It seems that there isn't any easy way in Fusion 360 to create a toolpath for a laser to etch/fill a shape.
My intended use, and one I imagine would be quite common, is to burn text into wood. I use a Stepcraft (with their DL445 laser), and given that I also am often milling the wood project with the router attachment as well, it is much preferable to keep the job within the same program/co-ordinate space. (so far I've had to switch to Inkscape or V-Carve, but on some complex projects this can become quite a hassle). My current projects are a box full of custom-milled pockets for tools/bits ( ideally with text labels for these locations), and a large 'ruler' growth chart (with routed out lines for the scale, ideally with text labels)
It seems the post-processor for Stepcraft UCCNC has code for a laser cutter (and fusion seems to largely be built around using lasers only for cutting profiles), but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to fill/burn in a shape with the laser. If I make a dummy tool and do a pocketing path, there are a lot of challenges arising (for a mill, raising the bit stops the cutting, while for a laser this doesn't stop the burning - it needs a separate command, etc).
It would be quite nice if Autodesk built this feature into fusion - laser pocketing/filling. If one were to get quite sophisticated, it would allow the user to specify the density/spacing of the laser paths, the power, as well as possibly the orientation of the paths themselves.
Thanks!
Ben
(Fusion 360, Stepcraft 2 - 600, DL445 laser, UCCNC)
