Using the Machine Efficiency Analyzer
The Pathhaus Machine Efficiency Analyzer is a free tool at pathhaus.com/tools/node-counter that shows you exactly how much time your laser or plotter wastes on two things: excess path nodes that cause stuttering, and unoptimized head travel that sends the machine criss-crossing the workpiece between strokes. Upload a full SVG file to get the complete picture — or paste a single path d attribute for a quick node count.
The two ways a file wastes machine time
Most operators know about node count, but head travel is often the bigger problem. Nodes affect smoothness and cut quality — excess nodes cause micro-direction changes that slow the machine down and roughen edges. Head travel is different: it is the distance the machine head moves between paths with the laser off or the pen raised. On a dense text job, the head can spend more than half its total movement time traveling between letters in inefficient order. Path reordering — rearranging the order in which paths are drawn to minimize total travel — eliminates this waste without changing the artwork at all.
Single-path mode: paste a d attribute
Paste any SVG path d attribute into the text area and the tool instantly shows the node count before and after RDP simplification for three machine presets: Laser (tight tolerance, preserves detail), Plotter (smooth curves for pen plotters), and Cricut (loose tolerance for craft cutters). A preview shows both the original and optimized path overlaid. This mode is useful when you want to check a single glyph or stroke before including it in a larger design.
Multi-path mode: upload a full SVG
Upload an SVG file with multiple paths and the tool switches to full efficiency analysis. It shows: total node count across all paths before and after RDP; total pen-down distance (the actual drawing); pen-up travel distance before and after path reordering; and travel as a percentage of total machine movement. The before/after progress bars make it immediately clear how much of the machine's movement is wasted. A file with 60% travel overhead means the machine spends more time repositioning than drawing.
The travel overhead bars
The two bars show travel as a percentage of total machine movement — before and after reordering. This ratio is speed-independent and works for any machine. A typical unoptimized text file runs at 40–65% travel overhead. After path reordering, the same file usually drops to 8–20%. The absolute travel distance numbers (shown below the bars) are in SVG coordinate units — if your SVG is in mm (common for laser files), these are millimeters.
Time estimate with speed inputs
The time estimate section shows how long the job takes before and after optimization. Default speeds are 200 mm/s draw and 800 mm/s travel — typical values for a CO2 laser engraver at standard text settings. Click "configure speeds" to enter your machine's actual values. The estimate assumes SVG units are millimeters. If your SVG uses different units (pixels, points), the absolute times will be off but the percentage savings will still be accurate.
Next steps after analysis
To apply both optimizations and export a machine-ready file: open Pathhaus Studio, import your SVG, run the Travel Optimizer and RDP preset, then export in your required format (SVG, DXF, HPGL, or G-Code). Pathhaus SLF fonts ship pre-optimized — typically 60–80% fewer nodes than converted TTF outlines, with path order designed for minimal travel.
Try it in Pathhaus Studio
Free to start — optimize and export your first font file in under 5 minutes.