Rayforge 1.7 Beta - CO2 Laser Support, OctoPrint, Parametric Text
Rayforge 1.7 beta expands hardware support to CO2 and fiber lasers, adds an experimental OctoPrint driver, brings template expressions to the sketcher text tool, and improves image processing accuracy across the board.
CO2 and Fiber Laser PWM Settings
Rayforge now understands that not all lasers are diodes. A new Laser Type dropdown in the laser head settings lets you choose between Diode, CO2, and Fiber. When you select CO2 or Fiber, a dedicated PWM section appears with controls for frequency and pulse width -- including configurable min/max bounds.
These settings flow through the pipeline, so each operation step can use or override the defaults. The Ruida driver already leverages them for native frequency and pulse width commands.
OctoPrint Driver (Experimental)
A new driver lets you submit G-code directly to an OctoPrint server over the network. It connects via WebSocket for real-time status updates and falls back to REST polling when needed. Setup requires just a hostname and an API key, and the driver includes a "Request Access" flow that walks you through OctoPrint's application key system.
This driver is labeled experimental and has not been tested on real hardware yet. If you have an OctoPrint setup, your feedback would be invaluable.
Parametric Text Templates
Text boxes in the sketcher now support template expressions using curly braces. Any sketch parameter or input variable can be referenced:
{width}resolves to the current width value{name}resolves to a string input parameter{sqrt(area):.1f}evaluates math and formats the result
Built-in functions include {today()} for the current date, {now()} for a
full timestamp, and {uuid4()} for a unique 8-character identifier. This makes
it easy to label parts with live dimensions, date-stamp production pieces, or
generate serial numbers.
Linear Light Image Processing
All image processing -- resizing, grayscale conversion, dithering, and color LUT gradients -- now operates in linear light instead of sRGB. This produces more accurate interpolation when scaling and better dithering quality, especially for gradients and fine detail where sRGB's nonlinear curve used to cause banding.
Other Improvements
- Sculpfun iCube Ultra device profile added
- Grid toggle in the 3D canvas visibility overlay
- Debug log can optionally include the project file
- Device profile selector received visual improvements
- Tab power slider is now hidden for non-cut steps
Bug Fixes
- Fixed GRBL buffer overflow on devices with smaller RX buffers
- Fixed parametric text not updating correctly with volatile expressions
- Fixed crash in MergeLinesTransformer when a cutting command appeared before any positioning command
Special Thanks
This release was made possible with the support of our Patreon supporters: Amsel, froqstar, old-man-and-the-seam, pghpete, Derek McTavish, and four anonymous supporters.