I’ve been practicing with the Glowforge Passthrough for the past few days and I’m frustrated to say the least (I’m just cutting a simple 11 inch circle). My first few attempts, I let it automatically line up and print to see how well that feature worked; every time the alignment was off and made the new part of the circle smaller than the original size- I tried cutting the circle smaller (to save the project I was working on so it wouldn’t be a complete waste) but it just didn’t look right (and honestly, if my project is supposed to be 11 inches, I shouldn’t have to make it smaller each time). The next few times I tried manually aligning it; I aligned it to where it looked perfect on the screen but when it printed it was still off significantly and was made larger! If it was a little off, I could sand it down but the alignment is too off to be able to do that! I am beyond frustrated because I invested so much into this machine and I cannot get it to work properly. And the machine isn’t consistent in it’s mistakes; one time it will make a bigger circle and the next time it will make it smaller! Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!
It almost sounds like it isn’t focusing properly. Have you done the lid camera calibration yet? And is your material a light or dark color? Shiny or matte?
I didn’t know there was a lid calibration that I could do! I need to try that! My material is a cherry wood…
Try here…
Camera Recalibration
Also if you align the material to the side of the tray, it will keep the same horizontal location, then you only have to worry about the vertical. Then if you break the circle halfway the endpoints will be vertical and a mm off will not be noticed as much as it would if you tried just to add the last inch.
Also, you can record the horizontal location and if you use precise measurement go back to the same place then only using the arrow keys go only in the vertical.
Hi @Humdinger . I’m sorry that you’ve run into some trouble with your Passthrough print not aligning for you. I see you gotten some great advice from other members, and I’ll be happy to help you get this sorted out.
One first thing I would do, is try a thorough cleaning of the Lid Camera with a Zeiss wipe. Build up and residue can easily build up after prints. This can create issues as the camera scans across the print bed to help with alignments and calibration.
Next, @rbtdanforth had great advice to try running a Camera Recalibration. This can be a huge help when you run into any trouble where there is noticeable shift between the placement of the design versus the print result.
Also, @ekla mentioned checking that the material to ensure it is not too dark, shiny, or reflective material. This can include any varnish applied to wood. This can create trouble with Passthrough prints as the unit tries to map the design onto material as it moves through the print bed.
Lastly, you are still running into trouble with the Passthrough Print failing, can you send us the following?
- The date and time of the print attempt
- The design file being used
- Photos of the material being used
We can review all of that along with the log files from your Glowforge and help you get everything resolved. We’ll look forward to hearing back. Thanks!
Hi@Humdinger. It’s been a couple days since my last response and wanted to check in with you. If you’re still running into any trouble, let me know and I’ll be here to help. Thank you!
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.