EcubWare 4.2.1 Manual

Software Operation Manual

EcubWare 4.2.1

Build:202012

Contents

1.System Environment Installation And Startup
  1.1 Running Environment
  1.2 Install OpenGL
  1.3 Install NET Framework 3.5
  1.4 Install EcubWare
2.FDM 3D Printing Function
  2.1 Introduction of Interface
  2.2 Menu Bar
  2.3 Printer Management
    2.3.1 First Use EcubWare
    2.3.2 Select Printer from Menu
   2.4 Model Import
     2.4.1 Import Model by Main Menu
     2.4.2 Import Model by Tool Menu
    2.4.3 Import Model by Mouse Drag
  2.5 Model Parameter Settings
  2.6 Parameter Setting for Printing
    2.6.1 Recommended Settings
    2.6.2 Custom
  2.7 Slicing And Save
   2.8 Right Mouse Button Function
  2.9 FDM Single Color 3D Printing
  2.10 FDM Dual-Color 3D Printing
3.Laser Engraving Function
  3.1 Open Laser Function from Menu
  3.2 Supported Image Format
  3.3 Introduction of Interface
  3.4 Supported Image Format
  3.5 Step by Step Export Process
  3.6 Print Speed Recommended Value List
4. CNC Carving Function
  4.1 Open CNC function from Menu
  4.2 Interface of the Function
  4.3 Import Vector
  4.4 Import Bitmap
  4.5 Import Gcode
  4.6 Create Customs Text
  4.7 Create Shape
   4.8 Create Embossed
   4.9 Problems And Solutions
    4.9.1 The Vector File Cannot Be Opened
    4.9.2 Gcode Generated by Bitmap File Has Border
5.Language Switching
  5.1 Chinse to English
  5.2 English to Chinse

“Ecubware” is a multi-functional software which includes FDM 3D Printing function, Laser Engraving Function and CNC carving function. All the software generated file(* . gcode) is available for TOYDIY models made by EcubMaker, the utility model has the advantages of convenient switching of functional modules, fast slicing speed and reasonable path generation, and the powerful function of complete visualization of 3d model and tool path.

1.System Environment Installation And Startup

1.1 Running Environment

Windows running environment: Windows 7 or above.

Network connection: Networking recommended

Graphics card: Support OpenGL

1.2 Install OpenGL

OpenGL is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface for rendering 2D and 3D vector Graphics. Used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. If there is no “Opengl 2.0” or above drive for the graphics card on the user's computer, it will affect the opening and use of the EcubWare software. In general, the default display adapter version is lower after the system is installed, as shown in the following figure.

Select the display adapter (default display after system installation: Microsoft basic display adapter)

Without the OpenGL driver, the following error occurs when running EcubWare software.

Update the graphics driver. Following is the way to solve the problem.

Move mouse to “Search the web and Windows”

Input “Device Manager”

Pop up “Device Manager”

Select “Display adapters”and “Microsoft Basic Display Adapter”

（Default display after system installation：“Microsoft Basic Display Adapter”）

Right-click to update the driver

(The computer needs to be connected to the Internet)

click “Search automatically for updated driver software”

Searching online for software...

Downloading driver software after found

Installing driver software after downloaded

The installation was successful and the correct graphics card name was displayed

Then check to see if the software is open properly

If you open it properly, the problem was solved. If it couldn’t open , it's probably because the graphics card doesn't support OpenGL or other compatibility problem.

1.3 Install NET Framework 3.5

If NET Framework 3.5 or above is not installed, the following prompts pop up when you run the Laser Function Software , as shown below

Install the NET Framework 3.5 and above by solution 2: When your computer is connect with internet , Click "Download and install this feature" as shown in the image above. After clicking, the following status will appear until the end of the installation.

1.4 Install EcubWare

Step 1: double click the installation package， File self-extracting……

It will check three items, Each failure will result in the abnormal operation of EcubWare software. If check ok, you can click “Next Step”,or click “Skip Over” to next step.

Step 2: After setting the path, click next

Step 3: Click next

Step 4: Choose what you want to install. If this is the first installation, select all the options that need to be installed. Then Click "Install"

Installing……

2.FDM 3D Printing Function

The main printer used in this module include TOYDIY 4in1 3D Printer（TOYDIY 4in1 FDM ToolHead/TOYDIY 4in1 FDM-Dual ToolHead）、FANTASY PRO4 and TOYDIY 4in1 3D Printer 2.0（TOYDIY 4in1 FDM ToolHead/TOYDIY 4in1 FDM-Dual ToolHead）

2.1 Introduction of Interface

The main interface includes “Menu Bar”, “Parameter settings bar”, “View Bar” and “Model Parameter toolbar”. You can change the printer's information in the Menu bar and open the expert settings. The parameter setting area is the Main functional area, where the user enters the various parameters needed for slicing and generates a better G-Code file based on these parameters. View area is mainly used to view models, put models, management models, preview slice path, view slice results.

2.2 Menu Bar

The function mainly includes opening and saving model file, setting parameter, adding model, help and so on.

2.3 Printer Management

2.3.1 First Use EcubWare

The first time the EcubWare opens, the "Add Printer" dialog box appears. As shown below, select the name of the printer that corresponds to the desired tool header. The default is "TOYDIY 4in1 FDM ToolHead" (FDM tool header) .

2.3.2 Select Printer from Menu

Open the software interface, in the main menu, "Add Printers" , add the printer you want.

2.4 Model Import

The software has a variety of way to import the model, users can choose to import models according to preferences.

2.4.1 Import Model by Main Menu

“File”-”Open File(s)”

2.4.2 Import Model by Tool Menu

Find the toolbar on the left side of the software ，among,

Import model. You can load 3d models in a variety of formats, such as stl, obj, Dae, and AMF. Or you can use the Load model File from the File menu, or you can use CTRL + l. Load a camel file, and the software can make some changes to the model, such as translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring.

Visit the official website. Some information can be downloaded from the home page.

Model download. On the page, you can download some * . model files in *.STL format

2.4.3 Import Model by Mouse Drag

To import a model, click on the model stored on your computer and drag the model into the main interface of EcubWare.

2.5 Model Parameter Settings

For the betterment of the perfect printing result, the model needs to be adjusted to the appropriate position and size. Users can do this by using the “Model Parameter toolbar”.. Here's how it works：

Move : The checkerboard in the view area is the print platform area. Press and hold Left Mouse Button to the arrow and move Up-Down, Left-Right to re-position your Model on the Platform. Use Press and Hold Right Mouse Button to Rotate the whole platform. model can be placed anywhere in the area. Rotate Mouse Wheel to Zoom-In, Zoom-Out the model to see the details view.

Scale: Model Scaling Transformation, set the appropriate scaling percentage. Once the model is selected, click the Scale button and you will see three squares on the model surface representing the X, Y, and Z axes. Click and drag a box to scale the model by a certain multiple. You can also enter a zoom factor in the zoom input box, the box to the right of "Scale * " . You can also enter the exact Size value in the Size input box, which is the box to the right of "Size * " , making sure you know which dimensions represent the model on each axis. In addition, scaling is divided into "Uniform scaling" and "Non-uniform scaling" , the default use of Uniform scaling, that is, the scaling menu in the lock state. To use Non-uniform scaling, just click on the lock. Non-uniform scaling can turn a cube into a cuboid. Reset will return the model to its original shape, and To Max will scale the model To the maximum size the printer can print.

Rotate: Click Rotate, and you will see three rings on the surface of the model, the colors are red, green, and blue, representing the X, Y, and Z axes. Put the mouse on a ring, Right click press and drag can make the model around the corresponding axis rotation of a certain angle, it is necessary to note that only allow users to rotate 15 times the angle. If you want to return to the original position, you can click the Reset button on the Spin Menu. The Lay flat button automatically rotates the model to a flatter position at the bottom, but it doesn't guarantee success every time.

Mirror: Click on four arrows or two green icons to mirror the original image. Once the model is selected, click the Mirror button to Mirror the model along the X, Y, or Z axes. For example, a left-handed model can be mirrored to a right-handed model.

2.6 Parameter Setting for Printing

Print parameter settings are divided into "Recommended" and "Custom" parameter settings.

2.6.1 Recommended Settings

“Recommended” can Be understood as a Default parameter setting. Import the model and do the model parameter settings then Click “Slice” to export the Gcode. No need any further modification on your Print Setup. The Software is on default state.

Among them,

To select a printer, the printer in the drop-down menu must be added through the main menu "Add Machine" , or it will not be displayed.

Material. The default material is "PLA-T200" . Different materials have different properties. If you want to add material type, you can click, then click "Management Material... " , modify material new, modify material information, print settings, etc. .

Material Management

：0.1 and 0.2, print effect configuration, select by dragging the black dot with the mouse. The number represents the height of each layer. The smaller the number in the options, the finer the print, and the longer the print time. Generally, 0.2, or 0.2 mm in height, is the faster the print speed.

：Fill setting. Drag the black dot with the mouse to achieve the size of the value. Set the filling rate according to the actual needs, if not for load bearing, the recommended filling rate of 20% .

Enable Gradient: If enabled, the fill density will gradually increase as the print height increases.

:Some irregular protrusions need to be supported for better print effect. If not used, the protrusion will collapse. Selecting it will create a support structure under the model to prevent the model from sagging or printing in the air.

：Adds a flat area around or below an object that can be easily cut off. When this option is checked, the Raft function is enabled. If it is not checked, there is no substrate. The specific parameter settings are edited in the next section, "Print Parameter Settings. ".

2.6.2 Custom

Custom parameter list, the default display commonly used parameters, for more parameter settings, please click the parameters next to the small button gear, as shown in the following figure.

2.7 Slicing And Save

There is a "Slicing" button in the lower right corner of the main interface. After the slice parameters are set, the status message will display the "slice", prompt button. It says "slicing... " in progress, and when it's done, it tells you how much material you're going to consume, in meters (m) , and in grams (G) of material.

2.8 Right Mouse Button Function

After importing the model, you can click on the model, and then click the right mouse button, pop-up right-click function, easy to operate the model. The functions are as follows:

Center Selected Model: After the model has been modified, enlarged, reversed and other operations, the model is not necessarily in the center of the platform, click this option to make the model center display.

Delete Selected Model: Delete the model selected by the left mouse button.

Multiply Selected Model: Copy the model selected by the left mouse button.

Select All Models: Select the models that appear in the platform. Clear Build Plate: Empty all the models on the print platform.

Reload all models: If you accidentally delete a model from your platform, you can use this feature to restore the deleted model to the print platform and redisplay it.

Group models: select several models into a group for easy moving and scaling together.

Merge Models: Combining two mutually exclusive models into one, mostly for two-color printing. SPLIT MODEL: SPLIT The merged model.

2.9 FDM Single Color 3D Printing

In single-color printing, there is only one type of material on the printer, and the support or platform is attached to the same material. The steps for slicing a single piece of material are as follows:

Step 1: Select a printer

Step 2: Import the model

Step 3: Set parameters if no special requirements, the default print parameters can be.

Step 4: Slicing and Save

The "Slicing" in the lower right corner of the software interface, slice the model, after processing, click "Save to File" , the GCODE file produced will save to the disk.

2.10 FDM Dual-Color 3D Printing

Step 1: Select a printer

Step 2: Import the model

Step 3: Set parameters

Select one of the models and right-click on "Extruder 1: "

Select one of the models and right-click on "Extruder 2"

Step 4: Merge the model

Right Click to select all models

Right click and select "Merge Model"

Click the model and right-click to select "Center Selected Model"

Step 5: Slicing and Save

In the previous step, click "Slicing" in the lower right corner of the software, and then click "Save to File" to save the production slicing path to disk

3.Laser Engraving Function

3.1 Open Laser Function from Menu

Select ”Laser ToolHead”

Select ”Yes” to open EcubMakerLaser

3.2 Supported Image Format

Supported Image for this Software is: *. BMP, *. JPG, *. Png.

3.3 Introduction of Interface

①：Main menu. “File” menu includes importing picture files, opening last opened files and saving ‘Gcode’; “Language” can be switched between Chinese and English, and restart after switching; “Extra” menu divided into “online help, “official website “and “sub-menu”.

②：Parameters Menu.

High Quality Bicubic: Suitable both for enlargement and reduction, produce smooth images interpolating pixels.

Nearest Neighbor: Preserve hard edges scaling the image without smoothing any pixel.

Grayscale and RGB sliders. If you open a colored image, conversion from color to grayscale is needed. You can choose between a predefined color to grayscale formula (Simple Average, Weight Average or Optical Correct) or select the “Custom” option and manually define the dominance of each RGB component.

Original HQ Bicubic Nearest Neighbour

“Custom” is useful when importing graphic images such as clipart, and we want to control the darkness/lightness of individual color.

Brightness,Contrast and BW threshold. With brightness and contrast you can darken or lighten the image, as well as increase the contrast .

With BW option you can activate a threshold on the image: pixels brighter of the threshold will be considered white, darken will become black.

All of these options affect how the various tools process the image and produce the final result. Since different materials behave differently when they are engraved with laser, it is essential to play with these options to find the best combination for the desired result.

③：With “line to line” tool you can engrave high quality images with realistic shades of grey. Note that not all engraving materials are suited for this process: some materials does not react linearly with laser power end they exist only as burned or not burned state making it difficult to reproduce a grayscale. In these cases we suggest to use “dithering” tool.

④：Laser engraving direction can be chosen horizontally, longitudinally and obliquely. The bigger the quality value is, the more points it presents and the easier it is to carbonize. Therefore, different values can be set according to different materials. Generally, the recommended values are 10 rows/mm and 5 rows/mm for wood materials.

⑤：Set the engraving speed and image size. The engraving speed is about 300, which can also be adjusted according to the actual measured object. The width and height represent the actual size of the engraving.

⑥：Image tool

：Ratate 90° clockwise ：Ratate 90° Counter-clockwise

：Flip image horizontal ：Flip image vertical

：Crop image ：Inver Color

：Revert all changes

⑦Laser Engraving Preview: The ideal effect is a little different from the reality. Original picture: imported original picture

⑧：Graphic display area

⑨Import: Import picture files; Slice: Transform graphics into gcode files recognized by machine; Save: Save as gcode files.

3.4 Supported Image Format

Bitmaps: *.bmp,*.png,*.gif and*.jpg

Vector Graph (Optimizing):*.svg

3.5 Step by Step Export Process

Setting Carving Parameters：

Among them: “Quality” The denser the point is, the greater the value is, the denser the display is, and the reference mass value is 10.

Air speed. Represents the movement speed of the laser head in the non-sculptured area of the image.

Carving speed: Represents the moving speed of the laser head in the sculptured area. The recommended value of refractory materials should not be too high.

Generating engraving files：

Save files（gcode）：

3.6 Print Speed Recommended Value List

Material	Carving speed(mm/min)	Quality(line/m)
Triple plywood	240	10
Kraft cardboard	300	10

4. CNC Carving Function

This software is used for carving software of TOYDIY model produced by Ecubmaker. Support to import vector map, bitmap, Gcode preview.

4.1 Open CNC function from Menu

Select ”CNC ToolHead”

Select ”Yes” to open EcubMakerCNC

4.2 Interface of the Function

①：File open button. Vector graph supports opening "*. SVG", "DXF". Bitmap files support "*. JPG", "*. JPEG" *. BMP "," *. GIF "," *. PNG ".

②：Create a drawing. You can create text and simple shapes.

③：Zoom the drawing. If x and y are greater than 180mm and out of the range of the platform, the graphic size displays a red warning.

④：Rotate the shape. It supports 90 ° clockwise, 90 ° anticlockwise, flip, horizontal mirror and vertical mirror.

⑤：Parameter settings. Set the engraving speed, engraving depth and Z lifting height after carving is done . After setting, restart the software to take effect. The carving speed affects the carving effect. The carving speed of different carving materials can be set differently. Generally, the smaller, the better, but the longer the carving time.

⑥：For the display of empty path, this option must be checked when importing and saving the drawing, otherwise the engraving will be inaccurate.

⑦：Graphic display area. The preview area.

4.3 Import Vector

The supported vector graph formats are *. SVG and *. DXF, but not all supported vector graphs can be opened. It is recommended to use *. DXF files.

4.4 Import Bitmap

Note: In general, all supported bitmap formats can be opened, but some bitmaps have a border around them after they are imported into the software.

4.5 Import Gcode

4.6 Create Customs Text

4.7 Create Shape

4.8 Create Embossed

Enter the text to be created this software does not support the function of creating relief, but provides a tool to create relief, that is, the fusion360 of Autodesk company. For details, please refer to "fusion360 create relief download address" and "fusion360 create relief tutorial".

4.9 Problems And Solutions

4.9.1 The Vector File Cannot Be Opened

A. Problems in graphics (line color, encrypted, etc.)

B. Tool problem generating vector file.

4.9.2 Gcode Generated by Bitmap File Has Border

Generally with the bitmap file itself line or color problems.

A. Check that the show moving path option is checked.

B. Test the *. SVG format file that comes with the import software. If you can import the customized image again.