Lense keeps falling down?!? Help me please

Hey everyone. I have sent an email to Glowforge support but thought I should post it here too.

I have been having very inconsistent cuts with my basic so I though a lense cleaning would be a good place to start.

When I first touched the bottom lense the other day ( with a ziess cloth) it popped into the correct position where it should be seated and my next few cuts were immediately more consistent.

I had an aha moment and though this would be a final solution but it seems after a few cuts the lense works its way back down from the proper location and needs to be installed again and again.

Has anyone ran into this particular problem yet??? Will glow forge replace the head unit?

This is how I found it the first time and how it ends back up ever few cuts.

This is where is is when it is seated properly.

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Is the lens actually coming out of the head when you are cutting?
(Because it is supposed to move up and down in there as the focal point changes…you don’t want to force it in there, let the magnets do their job.)

If you are getting inconsistent cuts, make sure that you have the height entered correctly for the material, and that the material you are cutting is perfectly flat. Since most of the woods, (and the acrylics can do it too) experience some degree of warp…it helps to pin down the material while it is being cut.

The honeycomb pins are excellent for flattening out a warped board and providing more consistent cuts.

Also check to make sure the tray is seated flat in the dimples. :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks for the reply.

I wasn’t sure if the lens actually moved to do the focal point. I am following the instruction as to let the magnet grab it and pull it up. I can literally feel it get re grabbed by the magnet when I touch it but maybe it is normal.

I have gone down every other path. Flat, pinned down, correct material height, adjusted focal point. I can’t seem to get any sort of consistency on 1/4 inch Baltic Birch. The most consistent cut I have gotten is when I have freshly installed the lense after cleaning it (even though its not smoky or anything).

I’m just not sure what else is left.

It’s a lot easier to get inconsistent or bad cuts on non-Proofgrade materials. (Not necessarily trying to promote Proofgrade over anything else, they just engineer it to cut well.)

All I can suggest is to slow down the cuts a little…with any luck you’ll get through the knots and hidden glue plugs. Or maybe use a second pass. I’ve had trouble cutting through plywood and even Baltic Birch many a time. :neutral_face:

Oh…you can sometimes spot the bad places in the wood by holding it up to a flashlight…then you can place your cuts around the bad spots.

This is kind of obvious, but I didn’t see it mentioned, so… I presume you cleaned all the other parts of the optical path as well?

Make sure you’re cleaning all the optics, like @chris1 said, not just the lens. Here’s a guide to check to make sure you’ve found them all:

https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/cleaning#things-that-need-wiping

Oh, also, for future reference you should send an email OR post in Problems and Support, but not both, as it creates duplicate support tickets and slows down their response. If you’ve emailed support but then want to get input from other users, it would be better to post over in “Everything Else,” next time. :slight_smile:

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Thank you all for the suggestions!

@tom.j.parnell
I’m so sorry you’re having trouble with your prints cutting through. Like @Jules said, the lens moves to ensure it’s focused correctly, so the lens movement is not likely the issue.

To cut successfully, there are three important things to check. First, your material must lie flat. This requires a clean, properly installed crumb tray and flat materials. Second, there must be no obstructions, dirt, or damage preventing the laser light from reaching your material. Third, your design must be set up properly - for example, with lines that are fully on the material and that are set to cut. From what you’ve mentioned, it sounds like you’ve done most of these things already. Please carefully read through our cut-through troubleshooter to ensure you haven’t missed anything, and we’ll be able to get to the bottom of it.

Once you’ve inspected and cleaned, please try another print. We included an extra piece of Proofgrade Draftboard with your materials shipment for troubleshooting. Please print the Gift of Good Measure on that Proofgrade Draftboard and let me know the result. If it doesn’t print well, please let me know the date and time of your print and send photos of the front and back of the print.

I see you already emailed us about this and we’re working on it there, so I’m going to close this topic.