User:Rando

Hacking RDWorks

RDWorks is a proprietary program which uses a proprietary format to save projects as .rld files. These files themselves are not sent to the laser controller as-is, they are first converted to a .rd file, which is an RDCAM format, also proprietary. The RDCAM file is read by the laser controller, which is the case of Noisebridge's KaiTan CM-1309 is the RDC6442G controller.

While it would be great to hack the .rld format, so far I have only found a decoder for the .rd format. The .rd files are scrambled, but here is a tool which unscrambles them:

ruida

Note here:

How to dump '.rd' file

To dump a .rd file, use the 'SaveToUFile" button. Note this screenshot shows the model selection, which is only useful if you are using a locally installed copy of RDWorks. The laser machine is already set up.

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

How to decode a '.rd.' file

Use the decode command '/bin/decode <filename>':

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

This outputs a human readable command on the left and the actual commands sent to the laser controller on the right.

The ruida project linked above gives a key for the commands.

Opening a '.rd' file

An '.rd' file cannot be opened in RDWorks directly, but can be viewed in the 'Preview' screen.

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

In the preview screen, double click on the preview area, the black background.

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

This will pop-up a dialog to select a file.

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

This is not ideal for a complicated cut, not much can