Rayforge 1.3 - Bezier Curves in Sketcher, Modular Architecture
Rayforge 1.3 brings bezier curve support to the parametric sketcher, a new unified path tool, more efficient G-code output, and moves the sketcher to an optional add-on.
Bezier Curves in the Sketcher
The headline feature for this release is full support for bezier curves in the parametric sketcher. The old line tool has been replaced with a new unified path tool that seamlessly combines lines and curves.
You can now:
- Draw smooth bezier curves with intuitive handle-based editing
- Connect curves to existing geometry - the path edit tool can snap to existing points in your sketch
- Make endpoints smooth or symmetric when they're connected by a coincident constraint - perfect for creating seamless curves
- Convert bezier curves back to straight lines with the new "straighten" tool
This has been one of the most requested features, and we're excited to see what you create with it.
Sketcher is Now an Add-on
Continuing the modularization work from version 1.2, the sketcher has been moved to an add-on. It's installed and enabled by default, so existing users won't notice any difference. But if you prefer a minimal setup without parametric sketching, you can now disable it.
This change also comes with new extension registries that make it easier for add-on developers to extend Rayforge.
Sketcher Quality-of-Life Improvements
The sketcher received several smaller but impactful improvements:
Grid Tool A new tool to toggle grid visibility for better alignment.
Conflicting Constraints When constraints conflict with each other, they're now highlighted in the panel so you can quickly identify and fix the problem.
Show/Hide Controls New toggle buttons let you show or hide construction geometry and constraints individually.
Shift Constrains Movement Hold Shift while dragging to constrain movement to the nearest axis - great for keeping things aligned.
Cleaner Background The gray background area is now hidden for a cleaner editing experience.
More Efficient G-code
Rayforge now produces more compact G-code by omitting unchanged coordinates. If you're cutting along the X-axis, for example, only the X coordinate will be emitted on each line. This makes files smaller and cleaner, and makes the old "no-Z" dialect variants obsolete (they've been removed).
The G-code viewer also got some updates:
- Shows line count and byte size
- Always displays at least the first 20,000 lines
Raster Operation Enhancements
New settings for sample interval and power levels give you more control over your raster operations. These are particularly useful for fine-tuning results on materials that need precise power management.
Other Improvements
- All icons normalized to 32x32 viewbox for consistent appearance
- AI workpiece generator now creates sketches when the geometry can be mapped
- Updated translations
Bug Fixes
This release fixes many issues:
- Fixed fillet and chamfer tools not working correctly
- Fixed texture encoder drawing spaced dots instead of lines in some cases
- Fixed G1 being emitted without coordinates when all coordinates were unchanged
- Fixed loading project files with unknown assets
- Fixed issues when disabling and re-enabling add-ons at runtime
See the CHANGELOG on GitHub for the complete list.