Frame and preview
Frame the job. Preview the simulated cut.
Two checks before you start a real burn: framing (does the head actually trace where you think it will) and preview (does the simulated job match what you want).
Frame the job
Framing moves the laser head around the bounding box of the job, without firing, so you can see exactly where on the material it will land.
- Place your material on the bed under where the design is on the canvas.
- Open Laser Control (lower-right).
- Click Frame. The head moves around the perimeter, stopping at each corner.
- Watch the head. If it walks off the material or hits a clamp, stop and adjust.
If the framing path is wrong:
- Job is offset from where you expect: check the Job origin vs workspace origin Explainer.
- Job is mirrored or rotated: see Job is rotated or mirrored.
Preview the cut
Preview opens a simulated render of every move the machine will make: rapid travel, laser-on segments, and the order they happen in.
- Press
Alt+Por open the Preview window from the Window menu. - The simulation plays through the entire job at accelerated speed.
- Use the playback controls to scrub, slow down, or step through.
What to look for:
- The shapes match your design. No missing layers, no extra travel.
- The order is sensible. Engrave layers run before cut layers, so the material stays held in place until last.
- No surprising rapids. A rapid that crosses a delicate already-engraved area might smear or scuff.
If preview shows something unexpected, see Preview looks wrong.
What just happened
Framing physically tested the alignment between your canvas layout and the material on the bed. Preview ran the same planning algorithm the controller will receive, so what you saw is what the laser will do.