Supported Sand Tables and Output Formats

Every table SandPath targets, its bed size in millimetres, and which file format it expects.

A kinetic sand table is defined, as far as a pattern file is concerned, by three things: whether the bed is round or rectangular, how big it is in millimetres, and which file format the controller expects. SandPath ships a profile for each supported table so you do not have to know any of that off the top of your head — but if you are choosing a table, or building one, the details below are the ones that matter.

The profiles

Circular tables and .thr

Every circular table here — both Oasis models and all three Sisyphus models — takes theta-rho files. Each line holds an angle in radians and a radius normalised from 0 at the centre to 1 at the rim.

Because rho is normalised, a .thr file is resolution-independent: the same file draws correctly on a 165 mm Oasis Mini and a 622 mm Sisyphus Coffee Table, just at different physical scales. This is genuinely useful — a pattern you like transfers between tables without reconversion.

What does not transfer is fine detail. A 3 mm feature on a 622 mm table is 0.5% of the radius; the same fraction on a 165 mm Mini is under a millimetre, far below what a ball roughly 10–15 mm across can physically carve. Detail that looks crisp on the big table can disappear entirely on the small one.

All circular profiles cap out at a max_rho of 0.95 rather than 1.0. That 5% margin keeps the ball clear of the rim, where sand piles up and the magnet's pull is least reliable. SandPath clips your paths to that limit rather than letting a design run off the edge.

Rectangular tables and G-code

The ZenXY by V1 Engineering is the rectangular table in the lineup, and the one you build yourself. It uses G-code — the same numerical-control language CNC machines have used since the 1950s — with a deliberately small vocabulary: G21 to declare millimetres, G90 for absolute positioning, G0 for rapid travel moves, and G1 for draw moves.

The 500 × 350 mm default matches a common ZenXY build, but since it is an open-source design with no fixed size, the profile is a starting point rather than a specification. Enter your actual bed dimensions if yours differs.

Unlike .thr, G-code coordinates are absolute millimetres, so a G-code file is not portable between differently-sized tables. Converting again for a different bed is the correct move, not an inconvenience to work around.

Custom tables

If your table is not listed — a homebuilt polar rig, a modified kit, a commercial model SandPath does not yet profile — choose Custom Circular or Custom Rectangular and enter the bed dimensions. The shape choice is what determines the output format: circular gives you .thr, rectangular gives you G-code.

Two things to measure before you type numbers in. Use the sand bed diameter or dimensions, not the outside of the furniture; the enclosure is usually several centimetres larger than the drawable area. And if your controller expects a different rho ceiling than 0.95, convert with a slightly smaller bed size to reproduce the same safety margin.

Choosing a size

Larger tables are more forgiving of detail and more impressive in a room, but they take proportionally longer to draw — a pattern that takes twenty minutes on an Oasis Mini can run well over an hour on a Sisyphus Coffee Table, because the ball is covering several times the distance at a similar speed.

If you are converting photographs or dense line art, the bigger beds genuinely help. If you mostly want geometric patterns and spirals, a Mini renders them just as cleanly.

Ready to convert something? Open the converter, or read how the conversion works.