my settings were:
custom material
full power
1 pass
.05 inch thickness
It still didn’t cut all the way through and I got some yellowing. SInce I’m pretty new to doing stuff with the Glowforge I’m not certain which values I should be tweaking - any hints would be really helpful.
with the face shields
0.03mm is 0.0011 inches. You should use the Set Focus tool to get it right or enter the 0.001" thickness in the cut operation. Right now you’re focused far (relatively) above the material. You can also use mm units if that’s easier for you as well. There’s a setting in the UI to select between inches or mm.
Face shields open at the top (not sealed in some way) may allow access to eyes. Which is why many organizations wouldn’t use a shield without eye protection.
oh so the thickness is measured above the bed so by setting it so high (thinking that “well hell it’s definitely thinner than 1/2 inch it will cut through anything”. I think I get it
Yes, you’re setting it to the height of the material above the honeycomb bed. The Set Focus function in the UI will measure it exactly. The other alternative is to measure the thickness with calipers and enter that in the focus height field or using the “Unknown Material” thickness setting which will automatically populate the focus height field.
The beam comes out in something of an hourglass shape with the narrowest part at the height you specify using one of the above techniques. The maximum power applied to the material is delivered to the material at the narrowest point so if that’s the surface you get maximum cutting capability that way.
If you tell it the focus point is at a half inch but the material is an eighth of an inch, then the beam has spread out by the time it gets to the top of the material and is weaker than the beam up at the half-inch height. That’s why telling the GF that the focus is higher than the material thickness results in the cuts not going all the way through.
what material is this?
Johnson Plastics has .020 and .030 acrylic in stock
i would really love to communicate with you about this.!
hello have some petg and would like to make these. I read threw this thread but don’t see the svg to download. I apologize can you post again or sent it to me.
Thank You
McMaster Carr or MSC Direct
Just wondering about the optimization of the designs. Wouldn’t it be better to have the bands and the shields placed in a position so they shared a common line where they meet. This could make the time for the total cut to be decreased by maybe a third? Maybe there is a reason why this isn’t done but I’m not seeing it. Someone did this for the heart design ear savers and it worked great.
If you look up through the conversations you will see a few “line art drawings” and those are the SVG you are looking for. If you are using Chrome as your browser, right click on the drawing and choose save image as type in the name you want to call it and the file extension should show as SVG. Navigate to a folder where you want to save it on your computer, then press enter.
Generally the first post will have the SVG or SVGs in it. For example, halgrenj posted 2 separate SVG but you won’t necessarily realize that unless you open it up. I generally name mine as follows (within a folder with a descriptive name):
2020 03 30 halgrenj face shield converted to GF straps vs 01.svg
This tells me the file was posted on this date; the user name; what it is used for; converted to GF (let’s me know it’s ready to use); straps indicates the part; vs 01 (is his version 01 posted)
I also save any photos with same name in the same folder as JPG so I can tell immediately what I am going to pull up in the SVG. I also “print to PDF” all the information in this thread. It really helps me a lot especially if it isn’t something I am working on that exact minute. A link would be good as well to add to the PDF, but I usually forget that. 
When you print if you “add headers and footers” it will usually give you the link, although sometimes truncated.
I hope that helps.
Do you remember about how far down the face shields will go?
I’m actually wanting to make face shields for my mom and stepdad. Stepdad ends up in the hospital frequently and they are in their 80’s. I know it is best with mask (and I will specify that) but thinking he might be more apt to wear the faceshield which is better than absolute nothing. Mom is wearing a faceshield that hooks to the bill of a baseball cap but I haven’t seen it up close to see what the coverage is like.
Are the straps easy enough for an older person to fix themselves or would it be better for me to integrate a padded area for the forehead and a long velcro strip on each side?
When I get called back to work, I will be able to work from home unless they change their mind. We are told there are already safety precautions in place. If you are in movement, you wear a mask. I sit at a front desk in my row, so thinking a face shield would be good to wear all the time as people are prone to stop and ask questions. Thanks for sharing!
Would someone be able to tell me if this material is available locally? If not, and you live in KC area may I buy material from you please? I have a feeling I will have to check the hardware stock and just get one quickly to make sure I have it for work.
I have only been in the office 2 days so far and someone vaccinated already has come up with a positive test result and experiencing COVID signs. I would like to have a shield to wear to work on Monday. I had a mask on the day we both worked there (but of course we don’t know who it was). I would like the face shield as extra protection since work won’t get us an acrylic shield for our desks on this open floor plan.
You can often find PETG sheets at your local art supply or model supply shop, like Blick. Not a craft store (Joann, Michaels) unless it’s a really big one.
OK!!! (so excited) I will have to see if the one place I know of is open today. Thanks for the tip! I wouldn’t have thought of that – all I could think of was the online stores like eStreet that I received an order from this week. Big thank you!
