LOBO LITHO Program Notes

Lobo Litho is a simple Windows program for creating lithopane G-Code files from a bitmap image (.bmp
files).
Installation
Simply download the file lobolitho.zip and extract all files into a single folder. No formal installation is
necessary. Just double-click on LoboLitho.exe to run. Source code files for Borland C++Builder are also
provided.
Screen Controls
The screen controls are arranged on the left side – just start at the top and work your way down:
Open Bitmap Click the button to open a .BMP file. If you are starting with a JPEG, first use a photo editor
to crop the image, resize it to less than 2000h x 3000w pixels, and then save as a Bitmap file.
Lithopane X, Y Size Enter the width (X) and height (Y) of the final carved lithopane. Note the actual width
and height will be the size entered plus the tool diameter. Check the Fixed Aspect Ratio box to keep the
lithopane the same proportions as the original image.
Min, Max Depths The tool tip zero location will be the surface of the material. The maximum depth
should be less than the overall material thickness. Increasing the minimum depth will make the darker
areas of the image lighter.
X-Y Resolution This is the distance between raster lines. It should generally be between ½ and ¼ of the
tool diameter.
Safe Z Height This is the height above the material where the tool is free to move.
Feedrates These are the rates at which the tool will travel in the X & Y directions and plunging in the Z
direction when cutting.
Crosshatch in Y The lithopane is carved out using raster lines in the X direction. Checking the Crosshatch
box will create a second pass in the Y direction for a smoother image.
Create G-Code Click to create the G-code. You will be prompted for a file name.
Lithopane Tips
Material 1/8th” thick colored acrylic is a good place to start. The more opaque the material , the thinner
the final pane needs to be for good light transmission.
Cutting Tools A 1/16th” ball-end end mill is a good bit to start with. Smaller diameter bits will give better
resolution, but they are extremely delicate, especially with longer flute lengths.
Image Prep Reducing the image resolution to about 5x the desired X-Y resolution will give pretty good
results. Higher resolution images will take longer to process. Also, blurring or smoothing the image first
will reduce the amount of up & down motion when carving.