# Layout Simulator **URL:** \ **Category:** How do I ... ?\ **Created:** [January 23, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234 "2025-01-23T19:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SupaMic](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/supamic/32/22880_2.png) [@SupaMic](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/SupaMic)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/1 "2025-01-23T19:19:36Z")
[https://maslowcnc.github.io/Layout-Simulator/](https://maslowcnc.github.io/Layout-Simulator/) Thank you so much @bar for the Layout Simulator, I am debating building a frame on a size restricted wall but was unsure how big the actual cutting zone would be and this simulator gave me a much better idea of how the belts would be affected by my anchor placement. I’m curious though what do the colour codes mean exactly, can the yellow/orange zone still be cut but less reliably or only areas that are completely green are available? This is the image I have for 2590 H x 2750 W ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/3/a/3a61fa3db352198156c48599c35faf193d4147a8.png) ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/2 "2025-01-23T20:24:44Z")
Basically you are correct. It’s not that you can’t cut in the yellow or orange zones, it’s just that it might be a little less accurate. It will still work, it’s just not ideal conditions ---
**Author:** ![SupaMic](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/supamic/32/22880_2.png) [@SupaMic](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/SupaMic)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/3 "2025-01-23T20:57:40Z")
Do you think slowing down the speed of cuts in these areas may improve accuracy or since it is just at the limits of certain tolerances wouldn’t make enough of a difference? or is that something I should test and share 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/4 "2025-01-23T21:07:59Z")
Bar wrote: > Basically you are correct. It¢s not that you can¢t cut in the yellow or orange zones, it¢s just that it might be a little less accurate. It will still work, it¢s just not ideal conditions when this is doing the arm/frame collision, is it only checking adjacent arms, or does it check opposite arms (which is the bigger problem than the adjacent ones) David Lang ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/5 "2025-01-23T21:11:14Z")
Michael wrote: > Do you think slowing down the speed of cuts in these areas may improve > accuracy or since it is just at the limits of certain tolerances wouldn’t make > enough of a difference? or is that something I should test and share 😉 it depends on the cause of the problem. If the issue is tension, slowing down can help. But if the issue is the arms hitting the frame, the problem is that the distance from the bit to the anchor is shorter than the machine thinks it is, so you will lose accuracy no matter what the speed. at small angles between the arm and the belt, the difference in length is small, but as the angles get larger, the error gets larger rapidly. see the error bands at [http://lang.hm/maslow/maslow4\_frame.html](http://lang.hm/maslow/maslow4_frame.html) if the belt + arm is supposed to be 1m long angle effective length 1 999.98 2 999.921 3 999.822 4 999.684 5 999.507 6 999.29 7 999.034 8 998.738 9 998.403 10 998.029 David Lang ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/6 "2025-01-23T23:09:42Z")
Both I believe, it is looking at the minimum and maximum angle between each arm and it’s neighbors ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/7 "2025-01-23T23:35:38Z")
Bar wrote: > Both I believe, it is looking at the minimum and maximum angle between each arm and it’s neighbors you need to also look at the angle between top left/bottom right and top right/bottom left if those angles get \< ~130 degrees, the arms are hitting. the angle that they have with each other (even with sled rotation) are what cause the rounded corners in my frame calculator. They turn out to hit the uprights much more than the side angles. David Lang ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/8 "2025-01-24T18:06:26Z")
I’m checking for the minimum (20 degrees) and maximum (130) degrees between each pair of arms and then scaling the color of the canvas at that point by how large the angle is. I think that there ends up being a lot of area where it’s touching, but because it’s a very small deflection the color doesn’t change much ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/9 "2025-01-24T20:10:02Z")
Bar wrote: > I’m checking for the minimum (20 degrees) and maximum (130) degrees between > each pair of arms and then scaling the color of the canvas at that point by > how large the angle is. I think that there ends up being a lot of area where > it’s touching, but because it’s a very small deflection the color doesn’t > change much right, but you are not checking for the 130 degree minimum angle between opposite belts. as you pull towards the top right corner, the top left and bottom right arms will hit the frame. no arms to adjacent anchors will have any problem in that situation. would it help if I did a diagram showing this? that’s the reason my plots of good look like footballs you are far more likely to have a sharp arm to belt angle in the corners than you are on any of the sides. David Lang ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/10 "2025-01-24T20:29:35Z")
Oh I see! That is a great point. We’re talking about the minimum angle between these two belts? ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/maslowcnc/original/3X/5/c/5cee006188f283979e68bd2a2245b2bb3b314f2b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![dlang](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/dlang/32/859_2.png) [@dlang](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/dlang)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/11 "2025-01-24T21:07:38Z")
exactly, the point at which those two arms hit the uprights. In my plotting, that is by far the most limiting factor ---
**Author:** ![bar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/forums.maslowcnc.com/bar/32/10_2.png) [@bar](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/u/bar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://forums.maslowcnc.com/t/layout-simulator/23234/12 "2025-01-24T21:20:11Z")
That is a great catch, I’ll add that to the simulator Edit: It’s been added, thank you for catching that! You are totally correct that it’s a more significant source of error than the adjacent arms which I didn’t realize