Fiber Galvo (experimental)

The Windows installer and portable download include JC3's native USB support and driver helper. JC3 talks directly to the controller; it does not need EZCAD running in the background.

If Windows has assigned the configured board to the JCZ/EZCAD driver, JC3 offers Install JC3 Driver & Reconnect. Close EZCAD and LightBurn first, accept the confirmation, and approve the normal Windows permission prompt. JC3 backs up the existing driver, switches the exact configured controller to WinUSB, verifies the assignment, and reconnects. Connect only one matching Balor board during a switch.

To return to EZCAD, choose Machine Configuration → Controller → Windows Driver → Restore EZCAD Driver. JC3 prepares and releases the controller before restoring its preserved driver. Approve the Windows permission prompt, wait for completion, then close JC3 and open EZCAD. Driver changes are always explicit; simply starting JC3 or cancelling the prompt leaves the assignment unchanged.

Restore requires a backup made by JC3 before the switch. Keep that backup with the machine's settings. The currently verified Windows setup starts with the machine's JCZ driver already installed; a Windows installation with no controller driver has not yet been validated.

Set Type to Laser, Laser Machine Class to Fiber Galvo, and Controller Adapter to Balor LMC. The controller page holds the board identity and source/controller preset. Each installed lens has its own name, usable field, and optical correction values.

The selected lens is authoritative: its usable area becomes the field shown in Laser, the boundary used by placement tools, and the correction model uploaded when the controller is initialized. Changing lenses no longer means remembering and retyping one global field size.

The compact Fiber Galvo panel shows the connection state, Frame/Contour choice, Repeat Count, Continuous, Light, Mark, and Completed Runs.

• Light (F1) toggles the red-pointer preview. Frame traces the overall bounds; Contour follows the included geometry. Press F1 again or Escape to stop.
• Mark (F2) runs the current enabled Vector Mark and Hatch operations in their displayed order. Set a finite repeat count or enable Continuous. Press F2 again or Escape to stop.
• Light and Mark prepare the latest work automatically. Fiber Galvo does not show a separate Generate step or a generated-toolpath preview.
• While Light is active, moving or nudging artwork and changing Frame/Contour updates the projected path at a safe list boundary. A preview cycle never mixes old and new geometry.
• While Mark is active, geometry and process settings stay locked to the job that actually started. They unlock after completion, stop, disconnect, or fault.

The Light and Mark controls are green when ready and red while active, with the Escape action shown on the active control.

Fiber Galvo adds placement tools aimed at laying artwork against the red light:

• Arrow keys nudge the current selection. Set Nudge (in/mm) in the selection's transform HUD, beside X/Y, rotation, and mirrors—not in the Browser. The distance follows your preferred units and remembers your setting. Shift moves 10 times that distance and Alt/Option moves one tenth.
• Ctrl/Cmd+G groups selected parts. Groups can contain groups, appear as expandable nodes in the Sheets tree, and move, copy, delete, and receive operation changes as one selection.
• Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+G ungroups one level.
• Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+C centers the current selection or group in the installed lens field. Ctrl/Cmd+C remains Copy.

The Fiber Galvo canvas stays close to what the machine follows: exact operation-colored contours and Hatch-area feedback. Solid CAM part fills and generated path overlays are hidden for this machine class, while normal clicking, marquee selection, and transforms remain available. CO₂ Laser rendering and posting are unchanged.

The badge reports Connecting, Connected, Offline, Busy, or Fault. Recoverable disconnects retry automatically, but JetCad3 never resumes Light or Mark on its own. The controller lease can remain ready while you visit another workspace; changing the active machine, explicitly disconnecting from the badge, or exiting the app releases it.