Cutting a line to edge

[mannonmotion]

I made my first attempt at cutting a stencil I needed out of acrylic (proof grade). It cut the image fine but would not cut a line to cut the image out of the rest of the sheet. Will not recognize a "line’ so I imported a line but it will not cut all the way to the edge of the acrylic to get just that section out of the whole sheet. Any suggestions?

[dan84]

The work area of a Glowforge – the space the print head can physically reach – is smaller than a sheet of Proofgrade material, so your designs won’t ever go to the very edge of the sheet.

[mannonmotion]

I understood the work area was smaller so i moved the material off center so it wasn’t at the edge of the working area and it still wouldn’t let me cut to the edge. I then tried with a smaller - not full sized sheet and shifted it off center and no go?

[dklgood]

The Glowforge does not know where the edge of your material is, it only know where the edge of the usable bed is located. Can you share a photo? Which edge didn’t cut - right or left?

[mannonmotion]

I dont have a photo of it but i tried to cut out a rectangle of acrylic that was the top left corner of a piece of a sheet-it would not cut to the far left edge (even tho when placing the line the camera showed the line to the edge of the material) and it would not cut a short line to the top edge on the right as well. The material was proof grade and was still masked🤷‍♀️

Sent fro

[dklgood]

If you look at the position of the printhead in the home position you will see that it cannot print behind itself or any further to the left. The actual cut area of the Glowforge is 10.9" x 19.5". There will always be over an inch at the top and around 1/2" on the sides that are out of reach. The camera shows the usable area, not the entire piece of proofgrade. Orient your artwork relative to the lower right corner rather than top left and you will have better luck.

[mannonmotion]

I had the piece kind of centered but maybe i do need to try bottom
Left! Ill give it a go thanks! I do think the camera is inconsistent too

Sent fro

[ekla]

@mannonmotion

I do think the camera is inconsistent too

Always use set focus before placing artwork - it helps a lot. If you feel it’s still inconsistent try runnung the camera calibration routine.

[deirdrebeth]

Possibly this will help?

Laser Cutting an Inch to the Right

This diagram might help to explain it. There is about an inch of material hidden underneath the thumbnail column on the left. If you want to use a whole sheet of material, work out from the lower right corner. (Black Star) Make sure the metal gridded area is completely covered with material. [Bed-Layout-Diagram]

[mannonmotion]

Thank you - i do this often but not ALWAYs!!

[mannonmotion]

thanks for the diagram- maybe i was still in that hidden zone- will try again soon.

[Brandon.B]

Hi @mannonmotion. I’m sorry to hear that you ran into some trouble with your Glowforge cutting through a line recently. I saw you were getting some great advice and tips from fellow members. If the trouble continues with the next print, go ahead and post any photos or screenshots to help review, along with the date and time of the print. I can review everything for any next best steps to help you get this resolved. Thank you!