Hello Everyone, I attempt in every instance to use the proof grade materials from Glowforge, however, as you might know, there are always those instances when you want to engrave, or cut something that might not be “certified” .
My question is this, how can you know that the settings on the manual cut and engrave are the correct ones, without a lot of trial and error? I always put in the proper height of the material and for some reason, I am not getting a full engrave or a complete cut through the material.
Is there anyone that has success in doing so?
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I usually start here. If you look at the tabs at the very bottom there is a ton of info and gets updated so we learn new things,
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This is awesome!!! Thank you so much, I was hoping I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel!!!
Your welcome but use with caution. Also you might find your able to tweak the speeds and power. I do this in small increments if you find that the given setting just is not giving you the results you want.
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Also, I just conveniently shared this with someone else:
There are other versions around as well.
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Awesome, thank you.
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I have had a lot of cases where a 3" x 12" piece of unknown wood needs a test that will allow me to know reasonable settings without making the need moot by using up all of the piece of wood so @evansd2 came up witha design I modified here.
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OK SO I BOUGHT SOME HOME DEPO WOOD 1/8 AN TRIED CUTTING THE WOOD? I DID NOT HAPPEND? ANY IDEAS/////?
i tried micromeeter said 0.240in?..
0.240” is 1/4” ply, not 1/8”.
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Your problem is probably the settings or the plywood itself could be the kind of plywood that has voids, knots and glue pockets that make it very hard to cut. I hope your caps lock key is not stuck.
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Yes, it can still cut it, but you might have to adjust your settings or make more than one pass, and check the wood to make sure there are no voids or glue plugs in it. Most of the plywood at stores like Home Depot are made for cutting with a saw, not a laser, and they can be very sloppy. There’s a lot of waste with them, and by the time you’re done spending time trying to cut them, it’s not really cheaper than buying the Proofgrade.
(Shine a strong flashlight through it from behind - you will see gaps and dense spots. Mark those on the wood with pencil and try to avoid them with the design placement.)
Start with the Thick Plywood settings on the Glowforge and adjust them through tests.
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There is some Home Depot plycarp that uses laserproof bondo to fill holes. I found a place they just wiped off a brush and that area was laserproof. I was able to use about 30% of the sheet but the rest was effort wasted. Baltic Birch has high standards that work well but “just Birch” was a nightmare.
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