Hi! I’m new to all of this, and this may be an easy fix: I can’t get my GF to cut through my material (leather). It is not pg, but I think I’m putting in the correct settings… I’ve set the material thickness to .25(my material is not quite 1/4 inch), 250 speed, full power, 2 passes (I’ve tried a variety of other combinations but this seems to be the closest) and it won’t cut through my material. Any suggestions? Do I need to change the material thickness? Thanks!!
I’m going to shift this to the Beyond the Manual category so I can give you some suggestions - support can’t answer questions about non-Proofgrade materials.
Quarter inch thick leather is going to be tough to try to get through. The thickest I’ve tried to cut was only about half that thick, so you’re on the right track with multiple passes.
I would slow the speed down by about 25 points, keep the same power and two passes and see if it cuts all the way through.
If not, add a third pass before trying to reduce the speed any further.
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Jules is spot-on here, but I’ll add that you’ll want to enter the most accurate thickness possible for any material to aid in placement/location – very small errors can translate into large placement differences. A set of digital calipers will help tremendously.
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A lot depends on the leather. I made a dog collar from Tandy Latigo leather that was .160”. On full power, it made a mess. I ended up doing 2 passes at 180/100 speed and then flipped it over and did 2 more passes of the same settings to get a clean cut through (I made a jig)
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thanks for the quick responses! I’ll try give it a try 
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…any other thoughts? I’ve tried the calipers (.20) and slowed down the speed. It is so close to cutting through (I can tear it but of course I’m wanting a clean cut). The best luck I’ve had is with 200/full power and 2 passes. Is it just too thick?
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Why not do 3 passes?
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There wasn’t a difference with 3, not sure why?
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Leather doesn’t reflect the beam, I don’t believe. In wood and acrylic, the beam is bouncing back and forth. The beam is only in “focus” for about a tenth of an inch normally.
Do 1 pass at the surface and then the second pass with the focal height set to about half.
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It seems like making the focus height .10 works better, but still not making it all the way through…
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Set the focal point for the third pass to 0.05". That focuses the beam at the bottom of the material.
So do two passes with the settings you like best, then just change the settings to one final pass and lower the focal point.
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do you have any tricks to getting it lined up again? it is off when I try to line it up for a second pass…
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Don’t move a thing, either on the screen or on the material on the bed. Just tape it down when you start the operation.
If you do not move anything, the next pass you send will fall exactly where the last one fell, as long as you do not close the file or turn off the machine.
Oh, you set the focal point in the Manual settings for the material, at the bottom. You don’t put it in the Unknown Materials thickness slot.
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I’ll try that. do I set the unknown materials to .20 or leave it blank?
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You set it to 0.2 the first time you place the design on the leather, after that you leave it alone.
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still not going through. I did 2 passes at 200/full power and then one pass at 200/full power with focal height at .10 here are a few pictures (the black leather is the back)
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Looks like you’re just going to have to slow it down… does it kill the leather when you do that?
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I can clean it up, so I’m not too worried about that. should I do all the same things with a slower speed?
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Yes, but take it down in steps. The slower the speed, the wider the kerf and the more charring.
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I think I finally got it!! Thanks SO much for your help :). 150/full power 2 passes then 1 pass at .1 focal height. it chars it a little, but I round the edges so it cleans it up. Thanks again for all your advice!
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