1. Connect xTool F1 Ultra to XCS

(1) Use the USB cable to connect xTool F1 Ultra to your computer.

(2) Open XCS on your computer. On the top-right corner of XCS, click the + New project button.

(3) On the right side of the project editing page, click Connect device. 

Note: If you have connected an xTool device in XCS before, click the icon > Connect device.

(4) On the pop-up window, click the name of your device to connect to it.

Note: For more information on other connection methods, see Connect xTool F1 Ultra to XCS.

2. Select the processing mode and material name

(1) On the top of XCS, click the name of the current processing mode, and then select Process on flat surface. 

(2) In the top-right corner, click User-defined material, select the name of your material, and click Confirm.

3. Place the material and perform laser focusing

(1) Lift the protective enclosure, and place the material on the baseplate, allowing the blue light spot to fall on the surface of the material.

Note: 
- To cut a material, you are advised to place the slatted panel under the material, so as to reduce the burned area on the back of the material and protect the baseplate.

- If the material is too light, you are advised to use tools such as tape to fix the material. Otherwise, the airflow of the exhaust fan may cause the material to move during processing.

(2) Hold down on the Up/Down button for laser module to lift or lower the laser module. When the red and blue light spots overlap, the focus is successfully set.

Note: The blue light spot does not move. If the laser module moves up, the red light spot moves towards the left. If the laser module moves down, the red light spot moves towards the right.

After you finish focusing, you can see the measured material thickness in the top-right corner of XCS.

Note: xTool F1 Ultra supports auto-focus and manual-focus. Here we use manual-focus. For more information on how to use auto-focus, see Focus the Laser.

4. Shoot background and design processing objects

(1) In the top-right corner of XCS, click the Refresh background icon .

Note: XSC takes a photo of xTool F1 Ultra’s processing area and uses it as the canvas background. You can position processing objects based on the background.

Note: To ensure positioning accuracy, set the laser focus before shooting the background.

(2) Use the left-side tools to create objects on the canvas. 

Note: Ensure that the objects are placed inside the material.

Note: You can import images, insert shapes, enter text, draw vector graphics, and so on. 

(3) Select objects on the canvas. On the top of XCS, you can use the tools to further edit the selected objects.

Note: For more information on how to use XCS to design objects, see Software Learning Center.

5. Set the processing parameters and processing path

(1) Select objects on the canvas. On the right side of XCS, set parameters for the selected objects.

Note:
You need to set parameters for every object. A missed object may fail to be processed.
The parameters that can be set for bitmap objects and vector objects are different. You can select multiple objects of the same type and set parameters for them at once.

Note: For more information about the processing parameters, see The Processing Parameters for xTool F1 Ultra.

(2) In the bottom-right corner of XCS, click the icon to set the processing path.

Evade smoke: When this feature is enabled, the device follows a path less affected by the smoke to process the material.

Note: You are advised to enable this feature for scoring on materials such as wood and corrugated paper that produce heavy smoke. Otherwise, the heavy smoke may block the laser beams and interfere laser processing.

Processing path:

• Auto planning: XCS automatically plans the processing path based on intelligent algorithms.
• User defining: Manually set the processing paths for some objects.

6. Preview the processing area

You can preview the processing area on the material by framing. Framing means laser dots walk along the border of the processing objects on the material. Take the following steps to start framing:

(1) In the bottom-right corner of the software, click the icon next to the Framing button to set the parameters for framing.

● Light power: Sets the laser power for framing.

● Mode: 
In the Rect mode, laser dots walk along the rectangle border of the processing objects.
In the Outline mode, laser dots walk along the outline of the processing objects.

(2) Click Framing in the software. The laser dots will move along the boundary of the processing objects on the material, allowing you to preview the processing area.

To stop framing, click the Stop Framing button in the bottom-right corner of XCS.

Note: If the processing area is not ideal, adjust the object positions in the software, and the boundary shown on the material changes accordingly in real time.

7. Start processing

(1) In the bottom-right corner of the software, click Go to process.

(2) Preview the processing pattern and path.

In the bottom-left corner, click the button, and XCS will show you the processing path.

(3) Close the protective enclosure. In the upper right corner of XCS, click Start. When the software shows “Ready”, press the XTOOL Start/Stop button on the touchscreen controller to start processing.

Note: During laser processing, keep the protective enclosure closed or wear goggles that can shield laser beams of 455 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths.