Okay I’ve had this machine here now three months and I’m still not able to cut anything out today I used a quarter inch sheet of plywood and this was designed in vectornator.
Outlined it in red as instructed I tried speed 800/85. It engraved it perfectly but when it went to cut it would not cut all the way through I don’t know what the problem is. Yes I saved as SVG file I’ve tried this three times
What speed/power did you use to try and cut? 1/4" plywood could be a tough assignment, depending on the quality of they plywood. Knots, voids and different types of glue will make cutting a problem. I suggest you either do some major testing to determine the appropriate speed/power setting, or use Proofgrade material with proofgrade settings. As for outlining in red, the color does not matter to the Glowforge. What matters is that different processes be assigned different colors. Could be purple and yellow. Blue and pink or black and green.
Was the speed of your cut 800/85? That’s pretty fast especially for 1/4 inch. I usually pick a proofgrade setting similar to the wood you are using and then adjust from there with some testing.
The first time I tried I tried with a friend who has a glowforge basic who has had it for 5 years and used it
he advised me to use a 800-85 it did not work
I tried 2nd time for cutting I tried full power on both and that did not work
3rd time I just tried full power settings only and 70 no luck.
This plywood is almost like paneling it’s that thin so I don’t know why it did not work
I don’t think anyone has had their Glowforge for 5 years, but at any rate, you need to do some tests on this material. 1/4" plywood is not going to cut at a speed over 150 with one pass. Also, lots of 1/4" plywood won’t cut at all. Are you using set focus or entering the height manually from your calipers? Have you read the information regarding manual settings?
It must be very frustrating to have the machine for three months without some success. There are plenty of people here that would like to help you get some projects cut out.
Have you got any proofgrade materials? Have you completed the first three prints that Glowforge suggests?
Yes. Did when I had the premium access. But I am not paying for a premium. I can engrave all day n. Just can’t cut. I j St USA glowforge sheet on this engraves but w not cut
There is no power that high. It ranges from 1 to 100 or “full”. Full is higher than 100, but just.
Testing is going to be required for anything besides proofgrade. I always enjoyed testing different materials, it’s a treasure hunt.
Please open the file for the Gift of Good Measure or any other simple file. Put the basswood plywood in the Glowforge. Select the Medium basswood plywood as the material. Make sure “cut” is slected" Then click the print button.
For 1/4 inch maple, I use speed 125/ full power on my Plus. It cuts every time. I use the Purebond plywood from Columbia Forests, available online from Home Depot.
I’m so sorry to hear that your printer is having difficulty cutting through 1/4" plywood materials.
I extracted the logs from your printer to have a closer look at the settings you had used. Looks like you were mostly using manual settings, and the laser power was set @ 68 when attempting to perform the cut.
Nevertheless, I’d like to have you perform a standardized test for us to get a baseline for how your Glowforge is performing. At your earliest convenience, please perform the following test print
Prior to running the test print, there are several things that need to be checked if the laser doesn’t cleanly cut through the material. We’ve discovered that photos don’t always come through well in emails, so I’ve included several links that will take you to reference instructions and photos. Please turn off your Glowforge and check the following:
Hi @oregonlady54. It’s been a couple days since Gabe’s response, and I wanted to check in to see if you’ve had a chance to run through the checks and test print he mentioned. Feel free to let me know if you’re still working on it, and I’ll be happy to keep this thread open, as well as continue with any troubleshooting. Thank you!
Hi @oregonlady54 - I’m very sorry to hear that, I hope you’re on your way to a speedy recover and feeling better. Please take all the time you need.
What I’d like to do is go ahead and get you moved over to email so things are a bit easier and more convenient for you. I’ll close this thread down and as soon as you’re ready and able to pick back up with troubleshooting simply reach out to us at support@glowforge.com
