Cut doesn’t cut what it shows on the screen

[kristialberson]

All a sudden my cuts are not matching what’s in my screen. It’s not 2 weeks old yet. I have only done a couple designs and now it cuts off. I don’t have a full sheet of

wood to try to recalibrate it until next Thursday but wanted to play on it while I’m off work this weekend. Any ideas

[ekla]

You don’t need PG to calibrate, anything light colored, smooth, flat and 12”x20” works. Have a clean sheet of cardboard lying around?

[rbtdanforth]

@kristialberson

try to recalibrate it until next Thursday

I had a large piece of heavy paper I used spray adhesive to put on a sheet of scrap. That is what I used and the recalibration did not cut through the paper.

[dklgood]

When you say that “it cuts off” can you share a screenshot of what your are seeing. Did you use the set focus tool prior to placing your design? Did the printhead get moved while the machine was on? How far off is it printing.

[kristialberson]

The round part at the top. It showed to be fine on screen and it cut wrong. I didn’t touch the machine while working. I also did set focus. Someone told me they had an app issue and that others are having the same thing happen. So I have another tip to still try.

[dklgood]

The Glowforge specs state that alignment is accurate to 1/4" and I believe this is clearly within that allowance. The lid camera is most accurate when the design is placed directly under the camera. The further from the center, the more your placement may be off.

If you are able to complete the lid camera calibration, you will probably have more accurate alignment, but as I said before, anything within 1/4" is within the stated allowance of the Glowforge.

[ivan1]

I’m sorry that you’ve run into trouble while using your Glowforge. I took a close look into the logs to investigate this for you.

Aside from one of your prints, which I’ll go into more detail about below, It looks like your Glowforge is performing to specifications. If you’d like, you can use the Camera Recalibrator to see if further improvement is possible. It will only make changes if it can make your camera more accurate; otherwise, it will exit without any changes. It takes about half an hour.

You’ll need a 12” x 20” piece of Proofgrade material with no markings or stickers. The feature was designed to be used with a flat piece of medium Proofgrade Draftboard, used upside-down (with the QR code side down). As @ekla mentioned, It may work with other materials that are the same size and use the same print settings as well, like Proofgrade plywood or even materials from other vendors as long as they’re 12in x 20in and completely flat.

The recalibrator prints a grid of markings, takes a picture, then measures its height in multiple locations. This data is used to make your camera more accurate for future prints.

To get started, click on this link: Launch the Camera Recalibrator

Regarding the print shown in this photo:
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When I reviewed the logs for the matching print, it looks like the head didn’t start in the top-left corner of the unit. This can sometimes happen if the head is accidentally moved or bumped when placing material into the unit. If you notice this again, please try turning your Glowforge off and back on. This will cause the unit to re-center the head.

Please let us know how the recalibration goes!