Tutorials

ILDA files on SD card - use with Laserworld Proline Series units and similar

The following procedure describes how the Laserworld Showeditor (FREE) can be used for creating ILDA-files that can be used with the SD card of the Laserworld Proline Series Lasers (model 2015 and newer, may apply for older models and models of other brands and manufacturers as well).

General information about how the SD card playback of the Laserworld Proline Series works:

The *.ild files reside on the SD card. Use a random SD card reader/writer to save files to the SD card (most modern laptops have a built-in SD card reader).

The *.ild files must be saved to folders on the SD card – they can only be called when they are in a folder. The folder name must not be longer than 8 characters. The ILDA file name must not be longer than 8 characters and must not contain special characters.
Each folder must hold one very important file: The *.prg file. This is a text file that is used for the configuration of the scan speed and the repetition rate of the frames, so it is mandatory!

The *.prg file can be opened and edited with the Windows Editor / Notepad or any other text editor.

  1. Create the ILDA file:

    The major procedure for creating and saving an ILDA file is as described in the tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SBy5xuKvX0

    Some steps are slightly different, these are described below:

  2. Save and export the ILDA file

    When saving the drawn figure as *.ild file, select “optimize figure”, then specify a file name – it must not exceed 8 characters in length! You can directly save it to the SD card (if inserted to your card reader), but remember to save it to a folder (see “General information” above).

    As ILDA standard type select standard Version 6

  3. Create folder, copy ILDA file

    You can either use the existing folder on the SD card to store your ILDA frames to, or you can create a new one (see “General information” above, remember to not use more than 8 characters). Copy the file(s) you have created to the folder of your choice. Remember that the file name must not be longer than 8 characters. You can use up to max. 254 ILDA files in one folder.

  4. Edit the *.prg file to make the files accessible

    For making the files accessible to the laser, it is mandatory to enter then specifications of the ILDA file in the *.prg file. To do so, open either the existing *.prg file in a text editor (e.g. Windows Editor / Notepad), or create a blank, new *.prg file in the new folder. The *.prg file structure is very simple – it’s just a text file with settings per ILDA file. One ILDA file per row.

    The syntax is like this:

    FILENAME.ILD, 20, 300
    FILENAM2.ILD, 30, 500
    FILENAM3.ILD, 25, 10

    The first entry is the name of the ILDA file, in the example, first row: FILENAME.ild
    The second entry after the comma specifies the scan rate in kpps the ILDA file shall be played at, in the example, first row:  20    (which means 20kpps)
    The third value after the second comma specified the frame repetition rate and controls the duration of the frame (and repetition speed of animated figures);, in the example, first row:  300

  5. Using the ILDA files with the laser projector

    Insert the SD card to the SD card slot of the laser. It can happen that it automatically reboots the laser if it’s switched on at the time of card insertion. Select “SD Card” as operation mode.  Select the very folder you have created/want to use on the display.

    1. Automatic playback of the whole folder:

      If the control mode is set to “ILDA PRG”, the whole folder is played back automatically, respecting the play duration specified in the *.prg file. The playback loops.

    2. Automatic playback of single ILDA files:

      If the control mode is set to “ILDA Play”, it is possible to select the very ILDA file that shall be played back. Select it and the IDLA files will play in a loop.

    3. Use the saved ILDA files over DMX control:

      Set the DMX address in the address settings of the laser. Then use the following DMX channel settings to access the files individually:

      Channel 1 values between:        150 – 199
      Channel 2:                                select folder
      Channel 3:                                select the ILDA files you have saved, one file per channel value.

       

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