Laser off by a whole lot

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Thank you Jules. You’re the best. [quote=“Jules, post:10, topic:29267”]
Step one:

  1. Measure the thickness of the case accurately with a pair of digital calipers.
    (If it is thicker than 0.50 inches, it is too tall to engrave on the crumb tray, you will have to take the tray out and create a prop to bring the case into the correct engraving range.)
    Tutorial on how to do that: here.

Step two:

  1. Measure the length and width of the case.
  2. Open any digital design software of your choosing (Inkscape/Illustrator/CorelDraw/Affinity Designer) and create a rectangle that matches the measurements of your case.
  3. Inside the design software, align the logo where you want it to fall on the case.
    (If it is a raster or bitmap logo, you want to make sure to Embed it in the file. If it is a vector image, just drag it where you want it to be on the corner of the rectangular case outline.)
  4. Save the file as an SVG format file. (Tutorial here.)

Step three:

  1. Get a sheet of cardboard or scrap plywood.
  2. Measure the thickness of the cardboard with the digital calipers.
  3. Stick it down on the bed with the Honeycomb Pins here. I wouldn’t try to use magnets to hold down something thicker than paper, and paper makes a really crappy jig.
    Note: If you have to tape the cardboard down to the tray at the edges with masking tape, that also works fine…you just don’t want it to shift at all.

Step 4:

  1. Open the SVG file you created in the Glowforge app.
  2. Enter the thickness of the cardboard into the Unknown Materials button at the top of the left column in the app. (Assuming you are able to place it on top of the tray…if not, follow that first tutorial.)
  3. Set the Engraving to Ignore in the app.
  4. Set the rectangle to Cut. (Manually adjust your settings for cutting whatever material you chose as a jig material.)
  5. Cut the rectangle out and remove it. Do not shift the cardboard on the bed or the image on the screen .
  6. Drop your case into the hole created by the rectangle.
  7. Set the rectangle Cut to Ignore in the app. Only change it by clicking the thumbnail in the lefthand column…do not shift the image on the screen.
  8. Set the engrave Settings. When you do, set the focal point in the Manual settings for the Engrave to be equal to the thickness of the case. (Do not change them up at the top in the Unknown Materials button.)
  9. Send the Engrave to be printed.

Normally I’d show a couple of screen shots of the process, but I’ve got a job running now…that should get you started though…just don’t skip a step. :smile:
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