New machine has issues cutting

I had my first Glowforge Pro for about 6 months. I love what it can do, but it had an issue a few weeks ago putting my business out of commission for over 2 weeks. Glowforge was great and got me a replacement sent out to me. Too avoid being out of commission again, (because any product will go down at some point) I got a second machine, which I wanted anyways to keep up with orders.

The second machine is a PLUS. I have ONLY been using PROOFGRADE materials. I have used the 1/8", 1/4" boards and the 1/8" acrylic. This machine is brand new and has had issue after issue of NOT CUTTING all of the way through. Even though it is new, I cleaned all of the lenses, made sure the crumb tray is perfectly in place, the boards are all taped down on the edges to make sure they are flat, etc. I’m at a loss of what to do next. I am trying to fulfill orders and just keep wasting time and boards as I need to keep tossing product away. Does anyone have any advise? Again, this is all proof grade product on proof grade settings.

Thanks to anyone that can help. Photos are attached.

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I can only suggest taking the pieces out before moving the whole board and run a second cut on what doesn’t cut. You should run the good measure file on medium proof grade draft board so support can check the log for solution to this.

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This is the sort of issue that I have…consistently but sporadically. It’s also the reason that I don’t (can’t) use the PG settings and I’ve had to buckle down and experiment to see what power/speed ALWAYS works and save a preset for each of them that I use.
Every time I try to troubleshoot with GF, the problem goes away…until it comes back :confused:
Personally, I’d recommend that you find the settings that reliably work for your production cuts and save them. And have backups. And don’t forget to update the backups when the numbers shift by a hair.
Good luck!

(Some of) My cut presets:

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Thank you for the advise, Pauline. Attached are the results of the Good Measure File on medium proof grade draft board.

Thank you, I will have to experiment with this and definitely keep this in mind.

I just did the same test, but with 2 passes of the cut. People always mention that you should just see if the object comes out first, before picking it up out of the machine. If it’s not fully cut, then run the cut again. The problem with running 2 cuts is that it charrs the edges after 2 cuts. I guess charred edges is better than a broken or non useable object… It will still be nice for this to be fixed.

The support team will check the logs (which we can not see) and get back to you.

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Are you using hold down pins or magnets to keep the boards tight against the crumb tray?

The large spots/burn marks on the back side is flash back, and can be caused when there is a gap between the crumb tray and the board…

Boards are rarely perfectly flat. And with many PG sheets, I found the masking that hangs over the edges interfered with the ability for my full board to fit against the crumb tray, but I don’t have a Pro unit, so not sure if the tray is the same…

And even if they start out flat, cutting, and even deep etching, will change the internal stresses that can cause the board to warp slightly. So often I ignore all but the center/internal shape, cut it out (wiggling first to verify it was fully cut), then add pins to hold the center down tight, ignore that object, and then cut the rest.

And environmental conditions, especially humidity vary, and many users find they need to slow down the speed about 10 points, and this can be due to the conditions for the laser beam itself, but also the wood, especially, absorbing moisture from the environment, changing slightly with the conditions. (Even if your storage is ideal, it can happen in shipping).

And with slowing down, I’d recommend decreasing the power a bit too, and adding a second pass to the cut if you find you’ve getting too much scorching.

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On the second pass change the power or speed so it’s not just redoing the same settings. Double the speed or halve the power next time and see how that works for you.

I’ll also remove everything I can so it doesn’t redo things with the same line color that did make it through.

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I just had the first example of that in the 2+ years of using my basic.
It could be my tube is showing its age, but from the frequency of failed cuts I’ve seen recently I expect some variable in the manufacturer of the proofgrade has rendered the current settings a bit conservative.

I also have developed the habit of holding the material down to prevent movement and trying to lift out the cut with a piece of tape, so if it isn’t cut clean I can adjust and run the file again.

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Taping your material down isn’t going to be enough to eliminate the tiny amount of warp that can affect cut-through. Tape works well on the ends where you can tape it to the plastic frame of the tray, but everywhere else you should be using the honeycomb pins. Magnets are great, too, but I’ve started using them only in the frontmost 4" of where I’m going to cut, in order not to interfere with the air assist fan.

Good advice for 2-pass cuts! In addition, note that the focus height will have changed for the second cut. If the first cut 3/4 through it, you would ideally set the cut focus height to be (approx) that much shallower. There are variables, but do consider the focus height if the edges aren’t coming out right.

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I’m so sorry to hear that you are running into trouble. I appreciate you providing all of these photos, and running the Gift of Good Measure print on Proofgrade materials.

I would like to check over just a few more things. Could you do the following for me?

Please send photos of all your cleaned optical components, with special attention to any damage you might find:

  • Both windows
    • The printer head window, on the left hand side of the printer head
    • The laser window on the inside left of the Glowforge
  • The printer head lens
    • Both sides of the lens, top and bottom
  • The mirror inside the printer head
  • The bottom of the printer head

Once we have those pictures, we’ll follow up with next steps.


MarcM

      Staff




    November 12

I’m so sorry to hear that you are running into trouble. I appreciate you providing all of these photos, and running the Gift of Good Measure print on Proofgrade materials.

I would like to check over just a few more things. Could you do the following for me?

Please send photos of all your cleaned optical components, with special attention to any damage you might find:

  • Both windows

    • The printer head window, on the left hand side of the printer head

    • The laser window on the inside left of the Glowforge

  • The printer head lens

    • Both sides of the lens, top and bottom

  • The mirror inside the printer head

  • The bottom of the printer head

Once we have those pictures, we’ll follow up with next steps.


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Thank you for taking the time to send over the images of your optics.

Unfortunately, it looks like your unit is experiencing an issue that we can’t resolve remotely. I want you to have a reliable unit, so I’m recommending we replace this one. I’ll be in touch via email to sort out the details. I’m so sorry about the bad news.