Can't get the Proofgrade to cut through

I’ve had my GF for one week today and I’ve wasted all but 1 piece of my materials as it won’t cut through any piece. I think I’ve been successful on about 7 individual pieces. I am so frustrated! I’ve cleaned twice, calibrated, taken the crumb tray out and reset it about 20 times. This birthday gift is turning into a big pain in the butt! I’ve written support for two consecutive days and still haven’t received a reply. Does anyone have any suggestions before I start the process of getting my money back? When you pay this much money, it should work out of the box. I’m at a loss!!!

Make sure the lens is inserted in the correct direction - that kerf looks too large.

2 Likes

What lens? I’ve changed nothing…

Well it looks like you are cutting nearly all the way through, so I would suggest clean all the optics the 2 windows, mirror and main focus lens and also ensure the main lens and mirror are installed correctly, it is easy to install the main lens upside down. (Here under the “Things that need wiping” section) And if that does not work bump the power setting on your machine up by 5-10 or so till it is cutting through.

2 Likes

Yes, if you didn’t clean the lens inside the head when you did your cleaning, it probably wasn’t put in upside down, but it’s a common occurrence when people clean these.

The link that @primal_healer posted describes the process.

1 Like

I’ve only used Proofgrade materials. Aren’t they supposed to be preset?

They are preset but you can adjust them, but from your question above about what lens, makes me think you need to click on the link i provided above if you have not and follow those steps. At least to eliminate that as the source of the problem.

You also want to make sure the material is pinned flat (even Proofgrade), because any warp (or swelling due to humidity) in the material can also cause incomplete cuts.

The Honeycomb Pins here are a popular choice.

1 Like

I tried those. I have re-cleaned the lenses for the third time. I just attempted to cut on Draftboard afterwards. It still did not go through.

Draftboard is one of the hardest things to cut…unfortunately it tends to swell a lot in high humidity areas. The longer it’s been stored the plumper it can get.

You can try setting up a Custom Draftboard setting - it’s everything else that the default uses with a 5 to 10 point slower speed. (I generally have to do that, it’s high humidity year round here.) That will usually cut through in one pass, and avoid the wider kerf that a double pass creates.

If you have a good digital caliper, you can measure the thickness of the sheet of Draftboard - the default settings work on DB that is .125" thick for the medium sheets. If it’s any thicker than that, you will save time by just creating a Custom setting for it.

There is a discussion on setting up your own settings here:

Working with Manual Mode

That one has been a life saver for me. And Draftboard tends to be the worst - haven’t needed to do it for anything else.

1 Like

I can’t get it to cut any of the materials all the way through. It’s very frustrating. I’m going to go rogue and try a non-Proofgrade material to see if I can make it work. If not, I will be preparing to send it back. Thank you.

Just experiment. That’s what you’ll have to do with non proof grade anyway. You’ll eventually get a knack for choosing the right speed vs power.

I see you already emailed us about this and we’re working on it there, so I’m going to close this topic.