Can you give me some support? I have no idea how to fix this. I have restarted and tried over a couple of days. I have laptop engraving projects waiting and can’t make mistakes. I have run a few tests on the back side of a different laptop, using a small “plus sign.”
As you can see in the photo (attached) the actual engrave ends up being off and to the right of the actual placement of the object in the GFI. I am too scared to actually engrave these laptops taking into account for the alignment issue. This is just not something I want to guess.
Up to a 1/4" offset is the current spec if everything is inputted properly.
Entering the material height as accurately as possible is paramount to getting the best alignment. Calipers are imperative. This could be difficult on some laptops that may have a curved surface.
If it were me, I would either
A. Cut a cardboard jig to put the laptop into. You’ll need to know the laptop dimensions. In your design software, align the design to the cut outline. After you cut the jig and place your laptop (you have to keep the jig in the exact same place as when it was cut), you can then run your design.
B. Mask the surface of the laptop and run a very light power operation, like your plus mark, to make sure it’s where I want it to be (say, 1 inch in and down from the top left corner). When I’m happy with that location, I would process the job.
Since you’re using very non-standard material, I don’t know that support is going to be much help to you and this will probably get bumped to beyond the manual.
As @jbmanning5 stated, entering an accurate thickness of the laptop is very important. My laptop has tiny rubber feet on the bottom to allow air circulation underneath when used on a desk top. When put on a crumb tray, those feet will also raise it up higher so make sure those feet are included in the material thickness.
If you use this approach (which I do), make sure that you don’t move anything between the operations (cutting the cardboard and engraving the laptop) and that includes the design on screen as well as the cardboard itself (you’ll probably want to tape this down).
It’ll be tempting to move the design on the screen because it’ll look off by the amount you’re seeing.
Something to watch out for is if the cardboard cutout doesn’t match the intended size. This can happen if you’ve got the “hitting something on the right” problem that some folks have. You might give the right side as big a margin as possible just in case.
Thanks, @Tom_A.
I also use Chrome. I don’t believe I was using zoom (I only did it for the screenshot) but it’s great to know that you haven’t had that issue in Chrome (and it may just be a Safari issue).
We’re still working on recognizing devices like MacBooks and iPhones. This question is outside our team’s scope. I’ve moved it to the Beyond the Manual so the discussion can continue there.
@Rita Thank you for your response.
My issue was not with a Mac Book, nor was it for an iPhone.
I’m using Chrome on a new iMac, running OS High Sierra version 10.13.2
