I usually use 1/4” Birch ply by Purebond from Home Depot but due to the hold up on the barges, they will not have any material in until after the New Year. So I have resulted to Menards and they have 1/4” Birch by Tiger Ply. Im having a frustrating time figuring out cut settings. It either scorches and I hve wipe down all the lenses in-between cuts or it starts out cutting on one end and then gradually lessens power as it moves across the sheet. And it is t cutting all the way through. I obviously do test cuts, and they always come out perfect. It’s just the prolonged full sheet cutting that does not work. I also have clean the air-assist fan, internal fan and external fan as well as replaced the air duct hose. I have scraps of Purebond on hand and I’ve done test cuts on those to just to see if it was the laser lens and it’s not. It cuts like butter on that material.
So I need help figuring out cut settings for Tiger ply. This is my only option locally. And I have a huge amount of orders to finish. I have also used my calpier to do manual settings and still scorching and not cutting all the way through.
If you do a search on here about plywood cutting you will find a wealth if information. Basically, only a few manufacturers of plywood make anything laser worthy. The rest are filled with glues and other fillers that won’t cut properly.
You might want to reach out to support@glowforge.com about that, it can be an indication of a problem with your laser alignment. Only they can help you be sure about that, and if a repair is needed they’re the only place to go for help.
There is only one place that will cause that issue and that is the part under the left hand side with the window. If there is the slightest film messing with the focus, the issue gets worse the farther away the head is from that window. It can even look ok but cleaning just that window can get rid of that difference. It could be bigger deeper issues of alignment of that window, but cleaning is an easy one and not needing to travel to the mothership to fix.
The only plywood (other than GF ProofGrade) I’ve had what I’ll call “success” with is Purebond Maple from THD. It’s all I’ve bought for over a year.
I’ve used many others but all had issues with consistency. That’s just the nature of product that is not designed/manufactured for laser cutting. I have used a ton of Lauan underlayment in the past but it is nowhere near as consistent as PureBond Plywood.
It looks very good as one of the sustainable sources similar to the Revolution Ply. However while they do tell you in fair detail how it is made and what the glue is (unlike most) there is no data I can find that deals with what that stuff is like when lasered. Perhaps someone more familiar with the specific plastics involved could say more.
There is also this that I make for every new material I get and sometimes more than one if I expect the results may have changed as it often does when one species of maple say is replaced by another from the same company, as for most it does not matter but the laser will be different even in the same piece of wood much less a change of species.
Have you tried the local woodcraft for Baltic birch ply wood? Or rockier? Or woodworkerssource.com? If any of these have brick and mortar stores, you should be able to get some there.