Oh yes. Just recently I accidentally entered 0.1 inches when the actual height was 0.01 inch. I was shocked how far off the alignment ended up—slightly more than 1/4” where I was expecting about 1/16”. You really should invest in a set of calipers. You can get them fairly reasonably and often on sale, and it’s probably the tool you’ll use the most.
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The thickness is imperative for getting the camera view as accurate as possible. This is the difference that, if I remember correctly, 1/32nd of an inch can make.
I think with the current software you can still see up to a 1/4” error between the job location and the camera view.
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That’s good advice. I was kind of thinking I’d just check my materials against the proofgrade stuff but since I never got those in the mail (where are they??!) I’m kind of shooting from the hip. Calipers will be on my next grocery list 
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Wow! Super helpful, thanks. That actually gives me peace of mind to know maybe my accuracy is the problem.
That said, I’m trying to figure out how I’ll be engraving things on items that are preassembled. I guess it’ll just take lots of practice and hope? Even 1/4" is a pretty big offset if you’re wanting to place text on the bottom edge of something etc.
If you do a search of the forums, a few people share their techniques for getting perfect alignment. It seems to work well for them! Much better than hoping 
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You can pick up some digital calipers for $10-15 on Amazon (or at Harbor Freight). Or if you’re lucky even less. I got mine for $6 on Amazon thanks to a coupon code.
The cheap Chinese ones are more then accurate enough for measuring materials thickness. You’ll probably find lots of other uses for them too. (I know I have!)
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Yes. @tim1724 is absolutely correct. If there is a Harbor freight nearby it’s worth a drive. (They also have those interlocking EVA foam tiles as well.)
The 4 inch stainless ones are nice enough, they are heavy though. I have used the composite ones they have in the past, they are much lighter, but are not as accurate as the stainless models.
Amazon has them as well.
Unless you really need high repeatability and precision, and can’t suffer some minor fit an finish details, you really don’t need to spend much money here.
I hate so sound all Glowforgey party line, but check with some proofgrade draftboard in there. Find something small to print in a corner and test.
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One of the easiest ways to ensure good alignment is to incorporate a jig cut or score in your project.
For example, if you want to engrave a logo on a cutting board.
First make a mockup of the cutting board in your vector art program. Place your logo on the mock up in the exact place you want to etch the logo. Make sure the mockup and the logo are different colors. This will allow you to toggle them on and off for later steps.
Second place a piece of paper on the crumb tray and secure it with magnets or masking tape.
Load up your .svg of the mockup and the logo into the GFUI. Set the logo to ignore and the mockup to manual cut 1% power, 500 speed, and focus .010". When you hit print the laser will draw/burn your mockup on the paper.
Without moving the paper, open the GF and place the cutting board directly inline with the mockup on the paper.
Go back to the GFUI. Without moving any of the objects set the mockup to ignore and the logo to your desired engrave settings (don’t forget to change your focus distance). When you hit print the laser will engrave the logo exactly where you want it.
I’ve personally used this technique to make board game minatures with front and back engravings. It works very well.
I find ikea mala drawing paper works well for this technique. It’s inexpensive and is wide enough to cover the entire cut zone of the laser. You can get about 58 jigs out of a single roll.
When I first got my GF I had similar questions about alignment. Everyone one very helpful. I did some experiments trying to map the error you can look at the thread here:
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This is exactly what I needed! Thank you!! I need to read it again to really understand. But it makes sense to use some sort of jig in coordination with the camera. I know this system will be great once I get the hang of it, (much better than the crazy system I went through to cut anything out on the chinese laser I was using) but for now it’s just a learning curve. I feel like its like driving an automatic car after driving a stick shift all my life… Do you know if there are any youtube videos out there with someone explaining this? I’m a visual person…
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huh?
EVA foam is safe to cut on the laser. It’s about a half an inch thick. Commonly used for costumes, and tool drawer inserts.
Harbor freight carries digital calipers made out of stainless steel and another type of caliper made of a carbon fiber like material.
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Ahhh nice! Ok. Thanks, I’ll give that a try!
Thanks for the great help in this thread, all! @alicia1, it sounds like you’ve already taken the time to do some troubleshooting - thanks so much for that!
Most alignment problems come from the material being closer or farther from the camera than expected. While the software is still improving, you can take these steps for the most accurate alignment results:
- Use Proofgrade™ materials.
- If you don’t use Proofgrade materials, use a precision set of calipers to measure your material, and enter the thickness in the “uncertified materials” dialog.
- Use material that is not warped or tilted.
- Place your design near the center of the bed.
- Clean the area underneath your crumb tray, particularly the four indentations on the floor.
- Reboot the machine. Alignment can drift over time, particularly if you bump the head of your Glowforge while removing material.
If you’re still seeing seeing alignment offset by more than 1/4", could you please do the following for me?
- Turn off your Glowforge
- Check for small pieces of debris or dust:
- Check the lower door to make sure it closes all the way. It may require some force to open, but open it, wipe any dust off the edges, and close it all the way
- Remove the tray and clean any dust or debris from the surface underneath. Pay careful attention to remove all debris from the four dimples where the tray rests
- Check the lid to make sure it closes all the way. Small particles of material, such as dust or debris, can prevent it from closing completely
- Check the surface your Glowforge is on to make sure it’s flat. Ensure it is not twisted slightly and that there is no debris propping up one side of the machine
- Turn your Glowforge back on
- We included an extra piece of Proofgrade Draftboard with your materials shipment for troubleshooting. Place Proofgrade Draftboard in the center of the bed and print the Gift of Good Measure using the default settings
- When the print finishes, without moving your artwork or your material, take a screenshot of the workspace to show us the difference between the artwork placement and the actual print placement. Make sure to include the rulers in your screenshot and show as much of the bed as possible
- Mac: Press Shift-Command-4 and click and drag a box around your image. You’ll find the screenshot file saved on your desktop.
- Windows: Click on the Start Menu and search for the Snipping Tool. Open the Snipping Tool > New then click and drag a box around your image. Click the Save icon and name and save your file.
- Send us the screenshot along with the date and time of the print, and we’ll investigate.
Thank you in advance!
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Sounds good! I’ll try to go through this whole procedure tomorrow when my proofgrade materials arrive. Thanks for taking the time to get back to me here and through email.
FYI: the cheap digital calipers go through batteries quickly. Turning off the calipers only turns the display off, so it drains the battery all the time. The medium price digital calipers turn off, so the batteries last much longer. I’ve spent more on batteries over the years for my cheap digital calipers than the $20 I spent on them.
Eh. I don’t remember the last time I swapped out the batteries on the 4inch calipers. The 6" ones, yah. Plus batteries are cheap. $.023 a pop.
For me, having a few sets of the inexpensive ones around, means I can afford to have one in the woodshed, one on the metal lathe, and 2 in the studio. Saves me a ton of time searching for one. It’s also the reason I buy #2 pencils 2 boxes at a time.
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BTW: if you live anywhere near a Tractor Supply store, they usually carry a big ole card of batteries for $5.99 in their discount bin. I have seen the pack in Tractor Supply stores in WV, VA, MD and PA. Don’t know whether all stores across the U.S. carry the pack.
The card contains:
(10) CR2032s
(10) CR2025s
(10) CR2016s
(20) LR44/AG13/357s
The large CR2032s and small LR44/AG13/357s are used in a lot of things around the house. I have use for the CR2025 and CR2016 but not everyone does. Either way, it’s an incredible deal.
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While buying that many batteries is indeed a good deal, batteries do have a finite shelf life. I would give them a total of 1 year maybe 2 max… And that is till all 50 are dead or near dead. In my experience the batteries are made, then go to a distributor, then the distributor to the wholesaler to the warehouse to the store. Now I do realize that time can be as quick as 6 weeks. But my experience shows that process is up to 2 years, then an unknown time on the shelves before they are purchased.
I hope I didn’t jinkx it for you, I just don’t want people wasting money on batteries that will be dead before they get used.
p.s. I fix watches for a living and go through a LOT of button cell batteries.
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I see you’ve emailed us about this and we’re working on it there, so I’m going to close this topic.