS logical levels or electrically insulated outputs via external power supply for controlling 4 motors via step and direction signals

• 8 freely usable digital inputs expecting either CMOS logical levels or electrically insulated inputs via external power supply for usage with limit-/reference switches or encoder inputs

• Two decoders for evaluation of axis position via quadrature encoder signal

• Alternative operation mode: jog-control (manual/stand-alone), signals at inputs start movement of related axes

• Alternative operation mode: I/O controller card with 8 independent digital outputs and 8 digital inputs

• Very small size of about 87 mm x 55 mm

• Hardware/firmware is quality made in EU/Germany

Summary

Combinations

3.5 STH-E1803D Compact XY2/100 and XY3/100 Scanner Controller

The STH-E1803 controller is not a successor or replacement of the STH-E1701D Modular Scanner Controller but an own product with a different area of application.

Technically it is fully compatible with a STH-E1701D controller with STH-LP8 Extension and Digi I/O Extension plus additional:

• Two analogue 0..10 V outputs, plus

• A serial RS232/RS485 interface, plus

• Better performance, plus

• Scanhead power supply provided via controller

Now all incorporated in one compact card. With all these features it is still a low-cost scanner card which can be used with all XY2-100, XY2-200, XY2-100E, XY2-200E and XY3-100 compatible scanheads.

The  STH-E1803 Controller provides following general features:

• Can be used with any scanhead with XY2-100, XY2-200, XY2-100-E, XY2-200-E or XY3-100 (LIA202002 standard) interface

• 100 Mbit Ethernet connection, USB 2.0 connection

• Online XYZ grid correction with support for several correction table file formats (like BeamConstruct HD .bco correction files, SCAPS™ .ucf, Scanlab™ .ctb and .ct5, Raylase™ .gcd, GSI/CTI™ .xml, Sunny™ .txt)

• Fast online switching between up to 16 grid correction tables

• 10 microseconds vector cycle time and resolution (microstep period), command execution time down to 0,5 microseconds

• Realtime processing of laser and scanner signals

• 26 bit internal resolution (for better quality also with 16 or 18 bit hardware output)

• 512 MByte DDR3 RAM, 1 GHz CPU clock

• Extremely low power consumption of about 2 W (without scanhead power supply)

• Internal command and vector data list with more than 20 million entries

• Continuous list concept, no need to swap between lists

• BeamConstruct PRO license included

• Compact size of about 125 mm x 100 mm

• Quality made in EU/Germany

Beside of that it provides following connectivity features and interfaces:

• 16 bit XY2-100 interface to scanhead with X, Y and Z channel

• 18 bit XY2-100-E interface to scanhead with X, Y and Z channel

• 20 bit XY3-100interface to scanhead with X and Y channel

• Two laser CMOS level digital outputs for usage with YAG, CO2, IPG™, SPI™ and other compatible laser types (outputs can provide PWM frequency, Q-Switch, FPK-pulse, continuously running frequency, stand-by frequency), running with frequencies up to 20 MHz

• STH-LP8 8 bit CMOS level parallel digital output e.g. for controlling laser power

• STH-LP8 latch and Master Oscillator CMOS level digital output for usage with IPG™ and compatible laser types

• 2x 12 bit 0..10 V analogue outputs e.g. for controlling power of SPI™ lasers

• 8 digital inputs and 8 digital outputs can be switched to opto-insulated mode with external power supply of up to 24 V

• 2x2 inputs can be used for 90 degree phase-shifted encoder signals for 1D and 2D marking on-the-fly applications

• Digital inputs can be used to select one of up to 256 stand-alone marking jobs stored on microSD card of baseboard

• RS232/RS485 serial interface

• Can be powered with 12..24 V with direct supply to scanhead to save additional wiring

• Support for Micro-SD and Micro-SDHC cards with up to 32 GByte disk space for stand-alone operations

The optional  STH-Intelli-IO Extension Board ...

• Can be plugged to E1803D expansion connector

• Offers additional 3x 12 bit 0..5V analogue inputs for multi-purpose data acquisition

• Makes use of own microcontroller so that special, customised applications can run fully parallel on the board

In digital I/O mode:

• Provides 8 general purpose digital outputs and 6 general purpose digital inputs (0/5 V)

In motion control mode:

• supports up to four stepper motor axes, controlled via step- and direction signals

• up to 39 kHz jitter-free step frequency (45 kHz maximum step frequency)

• moves all four axes at the same time

• movements possible fully parallel to laser/scanner operation

The optional  STH-Multi-IO Extension Board ...

• Can be plugged to STH-E1803D expansion connector

• Provides a 2D XY2-100(E)/XY3-100 secondary head interface to connect a second scanhead which works fully parallel to the primary one

• Comes with a second RS232/RS485 serial interface which works fully independent from the first one on the STH-E1803D baseboard

• Offers 3x 12 bit 0..5V analogue inputs for multi-purpose data acquisition

Please note: the STH-Multi-IO expansion can not be used together with the STH-E1803dock!

The optional  STH-E1803dock Extension Board provides an easy and simple way to connect different laser types with a 1:1 cable connection. The STH-E1803dock is a full-size extension which is plugged on very top of the STH-E1803D controller. Using this breakout-board connection of a laser is done within minutes as only some standard cables need to be plugged. It is available in several variants which can be used for different families of laser types each:

• STH-E1803dock MOPA can be used for digitally controlled master oscillator/power amplifier laser types like IPG™ YLP, MaxPhotonics™ MFP, JPT™ YDFLP, Raycus™ RFL and compatible

• STH-E1803dock YLM can be used for analogue controlled master oscillator/power amplifier laser types like IPG™ YLM and compatible

• STH-E1803dock SPI can be used for SPI™ G3/G4/redENERGY™, TRUMPF™ TruPulse nano™ and compatible fiber lasers

• STH-E1803dock CO2/YAG can be used for PWM/Q-Switch based laser types

• STH-E1803dock Combined (shown in picture) can be used for digitally and analogue controlled master oscillator/power amplifier laser types, SPI G4 lasers, CO2 and YAG lasers (via BNC connector)

The optional STH-E1803base Mounting Kit allows faster and easier mechanical installation of an STH-E1803D controller board:

• Comes with DIN rail clamps which can be installed in 6 different positions and 4 different rientations

• STH-E1803D can be mounted on top of STH-E1803base with distance bolts or hex-stands using premanufactured mounting holes

• Can be used also without DIN rail clamps for custom mounting in machines and as top-cover for STH-E1803D

Summary

3.6 20 Bit XY3-100 Analogue Converter (STH-converter-X20)

The converter is an adapter module to operate analogue scanheads together with a XY3-100 scanner controller card. It is fully adjusted, ready to be used and needs to be electrically connected only for operation. It provides the following features:

• XY3-100input signal

• -5V..+5V analogue output with 20 bit resolution

• wide range power supply: +-10V .. +-24 V

• simple 1:1 connection with E1803D controller card possible

• full operation with any other XY3-100 scanner controller

• instant-on, no bootup time after power-up

• small size of 62x45 mm (can be shrinked to 45x45 mm if necessary)

So it can be used to connect a XY3-100 digital controller board to an analogue scanhead and will guarantee a low-latency, fully synchronous operation.

The XY3-100 protocol itself is a new, open, future-proof and non-proprietary standard for communication between scanner controller card and scanhead. It provides variable position resolutions in range 16..26 bit and an extended backchannel. It is hardware-compatible to its predecessor XY2-100 and therefore can be implemented in existing hardware via a firmware upgrade easily.

3.7 Hardware Comparison

Following tables give a quick overview about all hardware available. This includes an overview about all electronics and control boards.

3.8 Laser Marking Software STH-BeamConstruct

STH-BeamConstruct is an integrated, stand-alone laser marking software solution for nearly all kinds of laser scanner, laser CNC and mechanical CNC applications. It can be used for laser welding, cutting, engraving, marking, natural branding, milling as well as for rapid prototyping / SLS / 3D printing.

It offers more than only the common features, supports several laser scanner and CNC controllers and provides full support for industrial usage. Laser marking or milling projects created within STH-BeamConstruct can be sent to a scanner system or a mill out of the application directly or they can be used within a custom visualisation and process control application created using the OpenAPC software package.

So material processing projects generated with this application can be integrated seamless into existing machine control, there is no need to run the CAD-interface of this application within a production environment.

Some of the key features of STH-BeamConstruct:

• Several static primitives like lines, circles, spirals, rectangles, triangles, polygons, bezier-curves

• Different additional elements and object-types that can be combined with primitive geometries freely to easily create complex geometries

• Freely definable and combinable filling/hatching of elements using different complex modes and patterns including hatching of three-dimensional elements

• Dynamic elements like serial numbers, date, time, data set externally; they can be combined with (1) Text and barcode elements; (2) Text with support for all TrueType™ fonts and styles as well as speed-optimised laser-fonts; (3) Barcodes with support for DataMatrix, PDF417, EAN, UPC, GTIN, MaxiCode, Aztec, Codabar, USPS, EIHBCC-codes and much more

• Cutting of laser projects into smaller pieces that fit into the workspace and automated processing with integrated control of motion drives

• Smart Interface for Industry 4.0/Smart Factory applications

• Repeated processing of laser vector data with integrated motion controlling (one direction, rotational or X-Y-tables)

• Support for several scanner controller cards like sth-E1701A, STH-E1701C, STH-E1803D, STH-E1701M, Scanlab™ RTC4™ / RTC5™ / RTC6™ / RTCscanalone™, SCAPS™ USC-1™ / USC-2™ / USC-3™ and others more

• Full machine integration and automation possibilities via process control solution that is able to embed fully featured laser marking projects

• Full support for 3D editing and marking, all geometries can be edited and modified in all three dimensions easily without artificial restrictions

• Freely rotateable and movable 3D view to inspect generated laser projects

• Slicing of solid 3D models for 2D layer based rapid prototyping or depth engraving applications

• CAD and WYSIWYG capabilities of laser project editor

• Software available for Windows™ and Linux™

• Can be translated into every language, English, Deutsch, Russian, Chinese and others already available

STH-BeamConstruct - extensive but easy to use features:

Here shows some of the STH-BeamConstruct key functions but is far away from being a complete feature list. There are several more functions than the ones described here.

	Barcodes Support for several 1D and 2D barcodes More than 50 international barcode types including DataMatrix, UPC/EAN/GTIN, QR, Aztec, MaxiCode, several EHIBCC-types and others more Barcode parameters like size, error correction level, token expansion, inversion, quiet zone and others more can be changed freely (depending on the capabilities of the chosen barcode) Barcode segments can be replaced by dots or custom dots for some 2D types
	Texts and Font Styles Support for TrueType™ and special high-speed laser style fonts Several text effects Rotation of texts by using post-processing elements Texts can be modified during processing for dynamic content
	Fill Patterns / Hatching Filling of polygon with an unlimited, freely configurable and combineable number of hatch patterns Beam compensation according to currently used laser properties Post-processing of hatch-lines to create complex effects and patterns Several speed- and quality-oriented hatch-styles
	Raster Images / Bitmap Marking Import of all common raster image file formats such as GIF, PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF In-application editing of R/G/B components as well as contrast, brightness and gamma Support for real grayscale images, dithered black and white images, hard shadow black and white images Imported scanner bitmaps freely scaleable and modifiable Import pictures as lighttable background image to use it as template and for drawing vector marking data on top of it
	Serial Numbers, Date/Time, Best-Before-Dates Support for dynamic content that can be assigned to text and barcode elements to implement serial numbers, date/time information, best-before-dates, tracking information, production information and others more Automated and cyclic update before every marking operation Format and content freely choosable, text can be combined with counting numbers, date and time information of different styles and formats Localised date and time information Splitting direction, overlapping, object diameter, keystone correction factor and many other parameters can be defined freely Customisable formats of numbers and digits
	Splitting Geometries into Tiles Grouping of elements into a split group to process working pieces larger than the available working area Geometries can be splitted one-dimensional (X or Y direction or rotational mode) or two-dimensional (for use with e.g. XY-table) Positions where geometries are cut can be edited and modified freely Splitted parts are put together during processing by synchronous movements Splitting direction, overlapping, object diameter, keystone correction factor and many other parameters can be defined freely Split groups support all kind of elements and all combinations of them, vector geometries are cut as well as scanner bitmaps
	Projection of geometry to 3D ground shapes 3D mesh can be used as ground object Geometries then can be projected onto this 3D ground shape Can be used with 3D scanheads Allows 3D marking on irregular, freely definable surfaces Available in version 6.4 or newer
	Slicing of solid 3D models to 2D layers Sliced 3D models can be processed layer by layer for depth engraving or rapid prototyping/SLS/SLM/3D-printing applications Variable pen definitions for contour and hatch can be defined freely for first and last slice as well as pen-patterns for all other layers Support for 2D marking systems, 3rd axis can be done by external device Support for 3D marking systems, 3rd dimension is handled by Z axis of scanner Rotating hatch patterns, hatch angle can be changed automatically for every slice Slice distance and first slice offset freely choosable depending on desired model size and accuracy Support for several 3D formats like Surface Tesselation Language™ (STL), RenderWare™ (RWX), WaveFront™ OBJ, Polygon (PLY), Object File Format (OFF), 3D Manufacturing Format (3MF), 3D Studio (3DS), Additive Manufacturing Format (AMF) Import and export of already sliced data in Common Layer Interface™ (CLI) format Support-structures can be generated automatically or loaded as pre-calculated data (STH-BeamConstruct PRO only)
	Multi-head Support Several overlapping or separated working areas supported Different scanner controllers can be mixed as well as different laser types and scanheads Automatic and speed-optimised distribution of vector data over available heads and working area Simultaneous and speed-optimised marking on all available heads Support of up to 9 scanheads at the same time (9 in PRO version, up to two in free version
	Immersive Projection View Display the current project directly into the working area using a video projector Perfect view and adjustment possibilities of the current marking data during machine set-up and production Immersive technology to break the current barriers between input data and marking result Projectors mounting position and spatial distortion can be adjusted and legalised via software easily
	Vision Integrated vision system with live background image Camera calibration for image distortion Fiducial teaching and management Automatic fiducial recognition Geometry-correction based on fiducials
	3D Editing / Split View Comfortable editing of 3D data in views from top, front and side All editing functions available without limitations in these views Additional foreshortened view that can be zoomed, rotated and moved freely to inspect the model from all sides easily Split view with all three editing views and the foreshortened view shown at the same time for fast and simple editing also in case of complex models
	Pen Parameter Wizard (STH-BeamConstruct PRO only) Easy evaluation of suitable pen parameters Creates a 2D matrix with varying power and frequency values Best marking result can be used for next measurement step or for usage with current pen 100 parameter sets can be checked on one go, no more time-consuming experiments are necessary to find best values
	User- and Privilege-Management (STH-BeamConstruct PRO only) Create users, apply roles and related privileges to them Limit possibilities and functionalities that are accessible for a user Avoid users performing operations they are not allowed to do Specify password to protect user access Access to restricted functions only possible via log-in
	Industry 4.0 Smart Interface (STH-BeamConstruct PRO only) Easy to use XML interface to get production state and process data from Support for MQTT IoT notification protocol Can be used to watch the state of STH-BeamConstruct Gives one operator the possibility to easily watch several machines or production lines Allows easy integration into a smart factory and in automated production environments Can be used for traceability purposes Free Smartphone-Appavailable to demonstrate the features of the Smart Interface and to watch several machines in order to be notified on state changes Production line integration and automated operation via Hermesmachine interface (supporting The Hermes Standard protocol version 1.x)