Having problem cutting all the way through

[neice_kiss]

I bought the Glowforge back in February I have not use it to much . But now I’m using it I have been using some 1/4 inch Birch wood and lately I have been having a lot of issue it’s not cutting all the way through. I did clean the lenses and it still not cutting through. What do I DO.

I have the plus. Didn’t spend this kind of money on this and not able to get my money worth.

[dklgood]

Welcome to the forum.

When things don’t cut as expected when all of your optics and fans are clean, the problem is often the material. 1/4" birch can be quite variable, and some simply won’t cut cleanly with a laser. To diagnose whether it is the machine or the material, I suggest you print the Gift of Good Measure on proofgrade material using proofgrade settings. If it engraves and cuts correctly, the problem is your material. If not, post pictures here along with the date and time of the print so that Glowforge support can look at your machine logs.

[ben1]

Since this is not proofgrade material I have moved this topic to Beyond the Manual.

[timjedwards]

Check out #5

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1: I'm new to Glowforge and really have no idea where to start

Hey, welcome to the forum! Glowforge has a getting started page, it’s definitely worth your time: <a href="https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/sections/11792517736475-Design-and-Print-Tutorials">https://support.glowf…

[Brandon.B]

Hi @neice_kiss. I’m sorry to hear that you ran into some trouble with your Glowforge not cutting through material. I saw you were able to get some great tips and advice to help you with this. I saw that you were noticing the issue occurring on 1/4" Birchwood. We aren’t able to support materials outside of Proofgrade material due to the wider variables, including composition. However, I wanted to offer some troubleshooting to make sure your printer is still performing within its design specifications. If you haven’t already done so, can you do the following checks and test print?

• The crumb tray is clean and properly installed

• The material is perfectly flat on the crumb tray

• All optical components are clean and undamaged

• Design is set to “Cut”

Once all these things have been checked, please perform the following test print.

• Print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade material, using Proofgrade settings.

• When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates.

Check the completed print:

• If the Gift of Good Measure fails to cut through, take a photo of the front and back of the print and attach these photos to your reply.

• If the Gift of Good Measure cuts successfully, please try another print of the design you experienced the issue with, and let us know the results.

I’ll look forward to any results. Thank you.