No additional software or driver installation is required to run the LAP projection in SA.
Set a fixed IP address on your computer which is compatible with the address of your projector(s) gateway. The default address of the gateway should be 192.168.100.112, therefore your computer needs an IP address added of 192.168.100.X, where 0 < X < 255 but is NOT 112.
Note that SA’s interface is designed to only connect to a single projector at one time and it will automatically connect to the first projector on the network.
Select Instrument>Add and choose the LAP CAD-Pro Laser Projector
Now run the instrument interface module by pressing Connect. Or in the classic menus select: Connect.
SA will try to detect if you have the default network address set and will warn you if you do not as follows:
If you see an error such as “No Projector Found at Connector -XS1, Try connecting to -XS2”, open a web browser and log onto the controller gateway by entering the projector’s IP address in the address bar (192.168.100.112) and log in with user name “admin” and password “LAPLASER”. Under “Control“ you can check whether the expected “SynchroNet16” protocol is active:
Use the Toggle FoV and + button to visualize the field of view and the center cross of the instrument and to ensure that the alignment targets are completely within the view of the projector.
The laser beam must be focussed to optimally project contours onto a surface. Focussing is possible only for laser projectors with a green laser source. Laser projectors with red or multi-colour laser sources are focussed at a fixed customer-specific distance at the factory.
To focus a green laser do the following, using the remote:
On the remote press the <Focus> button twice and select the laser projector to be focussed via the <F1> ... <F9>, assuming you have more than one projector on the network. At this point the yellow LED will flash indicating that it is in focusing mode and can be focused.
Focus the sight cross-hair with the “>” and “<” buttons at the remote control to make it thin and sharp on the surface.
When done pres the <focus> button again.
There are two methods of aligning the projector in SA: Automatic and Manual.
A manual alignment must be performed first to initially locate the instrument in the job file.
Automatic alignments can then be used to quickly align using an existing saved alignment and to refine an existing alignment during operation.
To perform an auto alignment, use the Alignment File [...] button in the LAP Laser Projector dialog to find a preexisting registration file to use. Once selected, Click the Auto Align button, and the projector will auto measure the alignment points and the transformation from the measured points to the current point locations will be used to align the projector within SA.
In order to perform an initial manual alignment perform the following steps.
Measure at least six reflector positions with a separate instrument or import the target locations. Point can be imported using File Menu>Import>ASCII Text File Formats>Import Text File (e.g. with the PointNameXYZ filter as points in millimeters).
Double check that the alignment points are in the projectors field of view. Located in the Aim section of the instrument interface is the Toggle FOV and + button. Also check that a location to save a Registration data file (in .txt format) has been selected in the dialog.
Select Instrument>Laser Projector>Align Laser Projector
Select the instrument to align and then the measured point group for alignment.
Use the manual alignment utility pictured in to point the laser at each registration point in order by name. To do so, click and hold while dragging the mouse. This drives the laser pointer relative to the cross hairs in the dialog and, in turn, drives the projector beam to the reflector point. Once aimed correctly, right-click to scan the target. You can adapt the projected search frame size by editing the field “Search Rad”.
After each of the individual target locations have been identified in this fashion, these points will automatically be re-measured and the alignment will be performed.
Alignment results are recorded within the Instrument History (right-click menu) and include the raw values currently available:
An additional copy of the Alignment File is made automatically. The copy will be in the same directory as the alignment file, with “_copy” appended to the name. If the Manual Alignment is canceled, the contents of the “_copy” file will be written back to the original file so that the original alignment is rest.
The LAP Interface provides the tools to project points as well as objects in SA. To project an object it must be added to a part file. These part files are then used to build the laser path definition for the projector. A single part may contain several patterns and additional patterns can be added to an existing part file. Take note of the part selection mode, “From SA” radio button options, prior to projecting a new object:
Below the part selection is a button that by default states “Filter: NONE SET ”. This button offers the ability to apply filter projects to reduce the number of via points and increase the speed of projection.
Optional filters are:
Minimum Angle. When a given triplet of projection via points forms an angle less than this value, the central via point is removed. This ensures that ‘flat’ sections of the projected shape will contain fewer points, and areas with curvature greater than or equal to the minimum angle contain more.
Number of Points. So long as the number of via points is greater than this value, the total number of via points is forced down to this value. Ideally, the specified Number of Points should be close to an integer factor of the total number of via pts. If, for example, the Number of Points specified is 30, and the initial number of via points is 60, then every other via point is skipped by this filter.
Minimum Distance. Via point pairs are evaluated, and the first is removed if the pair is closer than this value. The remaining point is then evaluated with the next one.
Colors can be set in the interface for projectors that support the green, red, yellow options. If you are projecting, you can even set the “Add to Part” option, and set the color to create multi-colored projections:
In order to project patterns from a previously created part file, simply browse to the file using the Pattern (Part) File button in the interface.
Click Current to project the part shown in the selection path. You can utilize the Pause and Resume buttons to control projection of the current part file and the patterns it contains.
Select Next and Previous to toggle through part files in the same folder as the current part shown in the Part File Edit box.
In the From SA section of the interface , select Add to Part or Make New Part.
Select Instrument>Laser Projector>Project Objects. You will then be prompted to select the instrument (if you have more than one in the job).
Set the color to use for the projection, LAP supports Red, Yellow and Green.
Now select the objects you wish to project. Doing so will create a file using the name of the first object selected for projection if you have Make New Part selected. If you chose Add to Part, it will add the selected objects to the current part file.
Projecting objects with the same name and make new part selected will replace the existing part.
Project Objects | This is NOT a string command, but a standard MP command. Note that the arguments are “Instrument ID” as with any other command, and “Objects To Project”. This second argument can be selected from the SA job, or for a projection object (perimeter, b-spline, etc.) that has been created within the MP, this can be a reference to that object or objects. |
Stop Projection | This stand alone command cancels any projection from the selected instrument. |
Align Laser Projector | This command will initiate the manual “mouse drive” alignment procedure, referencing the Point Group’s points by name. |