Build a material library

Turn calibration time into permanent savings. Save tested settings as presets you drop onto any layer.

The Material Library is where calibration results live. Once you have run a material test, a focus test, and an interval test for a material, save the results so you never have to guess again.

What you need

Calibrated settings for at least one material (from running the quality tests).
~5 minutes per preset.

Steps

1. Open the Material Library panel

The Material Library panel is docked lower-right by default.
If hidden, open from the Window menu.

2. Create a preset

Two ways to start:

From scratch:

Click + Add. A new preset appears in edit mode with default values.

From an existing layer:

Select a layer in the Cuts/Layers panel that has the settings you want.
Click From Layer in the Material Library panel. A new preset is pre-populated.

3. Fill in the details

Name: descriptive (e.g. "3mm Birch. Engrave", "Cardstock. Score").
Material: the material type ("Birch plywood", "Acrylic", "Leather").
Thickness (mm): material thickness.
Operation: Line / Fill / Offset Fill.
Speed: in your current display unit.
Power %: 0-100.
Passes: 1 or more.
Notes: anything you want to remember.

4. Save

Click Save.

5. Repeat for each material × operation

For a material, you typically have separate presets for:

Engrave (Fill mode, lower power, faster speed).
Score (Line mode, low power, fast).
Cut through (Line mode, full power, slow, multi-pass for thick material).

6. Apply a preset to a layer

Select a layer in the Cuts/Layers panel.
Find the preset in the Material Library.
Click + (Apply) on the preset row.

The layer's settings update. Job done.

Naming convention

A consistent naming scheme makes the library scannable. Suggested:

<material> <thickness>, <operation>

Examples:

Birch 3mm. Engrave
Birch 3mm. Cut
Acrylic 3mm. Engrave
Acrylic 5mm. Cut

The library groups by material name then by thickness, so consistent material naming helps.

Export writes JSON of your full library.
Import reads the same.

Useful for backing up, sharing with another maker, copying between machines.

Re-calibration triggers

Re-test (and update the preset) when:

The machine is serviced (new lens, new tube, new motor).
A new batch of material has different surface treatment.
You notice cut / engrave quality declining.

Verify it worked

The Material Library has presets covering your common materials.
Applying a preset to a layer updates its settings correctly.
Future projects start with one click instead of re-tuning.

Build a material library

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