Accuracy issues in paper cuts

Community Support
1

I have an SVG consisting only of circles. The smallest are .02” diameter. I read that the Aura should have .001” accuracy. Is that right?

Cutting paper, and the circles are coming out pretty wonky, and the smallest ones don’t cut completely because the circle path ends don’t line up. Speed 100.

Can this be fixed? Or should I adjust my expectations?

IMG_4190
IMG_41903024×4032 3.93 MB

2

It is reasonable to expect the Aura to cut precise circles. How was this file created.

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3

Created programmatically. Literally just a series of circle tags inside root svg tag.

There was a warning about items being automatically grouped on loading it. Could that alter the geometry?

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4

I have no experience with the basic crafting machines, but it is my understanding they are super sensitive to debris which could throw off their precision.

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5

Looks like the head wasn’t moving smoothly - when did you last clean your rails? Aura can definitely cut tiny things precisely, we use one for scale model making in my office.

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It’s a new machine, opened yesterday, and I haven’t cleaned the rails. What should I use for that?

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7

I noticed that the entire rail assembly–the rails, the head, the two black things at the end–rocks back and forth a few degrees. The front rail lifts up a little bit and it pivots around a point near the back rail. I’m guessing it’s not supposed to be loose like that.

And the front-to-back movement is very squeaky.

Cleaning the rails didn’t improve the print.

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8

Based on the descriptions, you can also try resetting the laser arm (aka gantry) to address the movements struggling:

  1. Unplug your Glowforge Aura. This is very important, if this is performed with the printer on, it could damage the stepper motors.
  2. Place your hands on the black end caps on either side of the laser arm. Gently pull the laser arm all the way to the front. Apply a bit of pressure to make sure both end caps are flush with the front. If the laser arm was skewed at all, you’ll feel it snap into place.
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    image1350×1080 111 KB
  3. Now, still holding on to the end caps, gently push the laser arm all the way to the back. Again, apply some pressure to make sure both end caps are flush with the back. You may feel the gantry “stepping” on one of the sides if it was not fully square.
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    image1350×1080 122 KB
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I tried that, and that’s when I really noticed the squeak. I had done that when I unboxed, and tried it a couple more times while I was troubleshooting.

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10

I appreciate the quick response. Since that failed, I would contact support for the next steps to resolve this. Mention that you’ve tried to reset the laser arm using the steps provided, and the other troubleshooting tried. That can save you some troubleshooting time overall. Thank you.

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11

Ok, I will do that. Thanks to everyone who helped.

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out
Here’s my SVG file with the little circles that fail if anyone else wants to try cutting out of paper. I’m curious to see how good it looks on a working machine. (URL is https://community.glowforge.com/uploads/db6859/original/3X/7/7/77a1561aad7310099e6f9443d46beb61217c3652.svg)

BTW I’m having much bigger issues than this, so I think I just got a lemon. Not a good first experience with Glowforge.

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13

Well, it’s not the file… I don’t think I’ve ever seen my GF’s dance like that! :rofl:

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image1732×1236 190 KB

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14

Thank you for trying it out! Still working through it with support.

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