Not cutting through in some spots

Does anybody else have this problem it seems like it just doesn’t cut through on some spots. This makes no sense to me at all. It has happened on multiple projects. Any advice or solutions would be great. Also this seems to happen no matter if I’ve just cleaned everything or it’s been running a few hours.

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Unless that’s proofgrade then likely your problem is exactly the same as @threadbeam’s

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I agree; when you see good cuts with random skips in between, it’s oftentimes an issue with the material. There can be voids, glue pockets or even string/junk in the substrate that mess with the cutting. It’s a problem with a lot of the wood you get from the big box stores like Home Depot etc. These things aren’t an issue for most uses, but it really screws with laser work. :confused: What makes it worse is manufacturers can change glues etc. pretty regularly and one batch of wood may be different from the next batch.

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If those gaps in the cuts are on both sides of the wood, then it’s perhaps a machine problem. The next step to investigate that would be to see if it is reproducible when printing the Gift of Good Measure design on Proofgrade material at Proofgrade settings.

If the gaps are only on the backside, it’s a material problem: a glue pocket or other defect in the interior of the wood that the laser couldn’t cut through in those spots. The solution to that is to either use a different material, or hold up a flashlight to your wood in a dark room to find the dense pockets and mark them in advance so you don’t lay cut lines over them.

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I’m sorry to see that you’ve been running into some print trouble with cuts not coming out as expected. It’s great to see some community members already giving some advice, and I’ll be happy to help get this sorted out.

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:

Once all these things have been checked, please perform the following test print.

  • Print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade material, using Proofgrade settings.

  • When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates.

Check the completed print:

  • If the Gift of Good Measure fails to cut through, take a photo of the front and back of the print and attach these photos to your reply.

I’ll look forward to hearing back!

Hello @mfroese03, its been a few days since we heard from you, so I wanted to check in. Were you able to try the steps my colleague Brandon provided? If so, how did it go?

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.