Can’t quite find anything like this on the forums.
I have consistent linear variability when engraving. Hard to describe, but easy to see in the images. This happens on acrylic, plywood, and solid wood, and it can be a super solid engraving like this or something more intricate. The lines are always there in the engraved part.
This is a rectangular test piece, but even on something irregular like a triangle, the engraving lines are totally vertical, so it doesn’t seem to be an acceleration issue (or those lines would follow the edges).
Really have no idea, hoping to see if anyone else has had this happen.
Have you tried a higher Lines per inch setting? The draft photo setting is just 170 so they aren’t that close together. A higher lines per inch will take longer, but yield a smoother engrave.
That is exactly what I would expect to happen from an engrave with a low LPI setting. Engraving scans across the piece removing material in stripes. If your LPI setting is low the lines will be wider and will not have as much overlap, resulting in the pixellation on curves. You will see the same thing if you look at a PC monitor up close.
Increase the LPI setting to have smoother curves, knowing that due to the way it works they won’t ever be perfect curves.
I rarely go as low as 450. I have seen it glitch when the next line is almost in line with a line especially with a low LPI, but as it is all black that is not your problem. Different parts of the grain in the wood will dig to different depths (something reduced by high LPI) but again that is not your situation.
I would watch carefully and see if smoke between the head and left side coincided with the lighter parts of the cut. Also looking for things that might cause turbulence in the airflow like hold-down pins.
I’m sorry that your prints aren’t turning out as expected. It looks like you’ve already received some great advice from other community members. Thanks folks!
Did the information help you to get results that are closer to your goal?
It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.
