Need advice

Hi everyone! I’m brand new to Glowforge and still learning settings.

I did a test engraving on a Hobby Lobby metal sign, but I don’t want to use that again that was just to experiment.

Now I’m switching to 1/8” birch plywood for my actual projects.

My problem is I can’t seem to get a dark, clean engraving with good detail.

For reference, my test settings were:

  • Speed: 700

  • Power: 25

  • LPI: 225

  • 1 pass

  • Auto focus

The engraving came out too light and not very defined, especially in the details of the design.

What settings would you recommend for 1/8” birch to get a deeper, darker engraving with better contrast?

Any help would be appreciated I’m still learning!

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Hey welcome!

Here’s a link for you

After that I’d recommend taking a look at my FAQ. it’s full of stuff you can use.

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When I try be material, I usually start with the proofgrade settings closest to the material I’m going to cut or engrave, and adjust the settings from there.

You can pick a proofgrade material from the drop-down list in your interface, either scroll through or start typing, like maple will bring up all the types of proofgrade maple, pick one and test a small circle in a corner you won’t use. If those settings don’t work for you, you can adjust them.

For the Baltic birch I used to buy, I used medium draft board settings for everything, (draft) engrave, score, and cut. But you’ll find that every material is slightly different and may require adjustments between sheets, and regular birch from big box stores (home depot and lowes) is not great quality, so make sure to check the forum on which ones people buy there. I always made sure to get “Baltic birch” from my local lumber yards.

Always test a small piece off to the side before beginning a huge project and double check for voids in the wood with a flashlight before hand and mark those because the laser won’t cut through them. It will save you a ton of materials, time, and headaches if you do.

10 Likes