Come on

Just spent the past 45 minute making a great patterned belt. Go to put the last part of the patter on, and the GF decides to get a mind of its own and shift my pattern from where I had it set. I didnt touch anything or move anything but the belt. Now it is garbage and I have to start over. You need to make and independent program for the GF. This is costing me time and money. This web app program is just a pain. Also wanting to charge $50 a month for premium is rediculous. Just paid 6k for something and got 2 weeks of premium free. The only thing is need thats in premium are the little tools. I want a independent program to run my GF. Having to upload my graphics is a pain also. Get back me something worth hearing…

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Are you requesting assistance or simply venting?

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It cannot do that of course. When someone is new it often appears that the same action gets different results as they may have forgotten, or never knew the bits of information that the more experienced does not even think about but know out of hand.

If the design is not actually moved and the material is held firmly in place then the work will be done in the same place. If you have a good Calibration then Set Focus will align the image with where it will land. If you cannot do this then you need to run the Calibration again, If you align the image before Set Focus it will not be right. If you align without Set Focus the machine will Set Focus before running and it will be off also.

If everything is done right it will be right.

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Always helpful to divide up a problem into areas of concern and that helps figure how the plan of attack.

  1. What material are you using? I am assuming by belt you mean a leather belt. That means that you are repositioning the material for each section of the print. Needing to open the lid multiple times and needing to refocus each time to place the design. Lot’s of places to go wrong there. Best bet is a jig, but it can be done using the camera and getting excellent results. How much have you been able to read up on and understanding how the lid camera positioning and the head camera position are used in relation to the design in the GFUI? This is a central feature. It works. But there is technique involved.

  2. Independent program for the Glowforge. What does this have to do with the problem at hand? Are you having connectivity issues? The Glowforge has been sold from day one as a cloud based technology. How is your choice of buying a Glowforge using this technology costing you money?

  3. I used a Glowforge for almost three years without Premium features of any kind available. Never was part of the original marketing campaign. The discussion about native design features has been robust on this forum. Lots of good points. Again, it hasn’t been a primary concern. That said, it’s nice for a lot of people who have no design experience at all and could use the boost with simple elements. What tools are you talking about? Like the text tool or the basic shapes?

  4. What is wrong with having to upload your own graphics into the GFUI? Or are you wanting to print directly from a graphic program and are wanting a printer driver solution? I have never found it problematic to upload graphics. Even some of the bigger ones. Whether or not the image rendering and motion planning engines are local or cloud based, it does take time to process more complicated images, raster or vector. I have welcomed the recent boost in speed aside from Premium speeds. They have consistently improved the whole experience.

  5. I am basing my perspective on the $2,000 I spent on a Basic. Yours must be quite different if you spent for the Pro. I do think there can be some more robust discussion if the extra money for a Pro was worth it, but now that the pass through stitching seems to be working, that adds some more value.

  6. I do think that the road to perfect alignment using the GFUI alone might not be evident off the bat. I’m wondering if some more work around the first three prints and how to stuff should be more cautionary new users.

I do hope you get some resolution to your challenging situation.

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I don’t see how GF’s cloudbased system is costing you time and money?

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear your print didn’t turn out as expected.

You mentioned that you moved the belt. Unfortunately, shifting your material between prints can result in alignment variances. Your Glowforge uses a wide-angle camera to take a picture of the material in your Glowforge. In the app, you drag your design into place where you want it on the screen.

The closer the material is to the camera, the bigger it appears on-screen. Most alignment problems come from the material being closer or farther from the camera than expected. The actual print should always land within ¼” of where you put it. As others have mentioned, utilizing a jig and Set Focus can help you ensure precision on your prints.

Would you try another print using Set Focus and let us know how it goes?

Hello @msweatt883, its been a few days since we heard from you, so I wanted to check in. Have you tried another print using the Set Focus feature yet? If so, how did it turn out?

It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.