I had some prints today that engraved today and then didn’t cut out! Bummer! I know there are some tech support things I have to do to clean the lens (?) from what I read I think… can I do multiple cut passes as a stopgap until I can get time to do a full cleaning?
Yep. Either up front or without moving the backing material before sending a second pass.
Usually a good idea to do a thorough cleaning once in a while though…instructions are here:
https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/cleaning
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The gunk can cause the lens to heat up and causes stress in the material. A laser window, mirror or lens can be ruined.
There really isn’t a good rule of thumb to determine how dirty is bad. You can look in the GF shop to see how expensive the replacements are.
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I would probably just clean it…
It only takes a couple of minutes.
Pull the head off, remove the lens and set it aside.
Open up a zeiss cleaner, wipe the lens, wipe the head window, reach under and wipe the other laser window, wipe the lid camera. Install the lens. Click the head in place.
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And don’t forget that other yellow window the head points to under the left side of the gantry.
That’s what I meant by laser window 
Think they call the left window (on the left side of gantry) the laser window and the window on the head the head window.
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I have the same issue - I got a replacement GF last Friday (the previous one had alignment issues) and this one doesn’t seem to cut through at the first attempt in random places… I did a bunch of test prints this morning (and did the whole cleaning thing though it’s a brand new GF so don’t think that mattered much) and just shared a number of screenshots with the helpdesk but can share here as well…
What kind of material are you cutting and are you pinning down the material?
Hi Jules!
thanks for responding - I always use PG (don’t want to experiment too much with settings and the likes) - and pinning it down with a bunch of those ‘honeycomb pins’ (you can see them in my screenshots here: Not cutting through material - my experience today - though you can’t see the top ones, the bottom ones are visible)
When I cut pieces from already used material, I always put the pins around where I’m about to print, that’s also in one of the screenshots above…
Excellent, that eliminates a couple of potential error sources. 
(I’ll just go read your other post…)
Thanks for the suggestions! Cleaning is definitely a good next step.
@ntl Thanks for letting us know. I’m sorry that your print didn’t come out beautifully!
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. It’s hard to know which issue might be affecting your print, but if you follow the instructions in the cut-through troubleshooter, 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 have the same issue - I got a replacement GF last Friday (the previous one had alignment issues) and this one doesn’t seem to cut through at the first attempt in random places… I did a bunch of test prints this morning (and did the whole cleaning thing though it’s a brand new GF so don’t think that mattered much) and just shared a number of screenshots with the helpdesk but can share here as well…
We try to keep to one topic per post in the Problems and Support section. I’ll continue working with you in your topic.
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.