Any software and/or hardware guys out there?

[TL]

Yes, I'm interested, too...
I'm currently working on a plugin (using python) for Blender3D (http://www.blender3d.org) to render 3D scenes & animations to ILDA files...
Currently only convex objects will be rendered correctly, we have to change the hidden line algorithm in the next version...

Also I've started coding a small app this weekend to convert different vector graphic formats to ILDA files... (This app will get a plugin system for file formats, so different file formats can be added easily, also my aim is platform independance, at least linux & windows should be supported)
This is in delphi / freepascal (lazarus).

@Zoof:
Did you implement a sort algorithm for the point order in you SVG import?
Or do you rely on the order of the SVG objects?

Thomas

[carmangary]

I have seen BILDA but not LUMAX. Do you have a link to LUMAX?

[JimBo]

So is the software for converting image files to ILDA files?
That would be handy.

Jim

[Zoof]

3D to ILDA will be nice to have! Does your software also support 3D to svg? IMHO the .svg format will be a nice intermediate format before converting to ILDA. Once it's ILDA its less versatile.

At this time it does not have a path sorting algorithm but I have looked at it. The sorting problem has great similarity to the 'traveling salesman problem ' which is a classic problem in AI for which the optimal solution is very computational intensive. Lucky for us a very good approximation is 'next neigbour' which might take 5 lines of code

The only difference is that paths usually ends at some other point than it begins and then 'next neighbour' will be less effective. Maybe a solution would be to look for " neighbour with closest end point' or so.

For now I rely on human intelligence and format the paths in inkscape such that the order of the paths and the begin- / endpoints are designed sensibly. Inkscape gives the user a lot of control over this

[ajcleary]

I don't want to "steal Zoof's thunder", but here's the 'commercial' Lumax DAC interface:

http://www.lumax.de/

And instructions, schematics, and a board layout to build your own:

http://www.lumax.de/eigenbau/index.html

I hope you speak German

I am debating building this DAC (it already works with Mamba Black and HE-Laserscan). It has 12-bit X and Y, 8-bit RGB, a built-in frame buffer, and DMX.

[allthatwhichis]

Will that DAC work with LDS?

[carmangary]

LUMAX looks nice. Definitely better than BILDA. But there is no way I am going to attempt to wire that thing up like in their picture. Maybe if they sold a board and had an english website.

[Zoof]

Hey where did my thunder gooooooo..... Who took it ?!!

Thanks for those links, All the info for making a PCB is there. Certainly would not attempt to wire it like they did in their prototype, with one color wire
I think the price for the commercial version is in the range of easylase. Just noticed that this one does not need an external power supply, nice!

[TL]

@Zoof:
yes the software does also export to svg / pdf / swf...
But currently it simply draws planes with Z-ordering, so it's of no use for laser rendering... This is why we (the original creator of the script, Antonio from italy, and me) are currently planning to implement another algorithm for the hidden line/plane problem... BTW: here's Antonio's site with the actual script from him (without my modifications, like render specific options, a changed GUI, the ILDA export, etc...): http://shell.studenti.unina.it/~ospite/vrm/
I've implemented the "next neighbour" algorithm but this isn't the best approach, I will sooner or later implement the CPP algorithm with some modifications...

@allthatwhichis:
as far as I know the lumax doesn't work with LDS...

Thomas

[yaddatrance]

For point rendering maybe we can use tsplib to sort between the blanking and use a windy rural postman algorithm to handle connected line segments so the path is still elegant for those without blanking.