Anybody think this is right?

Problems and Support
#1

So, what do you guys think? I am having problems with my glowforge where it cant even engrave a perfect circle and it looks all wobbly (my actual product that I don’t want to upload pictures of, but yes the circle is not even perfect) and also even engraving the “gift of god” you can tell the difference in the depth of the engraving. Then I get an email from tech support saying the machine is engraving how it is supposed to. WOW!!!

results
results3500×2148 677 KB

depth
depth3500×2148 694 KB

Zoom in this picture and you tell me that engraving has the same “texture/pattern” and depth/color in each one of them and you have problems with your vision or are not as detail oriented as I am

#2

Your circles look circular, and your engraving looks like it’s the same depth…what different result were you expecting?

2 Likes
#5

You don’t see the difference inside the red circles? Also look at the thickness of the little lines of the ruler. On some they are thicker than the others. To me that is called inconsistent. Zoom in the image to make it easier to appreciate

#6

Hard to see the difference from the photos/ material choice. is the problem more visible on the other product? and if so could you share a small portion of the project as to not show what it is but better illustrate the issue.

#7

I did - and other than you touching it in the 3rd one I don’t see an appreciable difference - possibly something is more obvious in real life?
Keep in mind that’s draftboard, it’s made of wood so it’s not 100% identical either.

1 Like
#9

Yes I understand that. But that is just one of GF steps to determine an issue with my machine. I dont even use the draftboard for my product. I am having some real issues with acrylic/ plastic getting random “shades/bandings” and uneven circles… but they required to do that gift of god thing

#10

Really hard to tell anything from the pic sry it really pixilated. if things are not the correct shape you can go through the belt tensioning procedure. also check that the wheels on your gantry plate are not cracked and re run the test to see if there is a change.

2 Likes
#11

Was just going to say to check belt tension and make sure there’s no debris in the track.

The engraving thing is tough without seeing what is acually going on. Most materials aren’t consistent so the engraving will have slight inconsitencies as well. But maybe defocusing the laser will help with your banding?

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#12

I checked the tension is all good. I’ve been using the GF for about 5months non stop every day mass producing my product. About 10,000 units so far. So I am very familiar with it. My previous machine was replaced because it was having issues with getting stuck on focus and some other stuff then they sent me this replacement machine that is brand new and I just got it about 5 days ago and after probably 2 days of use it started giving me problems. So, all the components seem to be intact, belts are tight , wheels are good, everything is fine… It is just not performing good enough

1 Like
#13

Hi there, thanks for the reply. I have tried so many things already, please read this reply I just typed to someone else:

**I checked the tension is all good. I’ve been using the GF for about 5months non stop every day mass producing my product. About 10,000 units so far. So I am very familiar with it. My previous machine was replaced because it was having issues with getting stuck on focus and some other stuff then they sent me this replacement machine that is brand new and I just got it about 5 days ago and after probably 2 days of use it started giving me problems. So, all the components seem to be intact, belts are tight , wheels are good, everything is fine… It is just not performing good enough

#14

Yeah, we overlapped responses. :slight_smile:

#15

no worries :slight_smile:

#16

The crazy thing is now they are telling me “it is performing as it should” Come on now Glowforge. Check my previous logs where I made somewhere around 10,000 units of my product with my previous machine without having any of these issues until the machine started getting stuck on focusing until it wouldnt just work at all. Now if I am complaining with this replacement is because there is something obviously wrong with it.

I have wasted so much material because of this, and TIME. And time is money. The least thing I want is to complain about a machine being faulty, all I want is this thing to work flawlessly and not affect my business. I dont even want to waste time opening tickets and replying to a bunch of emails, I dont even wanna be here I want to be making money but this machine is not letting me and now GF is telling me that it looks like its working fine. Come on!

#17

Yeah, hard to see with the tiny un-zoomable image - but is this art a vector? Any chance there is a node there in your art? That could cause a tiny shift in the lasers path.

I would also suggest testing to see if this is something that happens whether your art is horizontal or vertical. If it stays on the same spot despite rotating your art that points to something physical - dirt in your tracks, tension, etc. If it rotates with your art that points to an art issue.

1 Like
#18

The problem is all these issues are random. It happens then it doesnt happen, it shows banding then it doesnt for the next 4-5 prints then it does it again. The weird circle happened once and now it is not. It is very random and not consistent. The files are the same I have been using to mass produce these in the past without issues with my previous machine. This machine is brand new, only about 5 days old and problems started happening after about 2 days of use. It worked perfect for two days and now it is not

#19

I’m curious, are you entering material thickness or using set focus?

Sounds like you have been very successful, machine must have paid for itself a couple of times over anyway! :sunglasses:

#20

Yes, it has paid for itself a few times already. I just want it to work like it should so I dont have to worry about product being inconsistent

I am doing autofocus right now and before as well until the autofocus stopped working with my previous machine. I have also tried doing manual focus now but the problems persist. So many problems like not perfect circles, a wierd “shadow/banding/line” across my designs, sometimes on top, sometimes on bottom, sometimes in the center, sometimes it goes away.

Files, settings material havent changed. The only new thing is the replacement machine that is causing all this

#21

I have seen results like that a few times. I’m no authority, but I was wondering if resizing the file in the UI might have an affect. The “sometimes” it happens to me makes me wonder if it isn’t the machine but software… changing the resolution?

#22

I using vector files, not raster images so there is not really resolution to play with (unless you mean the LPI, and I have tried all those as well. Usually I do 675 but i’ve tried them all) and the file as soon as is uploaded it is automatically the right size, i dont even touch it. It is already in place using a template

#23

the way it looks (the banding/shadow) is kind of something like this:

Pattern
Pattern800×738 112 KB

its like it engraves different in certain sections making it looks like a “banding” problem if that makes sense