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Performance Optimization

This page helps you diagnose and resolve performance issues in Rayforge, including slow UI, sluggish rendering, and long processing times.

Common Performance Issues

Slow Canvas Response

Symptoms: - Panning and zooming feels laggy - Selecting objects takes time - Moving objects stutters

Solutions:

Simplify Complex Paths

Complex vector paths with thousands of nodes can slow down rendering:

  1. In Inkscape before import:
  2. Select path
  3. Path Simplify (or Ctrl+L)

  4. Adjust smoothing threshold to reduce nodes while preserving shape

  5. Check node count:

  6. Very detailed paths (>5000 nodes) should be simplified

  7. For engraving, detail beyond what the laser can resolve is wasted

  8. Remove hidden objects:

  9. Delete guides, construction lines, and hidden layers
  10. Only import what needs to be cut/engraved

Reduce Active Operations

Each operation adds processing overhead:

  • Combine similar operations when possible
  • Disable or delete unused operations
  • Break very large jobs into multiple smaller files

Optimize Raster Images

Large raster images impact performance:

  • Reduce resolution to what's actually needed (300-500 DPI is typical)
  • Crop images to remove unnecessary areas
  • Convert to grayscale if color isn't needed
  • Avoid extremely large image files (>10MB)

Slow 3D Preview

Symptoms: - Long delay when opening 3D preview - Choppy rotation and navigation - High CPU/GPU usage

Solutions:

Reduce Preview Quality

Rayforge may allow adjusting preview quality in preferences:

  1. Open Settings/Preferences
  2. Look for 3D Preview or Rendering settings
  3. Reduce:
  4. Mesh resolution/quality
  5. Anti-aliasing
  6. Texture detail

Simplify Operations

The 3D preview must render all operations:

  • Reduce operation count
  • Lower raster DPI for preview (doesn't affect output)
  • Disable preview auto-update if available

Update Graphics Drivers

Especially on Linux:

# Check current driver
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

# Ubuntu/Debian: Update Mesa drivers
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

# For NVIDIA cards, use proprietary drivers
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

Long G-code Generation Time

Symptoms: - Significant delay before job starts - "Generating G-code..." takes minutes - Application becomes unresponsive during generation

Causes:

  1. Complex raster engraving - High DPI on large areas
  2. Many small operations - Hundreds of small paths
  3. Inefficient path ordering - Optimization calculations

Solutions:

Optimize Raster Settings

For engraving operations:

  • Reduce DPI - 300-500 DPI is usually sufficient, not 1200+
  • Crop images - Only engrave the necessary area
  • Increase line spacing - Slightly wider spacing significantly reduces G-code
  • Use appropriate operation type - Depth engraving for 3D effects, raster for photos

Simplify Vector Operations

For cutting/contour operations:

  • Merge adjacent paths - Combine small segments
  • Remove tiny details - Features smaller than laser spot size won't show
  • Use appropriate tolerance - Don't over-optimize path ordering for simple jobs

Example: Large Photo Engraving

Before (slow): - Image: 3000x2000 pixels (6MP) - DPI: 1000 - Result: 10+ minutes generation, 500MB G-code

After (optimized): - Image: Scaled to 1500x1000 pixels - DPI: 500 - Cropped to subject area only - Result: <1 minute generation, 50MB G-code - Visual quality: Nearly identical

Application Startup Slow

Symptoms: - Rayforge takes a long time to launch - Splash screen visible for extended period

Solutions:

Snaps have some startup overhead due to sandboxing:

# Ensure snap is updated
sudo snap refresh rayforge

# Check for disk space issues
df -h

# Clear snap cache if needed
sudo snap set system refresh.retain=2

# Precompile Python files
python -m compileall rayforge/

# Use faster Python interpreter (if available)
python3.11  # or latest version
  • Close unused documents before quitting (they reopen on startup)
  • Clear recent file history if very long
  • Check for large log files that may slow startup

Import Takes Too Long

Symptoms: - Importing SVG/DXF/PDF files is very slow - Application freezes during import

Solutions:

Prepare Files in Design Software

Before exporting to Rayforge:

  1. Simplify paths:
  2. Inkscape: Path Simplify

  3. Illustrator: Object Path Simplify

  4. Remove unnecessary elements:

  5. Delete guides, grids, construction geometry
  6. Remove hidden layers

  7. Flatten nested groups

  8. Convert text to paths:

  9. Select all text

  10. Path Object to Path

  11. Optimize SVG export:

  12. Use "Optimized SVG" or "Plain SVG"
  13. Don't include metadata, editor data

File Size Guidelines

For smooth import:

  • SVG files: <5MB ideal, <20MB acceptable
  • Raster images: <10MB, reduce resolution if larger
  • DXF files: <1000 entities for fast import

Split Large Jobs

Instead of one massive file:

  • Break into multiple smaller sections
  • Import and process separately
  • Combine if needed after optimization

System Requirements

For smooth performance:

  • CPU: Modern multi-core processor (4+ cores)
  • RAM: 8GB minimum, 16GB+ recommended for large files
  • GPU: Dedicated graphics recommended for 3D preview
  • Storage: SSD preferred (faster file I/O)

Operating System

Linux

Best performance: - Recent kernel (5.15+) - Up-to-date Mesa graphics drivers - Wayland or X11 (both supported)

For GTK4/Libadwaita: 

# Ensure required libraries installed
sudo apt install libadwaita-1-0 libgtk-4-1

Windows

  • Windows 10/11 recommended
  • Latest Visual C++ Redistributable
  • Updated graphics drivers

Monitoring Performance

Check Resource Usage

# Monitor CPU and memory while running Rayforge
htop

# Check GPU usage (if NVIDIA)
nvidia-smi

# Monitor disk I/O
iotop
  • Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc)
  • Check "Performance" tab
  • Look for high CPU, Memory, or Disk usage

Enable Debug Logging

To identify bottlenecks:

# Run with debug logging
RAYFORGE_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG rayforge 2>&1 | tee rayforge.log

# Look for slow operations in the log
grep -i "slow\|delay\|timeout" rayforge.log

Optimization Checklist

Before reporting performance issues, try:

  • Simplify paths (reduce node count)
  • Reduce raster image resolution
  • Lower 3D preview quality
  • Remove unused operations/layers
  • Update graphics drivers
  • Close other applications
  • Ensure adequate free disk space (>10GB)
  • Ensure adequate free RAM (>2GB available)
  • Check for system updates
  • Try a known-simple file (single square) to isolate issue

Known Performance Limitations

Large Raster Engravings

Very large photo engravings (>100cm at high DPI) will inherently take time to process:

  • This is normal - Millions of G-code commands must be generated
  • Mitigation: Use appropriate DPI, don't over-sample

Complex Path Optimization

Optimization algorithms for ordering thousands of paths:

  • This is normal - Traveling salesman problem is computationally expensive
  • Mitigation: Reduce path count, disable optimization if speed isn't critical

First Operation After Import

Initial processing of a new file may be slower:

  • This is normal - Caching and initial calculations
  • Subsequent operations should be faster

Platform-Specific Issues

Linux: Snap Performance

Snap sandboxing adds some overhead:

If performance is critical:

  1. Consider building from source instead: 

    git clone https://github.com/kylemartin57/rayforge
cd rayforge
pixi install
pixi run rayforge

  2. Or use Flatpak (if available) - often faster than Snap

Linux: Wayland vs X11

Some users report better performance on X11:

# Force X11 session
# (Configure in your display manager before login)

Windows: Anti-virus Scanning

Real-time scanning can slow file operations:

  • Add Rayforge installation directory to antivirus exclusions
  • Add temporary directory to exclusions
  • Don't disable antivirus entirely - use targeted exclusions

Reporting Performance Issues

If performance is still poor after optimization:

  1. Provide system specs:
  2. CPU model and speed
  3. RAM amount
  4. GPU model

  5. OS and version

  6. Describe the specific operation:

  7. File import? G-code generation? UI interaction?
  8. How long does it take?

  9. With what file (provide sample if possible)

  10. Include benchmarks: 

    # Example timing information
time rayforge --import test.svg --export test.gcode

  11. Attach debug log: 

    RAYFORGE_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG rayforge 2>&1 | tee performance-issue.log