Common problems/questions

Glowforge Tips and Tricks
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Hello! You’ve been referred to this post because you have a common problem or question. Check out the list below to see what this post can do for you. Just click on a topic that interests you.

• 1: I’m new to Glowforge and really have no idea where to start

• 1a: What other tools/materials should I buy to go with my Glowforge?

• 2: I want to find masking/tape to cover my materials

• 3: I want to design/make a box

• 4: What materials are dangerous to laser?

• 4a: What are the basic safety guidelines for using my Glowforge?

• 5: Why won’t my laser cut through my material OR I have another technical issue with my print

• 5a: My Aura/Spark is not cutting/engraving my acrylic

• 6: I don’t know what settings to use to cut my material

• 7: Are there any tricks to removing masking from lots of small parts?

• 8: How do I design finger joints?

• 9: My photo engrave isn’t turning out. How do I prepare a photo for engraving?

• 10: I really like a design I see here, should I ask for the files?

• 11: What can the Glowforge do with metal materials?

• 12: How can I get the most out of this forum? How do I find out more about a topic?

• 13: What are some good forum posts I should see? The greatest hits?

• 14: I’m starting a business with my Glowforge. How much should I charge for laser projects? What is it like running a creative business?

• 15: What can I do to improve my camera alignment accuracy?

• 16: Can I use a custom font on the Glowforge?

• 17: What maintenance or cleaning does my Glowforge require?

• 18: Can I paint or stain my material before I engrave or cut it?

• 19: What do I need to know about the Glowforge Live Chat?

• 20: All about overheating

• 21: My laser cuts better on one side versus the other

• 22: I smell fumes after a cut, is this normal?

• 23: How to use Jigs

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Very helpful!

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That’s lovely - under 6 I’d link the the First Prints on the support page as well.

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Replying in lieu of “liking” twice.

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Yes! Nice one evansd2!

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This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.

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Just a quick signal boost, I added a couple questions to this list recently:

14: I’m starting a business with my Glowforge. How much should I charge for laser projects?

15: What can I do to improve my camera alignment accuracy?

16: Can I use a custom font on the Glowforge?

17: What maintenance or cleaning does my Glowgorge require?

You can see the answers in the original post:

If you read the list and see anything that you think could be clearer or a question that could be helpful to add, please let me know. It’s a living document, and I try to keep it up to date.

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A very helpful resource, thank you.

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Thanks for maintaining this!

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Just found out that the getting started link in the very first answer was a dead page. Glowforge apparently restructured the help pages, so I had to find the current URL.

If you find any other dead links please let me know and I’ll edit as necessary.

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Just added #4a, links to the Glowforge safety pages for each model.

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Nice, and I did a quick run through and didn’t find any dead links.

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Thanks, always good to get another pair of eyes on it.

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New question #5a about aura acrylic colors added.

If you have feedback on it please let me know.

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New question #18 added: can I paint my material before I engrave or cut

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