Hardware & Device Setup¶

This page covers connecting to the controller and the device-level settings under the Device menu. If you're setting up for the first time, start with First-run setup; this page is the deeper reference.

Device vs. lens settings

Device settings (here) describe the controller and galvo head — axis mapping, laser timing, frequency range. Lens settings (field size, correction, focal Z) are per-lens and live in Lenses, Corrections & Calibration.

Connecting (Device ▸ Connection)¶

Open Device ▸ Connection.
Pick your controller from the device list and click Connect.
When connected, FocuZ shows the firmware version and serial number and a green status indicator; the current lens and correction-file status are also shown.
Refresh re-scans USB. Install Driver appears when a controller is plugged in but has no WinUSB driver — see Installation & driver.

FocuZ can reconnect automatically on startup. The controller must be connected to Trace or Run.

Device Setup (Device ▸ Device Setup)¶

The one-page setup — markcfg7 import on top, lens setup below. It's the fastest way to a working configuration and is covered in First-run setup. Importing a markcfg7 is what marks the device configured and unlocks Run/Trace.

Your markcfg7 lives in EZCad2's plug folder. That one import configures everything device-wide: laser settings, rotary axis, red light, power map, and I/O port assignments. If you'd rather bring in just one of those, each has its own Import markcfg7 button on its own panel in the Device menu.

Lens settings are always imported separately, per lens — field size, correction, and work offset belong to the lens, not the machine, so they're set in Corrections for whichever lens you're configuring.

Two things an import never changes

Rotary settings merge — only the axis values in the file are applied, so your mode, roller size and split defaults survive. And I/O is never switched on by an import: assignments come across, but you still have to enable I/O yourself, because markcfg7 files often name a start-marking port.

Fiber lasers

FocuZ currently supports fiber lasers. When you import a markcfg7, FocuZ reads the laser type from it and shows it in the device summary. A fiber profile configures the device as usual. A CO2, YAG, or SPI profile is saved, but marking and tracing stay disabled for that laser type — so you can set up and explore, just not mark. Support for more laser types will come as they're verified.

Laser Setup (Device ▸ Laser Setup)¶

The full device configuration screen, in two sections: Configuration (what the machine is) and Timing Defaults (the delay/jump values layers fall back to).

Configuration¶

Importing the device profile¶

Import markcfg7 — loads device settings from your machine's markcfg7: laser type, galvo axis mapping, timing defaults, red-light and power-map values. This is the recommended way to configure the device; manual entry is for fine-tuning. (Field size, field angle, and the work offset are per-lens and import separately in the lens Corrections dialog.)
The import also returns the path tolerances (below) to their standard values. If you had tuned them, a small ↶ button appears next to each changed tolerance — click it to bring back the value you had before the import.

Galvo axis assignment¶

Galvo 1 / Galvo 2 → X / Y — which physical galvo drives which axis. This comes from markcfg7; only change it if your art marks transposed (rotated/mirrored axes).
Mirror toggles per galvo — flip an axis direction if the mark is mirrored.

If marks come out rotated or mirrored

The fix is almost always the galvo X/Y assignment or a mirror toggle here. A re-import of the correct markcfg7 usually sets these for you.

Frequency limits¶

Min / Max frequency (kHz) — the allowed pulse-frequency range for your laser (1–9999). FocuZ clamps per-layer frequency to this range so you can't drive the laser outside spec. This is a capability range for the machine, which is why it lives in Configuration rather than Timing Defaults.

Path tolerances¶

Curve tolerance (mm) — how far a curve is allowed to deviate from the line segments that approximate it. Smaller = smoother curves but more segments. It's measured at the artwork's final size, so resizing art doesn't change how smooth it marks. The default (0.01 mm) is well below a typical beam width; loosening it produces fewer points and faster marking.
Closed-path tolerance (mm) — how close endpoints must be for a path to count as closed (affects fills).

Fiber pulse settings¶

Open MO delay — delay after opening the laser's master oscillator before marking.
Enable pulse width — toggles pulse-width control (MOPA on, non-MOPA off).
Laser leak handle — closes the master oscillator between jobs on lasers that need it.

Timing Defaults¶

The device-wide delay (laser on/off, end, polygon corner) and jump (speed, min, max, limit) values. Every layer whose Timing Mode is Device uses these at mark time; layers with Custom timing override them per layer (see Timings). Values from a markcfg7 import are a good starting point; tune for mark quality.

Power Map (Device ▸ Power Map)¶

A curve that maps requested power → actual output power at 0 %, 10 %, … 100 %. Use it to linearize a laser whose output isn't proportional to the set percentage, or to cap output. Linear resets to a 1:1 map; Reset restores defaults.

Digital I/O (Device ▸ BJJCZ IO)¶

If your machine has external wiring — a start footswitch, a door interlock, a stack light, a PLC — this is where you tell FocuZ which controller port each signal uses. Ports are numbered 0–15, and NULL means "not connected". Each signal also has a HIGH / LOW button setting the level at which it counts as active.

Nothing here takes effect until you tick Enable I/O and press Save, so a machine with no external wiring is unaffected. Import markcfg7 copies the assignments out of an existing EZCad2 configuration.

Outputs FocuZ drives:

Marking IO — active while a job is marking (released as soon as it finishes).
Red Light Pointer — active while the red pointer or a trace is running.
Laser Ready / Laser Power — reserved for machines that expect those lines.

Inputs FocuZ watches, each with its own behavior:

Start Mark — starts the sequence. With Pulse Mode ticked, one press runs one job; unticked, it keeps re-running while the signal is held. Releasing never cancels a job in progress.
Laser Ready — checked once, when a job starts. If the laser isn't ready the run is blocked with a message; it is not re-checked while marking.
Door and the Stop Mark bits (0–7) — watched while marking only. If one trips, the job stops immediately and shows the message you set for it. A stopped job does not resume — restarting marks from the beginning.

A held signal never starts a job on its own

FocuZ only starts on a change from inactive to active. If a start input is already active when FocuZ launches or reconnects — a stuck switch, for example — nothing happens until it is released and pressed again. Outputs are also driven back to their idle state when a run ends and when FocuZ closes, so nothing is left switched on.

Rotary¶

Rotary-axis configuration lives under Device ▸ Rotary Setup and is covered in Rotary Marking.