Cherry hardwood settings not correct?

I sent a message to support 2 days ago and have yet to hear back. I cut two pieces of PG cherry hardwood. Neither of them cut correctly. A few sections did cut through, but it was not consistent, and basically the bad cuts have ruined most of the pieces I cut out. The parts are delicate and having to cut out the bits that did not completely laser cut through made most of the parts unusable due to breakage. The first file was run on PG settings. The second with the speed slowed down to 205. That one cut a little better, but still didn’t do it’s job. I’m waiting for an order to have more to try. The same files cut just fine out of the maple hardwood.

Back - The one on the left I was able to remove the cut out parts with only a little cutting, though there are some edges that will require light sanding. The one on the right is a total loss.


front

This is the first time I’ve used the hardwoods. The maple cut so beautifully, I was surprised that the cherry cut so poorly. It’s very disappointing to be working with something like the PG materials that should just work but don’t.

I cleaned the machine the day before, so no, the lenses were not dirty. I used a jig due to the size of the parts and material, so I know it was laying flat.

It seems like several people have had trouble with the cherry, either the hardwood or plywood. I will actually have to test the new PG material when it arrives, which is annoying. I’ve got my parts laid out for minimum waste and don’t have a lot of room to test without wasting even more material.

maple hardwood
20180512_162610

Has anyone actually gotten the PG settings to work on the cherry hardwood? If not, did you find a better setting? Thanks for any setting help you can provide.

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No judgement on the failure to cut through this is just curiosity on my part. Given your jig, how do you ensure the hardwood is flat? I can see that the jig is held down by the honeycomb pins but I can’t see how the hardwood is held down. BTW impressive use of every last bit of that maple hardwood piece!!! I can see why the jig was necessary.

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The cutout in the jig is measured and cut to fit the piece of hardwood. It sits snugly into the opening and is flat on the honeycomb. I have actually checked that part. :slight_smile:

Thanks, it was terrifying the first time I ran the file - you can actually see the light of the laser through the wood since the cut is so close to the edge. Terrifying and fun to watch.

So basically press fit into the jig, nice! Sorry you’re having trouble with the cherry hardwood. Hope things get figured out for you.

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Thanks for letting us know about this. I’ve passed along your feedback so we can continue to strive toward a consistent Proofgrade experience. If you have any other questions or feedback, please let us know by opening a new topic or reaching out to support@glowforge.com.