GF will not cut through. Even on PG materisl

Worked fine last week. Today I have cleaned it numerous times. It will just not cut through. Help. I’ve wasted sooo much wood today. Lens looks fine. All are cleaned. Cleaned intake fan. It’s like the laser lost it’s oomph




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Have you cleaned all of the optics - the side window, the window on the printhead, the mirror?

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The thick line indicates that you have a focusing issue, perhaps the lens is upside down?

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I cleaned it all a few times.

Erica Gomez

It’s bowl up. The thick line was when I slowed it down. It did a very thin line too prior and still no cut.

Erica Gomez

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In cases similar to this, Glowforge support requests photos of all of your optics and asks that you print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade material with Proofgrade settings. If the print does not come out perfectly, take pictures front and back and post along with the date and time of the print.

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Ok so it did work this time but it got stuck on finding printhead when I first tuned it on. I’m not sure why it would print today but not yesterday. I did nothing between then and now. Attached are the photos of you can offer any insight. I printed today, 7/9 at 10:15 pm

image5.jpeg

Erica Gomez

Were you using the correct default settings for the specific hardwoods that you were trying to cut? (It looks like it had just a slight problem getting through the sticker on that “Family” piece…that might have been just enough to keep it from cutting through.)

If you pin the material down flat so it doesn’t move on the bed, then test the cut to see if it lifts out, you can send the Cut a second time and it will lift out without problem. (It saves material.) Just don’t shift the design on the screen trying to match the cut you see on the bed, the view will have changed, but you shouldn’t have to move anything. It will cut in the same place if you don’t move the design or the material on the bed.

I’ve noticed that on newer wood from recent orders. The sticker definitely seems to be causing issues with a full cut, so I take it off before putting it in. The older, thinner stickers didn’t seem to cause issues but the big new ones definitely seem to make it just a tad too much on default settings.

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You can also just slow the cut by a tiny amount to compensate for the thicker material (due to the sticker).

The other items I tried to cut prior had no masking on them at all. I tried different settings and it just seemed to score them. Yesterday before doing this cut the machine took a long time to center so maybe it was just off a bit but I did calibrate it. Just hope it continues to cut. Sometimes I feel like I spend more time cleaning and adjusting than I do cutting. :flushed:

Erica Gomez

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Yeah, you seem to have something else going on, but if you consistently have issues, P&S should be able to help. In the meantime, you can also just slightly change your settings to a bit slower (start with 5/10 points) even on PG materials. Might do the trick.

I’m so sorry to hear your Glowforge was having issues cutting through material and is having issues with centering.

It looks like you have been able to fix the issue with cutting through. If you run into the issue again please let us know.

As for the issue with the machine getting stuck in centering. I extracted the logs from your Glowforge to investigate the problem, and it seems like your unit is running into trouble during the calibration step. During calibration, the lid camera finds the Printer Head by taking a series of images. There are a few different reasons this error may be occurring. Please walk through the steps below to get back on track.


Once you’ve had a chance to perform these troubleshooting steps, turn on your Glowforge and let it try the calibration again. If you are still having trouble, let us know.


I have not had time to do anything. Hoping this weekend! Thank you!!

Sent from my iPhoneErica Gomez

On Jul 14, 2021, at 12:02 PM, Glowforge <support@glowforge.zendesk.com> wrote:

Hello Erica,

Thanks for letting us know.

We look forward to hearing back from you and getting this all squared away this weekend.

Best,

Hello. Sorry I meant to reply. I did cut this weekend on a 1/4 Baltic birch that was not proofgrade material. I did 2 passes. It still did not cut through. I then used a proofgrade material and it cut. I slowed my settings full power. Not sure why it’s not cutting. It always did before. It engraved fine. Any thoughts? It’s almost like it’s scoring on cut mode. But I clearly have cut selected

Sent from my iPhoneErica Gomez

On Jul 21, 2021, at 7:01 PM, Glowforge <support@glowforge.zendesk.com> wrote:

@littleeg Thank you for trying a test print on Proofgrade materials.

Since this problem is being seen on materials that were purchased from another company, we can’t offer support for prints that don’t come out as expected. Materials may vary widely from piece to piece, even if they’re created by the same manufacturer. I’m going to move it to Beyond the Manual so other folks here can help. Should this happen with a print on Proofgrade materials, please open a new ticket in Problems and Support and we’ll help you right away



Someone replied it’s cutting on pg only but said im icutting on non pg they can’t help. Personally I’m pissed. It’s cut on this wood many times before. Pg is usually out of stock and when it’s not it’s stupid expensive. You advertise this machine with video of flasks and other material. But now I have a 6000 paper weight. Really wish I would have gone with another company that’s not robbing people.

Sent from my iPhoneErica Gomez

On Jul 25, 2021, at 6:02 PM, Glowforge <support@glowforge.zendesk.com> wrote:

If the Glowforge cuts/scores/engraves properly on Proofgrade material, it is working as advertised. If it won’t cut other wood, the problem is the wood and or your settings. As for flasks and other materials, you have to test until you dial in your own settings. The whole point of Proofgrade material is that it is guaranteed to work with the provided settings. You do not have a paperweight, you are going to have to find settings that work with your non Proofgrade material or use Proofgrade materials. They are not out of stock.

Have you tried using one of the test templates to try to dial in your settings? Here is a good one that doesn’t use much material. New material cut test method

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When I reported this problem it didn’t cut on proofgrade either. Would not go all the way through. I used a different material for the test so not sure if that’s why it cut. I’ve used the same Baltic birch numerous times and it cut now it’s not so I’ve done the settings. All kinds of settings. Will not cut even with 2-3 passes.
When I first got the machine your store was empty. I could not get any pg material so I had a 6000 dollar machine that I was forced to buy non pg material to even use. I have seen it is now stocked but nearly double the price when it was out of stock.
I realize I need to test on other material. Totally get that but there should be a big disclaimer as your showing those videos that there is zero help if you don’t use pg material and that it is a voided warranty if using those items. It is very misleading to buy thinking you really can use it on anything as the ad shows however totally not supported by the company.
In addition to the cleaning pretty much in between every job. I get it I bought I’m stuck with it. When it works and you aren’t spending hours to take apart and clean it’s great however my experience has been 20/80 as far as just being able to use it with good results.
and for what I paid that is irritating to say the least. Also irritating to spend that kind of money on pg when it doesn’t cut as I showed in pics before but again kind of whatever at this point. I’m on many threads about the gf and I know I’m not alone. So right now it’s a paperweight because I had to buy non pg material when I first got the machine. Not by choice. I’ll figure it out on my own. If not I’ll take the loss and lesson learned. Mira seems to have much more consistent usage according to the blogs so I’ll see about that if it continues to not cut.
Thanks

Erica Gomez