Laser “jumping” a creating lines in wood

Community Support
1

out of no where my glowforge has been jumping and skipping when it cuts… it end up no being a smooth cut like and as a result
i get these uneven lines on my cutouts… don’t kind the photo- my son painted this “scrap” but i wanted to be able to show you what’s happening… anyone have any suggestions? i’ve cleaned the glowforge and even tried only proof grade materials

image
image942×530 73.7 KB

2

Support will likely ask you to print the gift of good measure, and provide pics of the result.

They can make recommendations based on what the pics show.

1 Like
3

It’s hard to tell, but also if your art has an overlap the laser won’t cut that at all - in this case two positives make a negative. If you’re hand drawing a circle and you put the final two dots on top of each other without joining them the laser will turn off at that single spot.

If the inconsistencies are random, I’d check your tracks for debris - it can be tiny, but as the wheel or belt runs over it can cause a jump.

4

I’m so sorry to hear that you’re running into trouble. As @eflyguy pointed out, reviewing an image of a Gift of Good Measure print can help us to narrow down the trouble.

Could you please do the following?

  1. Turn off your Glowforge, then turn it back on
  2. We included an extra piece of Proofgrade Draftboard with your materials shipment for troubleshooting. Place Proofgrade Draftboard in the bed and load the Gift of Good Measure design.
  3. Set the score and engrave steps to ‘ignore.’ Print the Gift of Good measure using the default settings. Allow the print to finish.
  4. When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture of the bed updates.
  5. Check the completed print:
    • If the Gift of Good Measure fails to cut, please let us know the date and time of the print
  • If the Gift of Good Measure cuts successfully, please try another print of the design you saw the issue with, and let us know the results.
  1. If the issue still occurs, please let us know the date and time of the finished print.

Once we can review this print, we’ll send over the next best steps. Let us know how it goes!

5

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.