Using HagoLaser

Your EzCad3 Settings, Imported: First Run Focus and Pens in HagoLaser

Getting a new laser up and running, or switching software, means figuring out your machine's specific settings. This guide walks you through how HagoLaser finds your existing EzCad3 parameters and sets your focus correctly from the first job, avoiding costly mistakes with silver.

19 August 2026 · The HagoLaser team · 9 min read

Your EzCad3 Settings, Imported: First Run Focus and Pens in HagoLaser

Your First Run: Finding the Machine's DNA

Getting a new laser to cut and engrave correctly is rarely plug-and-play. For us, at Joyería HAGO in Málaga, it meant weeks of trial and error, losing valuable sterling silver to bad settings. When we wrote HagoLaser, we made sure the first run would import your existing machine settings, so you can mark on day one. This guide explains how HagoLaser finds your EzCad3 pens and crucial focus height, and what to check before you start. HagoLaser is a Windows desktop program designed for galvo fiber lasers that use BJJCZ DLC2 controller boards – the machines that typically run EzCad3. It talks directly to your machine's board via USB.

A Note on Laser Safety

Before we get into any operation, a critical safety reminder: A fiber marking laser is a Class 4 device. The invisible 1064 nm beam and its reflections cause permanent eye damage instantly. Always wear laser safety glasses rated for 1064 nm (with an OD suitable for your source power), and ensure anyone else in the room does too. Metal is a mirror; reflections go everywhere. Never leave a running job unattended. Ensure proper fume extraction with a suitable filter to protect your health from metal particulates. Software interlocks are not true safety; physical enclosures and interlocks are your real protection.

The USB Driver: An Important First Step

The single most common hurdle for new users is the USB driver. To communicate directly with your DLC2 board, HagoLaser requires the generic WinUSB driver. The installer bundles the standard tool needed to switch it. It is crucial to understand that while WinUSB is installed, EzCad3 will not work. The two drivers are mutually exclusive. If you need to switch back to EzCad3, you must uninstall the device in Windows Device Manager (remember to tick "delete the driver software") and then reconnect the USB cable. We state this upfront because anyone needing to use EzCad3 daily should be comfortable with this process or test HagoLaser on a machine where the driver switch is not an issue.

Where Your Machine Settings Live

Most affordable galvo fiber lasers ship with a BJJCZ controller board and EzCad3 software. EzCad3 keeps all your machine's critical configuration in its PARAM folder. These files are the machine's calibration and are worth backing up before you modify anything. The key files HagoLaser needs from your existing installation are: HagoLaser's first-run wizard finds your EzCad3 installation and reads these files directly from your machine. We never ship or redistribute any JCZ files; we simply interpret what is already configured on your system.

Focus Height: The Number That Saves Your Silver

This is, hands down, the most important setting to get right, and the one that cost us the most silver. For months, our own software needed many more passes to cut than EzCad3, and we couldn't figure out why. The reason was simple: our Z reference was about 2.1 mm too high, so every cut ran out of focus. Fixing this reference immediately fixed our pass count. Your machine's factory-calibrated focus lives in EzCad3's Motors.ini as the m_dFocusPos value. On our machine, this value is -59.6 mm. This number represents the head position (Z axis) at which the platform surface is perfectly in focus. When you cut sheet material, the top surface of the material is one thickness above the platform. Therefore, the rule for setting your Z height is: Z = focus position + material thickness Let's look at this with our machine's focus position:
Material Thickness Calculated Z Height Our Machine's Actual Focus
0.25 mm -59.6 mm + 0.25 mm = -59.35 mm -59.6 mm
0.5 mm -59.6 mm + 0.5 mm = -59.1 mm -59.6 mm
0.8 mm -59.6 mm + 0.8 mm = -58.8 mm -59.6 mm
1.0 mm -59.6 mm + 1.0 mm = -58.6 mm -59.6 mm
Note: The "Our Machine's Actual Focus" column shows the fixed calibrated point. The "Calculated Z Height" is what you set the Z axis to. We verified this the hard way: a Z height of -58.6 mm cuts 1 mm sterling silver, but -56.5 mm (just 2.1 mm of defocus) does not cut at all. A ±0.5 mm error is barely noticeable visually, but 2 mm kills the cut completely. If your cuts suddenly get worse and nothing in your file has changed, check your focus height before you touch power settings. A bent jig, thicker material, or a platform that shifted can all manifest as "the laser got weaker." HagoLaser imports your m_dFocusPos from Motors.ini during the first-run wizard, so you start with your machine's true focus reference. You then simply tell the software your material thickness, and it calculates the correct Z height.

From EzCad3 Pens to HagoLaser Recipes

EzCad3 uses "pens" to define different marking operations. Each pen holds a complete set of parameters: speed, power, frequency, pulse width, number of passes, and various timing controls. HagoLaser imports these pens and translates them into "material recipes" in its internal materials library. For example, our workshop's EzCad3 pen for silver engraving used these parameters: These values, specific to our 100 W MOPA source and how we engrave sterling silver, are what HagoLaser imports. You can then assign these imported recipes to specific colors in your drawing, creating a streamlined workflow. If you want to dive deeper into what these settings mean for different operations, we have a detailed article on marking, engraving, and cutting differences.

The Color Workflow: Drawing the Job

Our daily workflow at the workshop centers around drawing the piece in Inkscape (free software) using specific flat colors to define operations. HagoLaser reads these colors directly from the SVG file. During the first-run wizard, HagoLaser also installs a special HagoLaser palette into Inkscape's user palette folder. You need to select this palette in Inkscape (click the small arrow button at the right end of the color strip at the bottom of the window). This palette contains our workshop's default colors, labeled by their function: These are defaults; you can assign any imported EzCad3 pen recipe to any color in HagoLaser's Colors library. The critical thing is that any color in your drawing that isn't assigned to an operation simply won't be marked. This is useful for alignment marks – draw a guide in an unused color, and HagoLaser will project it with the red aiming light without firing the laser.

Working with Inkscape Day-to-Day

Our practical loop is designed for speed:
  1. Load the palette: Once installed, select the HagoLaser palette in Inkscape. The swatches will show you which color corresponds to which operation. The most common first-run confusion we hear about is people drawing with Inkscape's default blue, which is not the same blue (#0000ff), resulting in nothing being engraved. Use the palette swatches!
  2. Use one working file: We keep a single SVG file – ours is literally called 1.svg – loaded in HagoLaser. We draw the next job directly in that file in Inkscape, save it, and then simply press "Mark" in HagoLaser. There's no re-importing, no file dialog, no export step.
  3. Save and Mark: HagoLaser re-reads the SVG from disk every time you mark. If you press "Mark" and get the previous design, it means you didn't save your changes in Inkscape. That's the entire failure mode.
  4. Design in millimeters: What you draw at 20 mm wide in Inkscape is marked 20 mm wide on the metal. The document is your workpiece.
This workflow means that a new design can be drawn, colored, and fired without touching machine settings, and it's easily shareable within a workshop. For more on streamlining your workflow, check out One Click from 'Silver 0.8 mm' to a Finished Piece: The Materials Library.

Practical Takeaways for Your First Run

When you first download HagoLaser (it's free, currently in beta, and offered as-is at hagolaser.com), here's what we would do:
  1. Back up your EzCad3 PARAM folder. This is your machine's brain.
  2. Run the HagoLaser installer. Follow the steps to install the WinUSB driver. Be aware this will temporarily prevent EzCad3 from working.
  3. Start HagoLaser. The first-run wizard will guide you through finding your EzCad3 installation and importing your settings.
  4. Verify your focus. Go to the Focus tab. The Focus Position will be your imported m_dFocusPos (e.g., -59.6 mm for our machine). Place a piece of scrap material on your platform, enter its thickness, and ensure the calculated Z height looks reasonable.
  5. Install the Inkscape palette. Open Inkscape, go to the bottom right of the color palette, and select HagoLaser.
  6. Draw a simple test. In Inkscape, draw a small square in black (#000000) and a small circle in blue (#0000ff). Save the file.
  7. Frame and test. In HagoLaser, load your Inkscape file (it should load automatically if you kept one open). Use the red light to frame your design on a piece of scrap material.
  8. Do a low-power surface mark. Before trying a full cut, reduce the power on one of your imported recipes significantly (e.g., to 10-20% for a light surface mark). This lets you confirm the laser fires and the galvos move as expected without cutting through.
  9. Adjust for your material. Once you've confirmed basic operation, you can start dialing in the power, speed, and passes for your specific material. Remember, our numbers are for our machine and our silver; you'll need to prove them on your own scrap. For cutting silver, we have shared our measured curve for how many passes it takes.
This process should get you from installation to your first test mark quickly, using your machine's own proven settings as a starting point.