Help to cut

i am using a file i have used before. material used before but it will not cut all the way through. i need help. this order goes out today

Your lenses could be dirty and need cleaning.

Is it proofgrade? Take pictures to send to Support. If it’s not Proofgrade, could be natural variation. Try slowing down the cut by 5 or increasing power by 5 until it does go through.

Have a small poking device nearby. Many here use a dental pick to check if there’s been a clean cut without moving the pieces around. If the parts aren’t free, you can just re run the cut and ignore other steps.

If you want Glowforge the company Support; use the link up top “Support”

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This. Great response as usual!

Lens is dirty. Wont come clean. I reached out to support.
Will it not cut all the way through if filter is full?

That spot on your lens is likely the reason, it is attenuating the power because some of it is being deposited on the lens.
Clean optics are the 1st rule of lasers. The wavelength of the laser is infrared, which is only light until it touches something - then its heat (that’s what you feel with sunlight on your skin). Smoke on the lens gives the light something to ‘touch’ so energy is deposited there and your lens gets burned.
You will need to purchase a new one from the company. Until then, you can follow the advice of upping the power or slowing the speed to finish. Also, the advice of checking to see if the cut went through before moving the material. I just hold down the material and try to lift the cut with a piece of tape. If the cut didn’t go through, you can run the file again as long as the work hasn’t moved, and it will cut in exactly the same place.

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Something to try is let the lens soak in some alcohol to see if the spot will loosen if it is just stuff stuck on the lens and not the lens itself burnt.

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