Return to the common questions index
First it’s important to know that the Glowforge camera is only guaranteed to within 1/4” (~6mm). While it’s possible to get better performance (sometimes much better) the camera is always an approximation to some degree.
With that in mind, there are three main things you can do to get the best results with your camera.
-
Try to place your cut/engrave items in the center of the bed. Generally visual alignment is best directly below the lid camera.
-
Use the “set focus” feature.
-
Perform a camera calibration.
A tip about calibration
When performing a camera calibration you don’t necessarily need to use proofgrade material. Any light-colored, flat, and consistent material that covers the whole bed will work.
Quick thanks to @rubbersoul79 – she reminded me to point this out. She suggests using posterboard; I’ve used both cardboard and non proofgrade MDF in the past, all good alternatives. At least one person has even reported reusing a calibration board by spray painting it white and running it again.
There’s an official support page that explains all of this in detail:
The Aura has a different camera calibration process from the performance models. Here is more information about that:
Setting up your laser head will take about 10 minutes, during which you’ll print a test pattern that the app will use to make sure your laser head is where it needs to be. You’ll need one clean, flat sheet of white US letter or A4 copy paper.
You can follow the link here for that process: Glowforge - the 3D laser printer
There is also an excellent Aura troubleshooting page here:
If you need perfect accuracy beyond what the camera can provide, there are a number of techniques that use jigs. Click here to learn about jigs.