Trotec Ruby®

Dear Trotec Support Team,

We are writing to report significant software bugs in Trotec Ruby regarding the processing of native Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files. These issues severely disrupt our daily workflow and lead to scrap manufacturing output.

Issue 1: Clipping Masks and Unexpanded Strokes When we create path objects with strokes in Illustrator and place them inside a clipping mask, Ruby fails to parse and render them correctly unless the strokes are manually expanded beforehand (Outline Stroke / Expand).

• See attached screenshots: Image 1 shows the original .ai file with perfect, dense diagonal lines inside the mask. Image 2 shows the exact same file imported into Ruby, where the masked strokes are dropped, broken, or heavily distorted at the mask boundaries.

Issue 2: Hidden Layers and Objects Visibility Furthermore, Ruby sometimes (not always) does not respect the visibility states saved within the .ai files. Layers or individual objects that are explicitly hidden in Illustrator become visible once imported into Ruby. This forces us to permanently delete reference or alternative design elements before importing, which ruins our file management.

Impact on Workflow: Currently, to achieve a successful cut/engrave, we are forced into a destructive editing process: manually expanding all strokes and permanently deleting all hidden layers. This removes our ability to easily adjust the graphics later. If these workarounds are missed, the laser produces a faulty, unusable physical product.

Request for Full Compatibility: We urge the development team to thoroughly investigate and overhaul the .ai file parsing engine in Ruby. We need full and seamless compatibility with native Illustrator files, which includes the correct, out-of-the-box handling of clipping masks, live strokes, and respecting hidden layer states.

We look forward to your prompt response and a fix in an upcoming software update.

Best regards,
Kaufmann András