I’ve been trying for two days to print an Arkitorii file but can’t seem to get the GFUI to communicate with the printer. The GF gets stuck on “Preparing to Print” and won’t go any further. I’ve sat here for as much as ten minutes trying (TRYING) to be patient and finally giving up. Sometimes it will go but most times it wont. There have been times when it got to the Ready stage but I noticed a problem & had to cancel the print and then it wouldn’t go past “Praparing…”. Yes, I’ve cleaned everything. Other suggestions, please?
1 Like
This sounds like a problem with the file. Will other files process and print?
2 Likes
I’ve only tried one other file and it printed fine, however it was a cut only file. The one giving me fits has a lot of engraving. I’m about to do another cut only file. After that I’ll try an engrave and see how that does. Thanks for the idea.
Any time you think the machine may have a problem run the gift of good measure file. If that works fine then the machine is probably working correctly and you can narrow down the problem.
1 Like
I’ve tried a couple other files but I’ll try the good measure file just for grins. Sorry it’s taken me so long @dklgood. No one’s ever accused me of being a computer nerd.
1 Like
Ok, here’s the verdict: something’s hinky - on several levels. On the Good Measure and the two files I engraved prior, the alignment is way off. You can see by the two attached photos the cut isn’t where I placed it. And it didn’t even begin to cut through the MDF. All the previous test files engraved ok but didn’t cut at all. That tells me the problem I originally posted about (not getting past the Preparing to Print level) probably is a hiccup in the file. I’ll get in touch with Emilie and ask him about it. But where does the current alignment and cut problems leave me? Something’s wrong and my business just came to a screeching halt.
Your Gift of Good Meausure looks way out of focus. Are you certain the lens is properly seated?
1 Like
That’s just the charring. I didn’t take the paper off before I took the photo. Here it is after the de-papering, along with the backside to show the measly attempt at cutting. And I checked the lens. It appears to be seated ok.
“Cup side up” is the rule beyond the seating. Working properly the cut should leave very little mark. Another way that happens is that there is not enough smooth air flow across the place being cut. When this happens you see little candle like flames as it cuts. Everytime you see a flame the laser is substantially weaker and will not cut through, The result will be extremely erratic about cutting through or not getting half way… If you see this result, check the carriage fan and the path the air takes. When cutting near the upper edge, that edge will breakup the airflow and produce those effexts.
4 Likes
The cut line is definitely too wide. That isn’t char.
2 Likes
OMG! You’re saying when I remove the print head and turn it upside down and look down at the lens, I should see the CUP SIDE of the lens? And if the lens is upside down flame will shoot out when the laser it cutting?
THIS is what they’re saying…
That when you reinsert the lens, it should be ‘cup side up’…when you put it back in.
4 Likes
The flame has more to do with the Air Assist fan getting blocked - but it will also cause a lot of charring.
and yeah, ditto, tritto - that cut is WAY out of focus which is why it’s not working well.
2 Likes
Okay, my lens is, and has been, in correctly all along. (Whew!) However, I’ve noticed for quite a long while I get a lot of flame, especially when it’s cutting, but also sometimes during engraving. So if you all say it’s out of focus, what do I do?
To test if the auto focus is at fault, put in manual thickness for a test cut using your calipers. Compare the cut lines to see if they are different.
1 Like
That is not likely a matter of focus, but a matter of the carriage fan not accomplishing its job. I had that problem a lot until I figured out that the magnets I was using to hold the material down were messing with the fan motor. (all very obvious once you knew the answer) It was along the way I figured out that every place I saw a flame would not be cut through. Also, smoke trails rushing to the front meant that there was some air moving while if the trails wandered aboub drifting vaguely left meant that there was no air coming from the carriage fan. Smooth air flow from the fan is critical to a good cut.
By setting a vacuum cleaner hose connected to the “scoop” underneath the carriage (with the machine off) I could squirt hand sanitizer in the top of the fan and the shop vac would pull it out the other end and spin up the fan, actively cleaning that path. Left running a while after the fan was clean would dry everything out, leaving no sanitizer/cleaner to mess with anything else.
3 Likes
Well, I guess I need to admit to being a little naive. How do I manually set the thickness? Never did that before; always left it to the UI.
Click on the operation in the left. You can assign different heights for different operations. Toggle the manual setting to on and input the thickness.
3 Likes
I’m REAL sorry it takes me so long to act on your suggestions @dklgood, but I assume I need to cut “The Measure…” twice in order to compare the cuts, but I just don’t understand how to do it.
You already know what the cut lines look like with auto focus because you posted pictures here. So just print one using the manual height for the cut and score lines and then a comparison can be made.
1 Like