Print offset from what screen shows

I’m trying to make this cheese board and where it shows it on my screen and where it printed on the wood are totally different. It’s about 1/2 an inch off and the e in wine never printed. I’m adding pictures to show what my screen looks like before and after and where it actually printed.

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This is a focus issue. How thick is the cheeseboard? Did you use the set focus tool before placing the art?

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It’s 1/2 an inch thick. No, I put the wood in first and focused on it. Won’t the machine focus all over again if I lift the lid to place the wood in after it’s focused? Also, why would the focus change the orientation of my wording? I’m new here and learning as I go.

The set focus tool adjusts the camera view so that your visual alignment is not affected as much by the fisheye camera in the lid. It is different than the auto focus. Since the board is so close to the 1/2" limit that can be engraved with the honeycomb tray in, I suggest you remove the honeycomb tray and elevate your board with about 1" of material underneath it. Use the set focus tool where your design will be on the board, then place your artwork. It is also best to place the board as close to directly under the camera as possible.

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Is the set focus tool the little box that appears sometimes when I’m going to print? If so, I’m not sure what makes it appear. I’m having a bit of a time learning this machine. I’ve only had a couple hours here and there to work with it and it usually takes me several days to complete something from start to finish.

In the tool bar at the top of the interface, click the three little dots. Choose the set focus tool, position the cursor where you want the camera to focus and click. Here is the Glowforge instruction: https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033633714

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Thank you so much for all your help. This makes a lot of sense to me know.

Whenever you are struggling, just check in here in the forum. Lots of helpful people who all are still learning.

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I’m so sorry to see a print did not come out as expected.

I see that the community has provided some good advice on the next best steps.

The Set Focus target allows you to select an area to take a precision measurement of the material’s height using the red dot in the printer head. It looks like the red dot missed the material. Use Set Focus and place the focus area on the material, so it’s not near an edge. Then watch to make sure the red dot hits the material.

Please let us know how it goes.

Hello @msc31469, would you let us know if my colleague David’s instructions helped?

I sure will. I haven’t had a chance to remake this item or any items lately.

I’m having issues with my Glowforge not wanting to connect to my internet. It keeps saying Offline. I can’t make anything.

I’m so sorry to hear your Glowforge keeps saying it is offline.

I extracted logs from your Glowforge and it looks it was able to connect successfully to your network, but it may be having trouble maintaining a stable connection. When this is the case, you won’t need to go through Wi-Fi setup again, but you may see an “Offline” message.

The most common solution to Wi-Fi challenges is to restart all the devices involved in connecting to the internet.

  1. Turn off the computer, phone, or tablet that you’re using
  2. Turn off your Glowforge
  3. Unplug your modem
  4. Unplug your Wi-Fi access point
  5. Wait one minute, then plug everything back in and turn them back on

If that doesn’t work, we have two more suggestions that often make a big difference:

  1. Improve the signal path between your Glowforge and your Wi-Fi access point
    Wi-Fi signals need a clear path. Remove physical barriers, and move devices closer together:
  • Move your Wi-Fi access point up high and make sure it’s in an open space. Avoid locating your Wi-Fi access point on the ground, under a desk, in a cabinet, or in a corner where its signal can be blocked.
  • Relocate your Wi-Fi access point closer to your Glowforge
  • Move your Glowforge closer to your Wi-Fi access point
  • Install a Wi-Fi range extender closer to your Glowforge
  • Run an ethernet cable and install a second Wi-Fi access point next to your Glowforge
  1. Reduce electronic and Wi-Fi interference
    If your unit is near other devices that use Wi-Fi or a large number of electronics, temporarily turn off other electronics and devices in the area.

I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks so much. I tried turning everything off and back on and it didn’t work. Then later it came back up online for me without doing anything. I’m looking into getting a WiFi extender. I’m unable to move my Glowforge closer to my access point because of the need to vent it. I’m hoping this helps.

Hi @msc31469,

Thanks for your reply. I just took a look at the logs from your Glowforge, and extracted some data from the last few days of use in order to investigate your connectivity trouble. In these logs we have a record of the average signal strength the Glowforge is capturing from the network it’s connected to.

On average, this signal strength has been low over the last week, with average strength at around -91dBm as of yesterday. For more context, on networks with very good signal strength, this will often run closer to -30dBm. A signal strength at -70dBm or lower would be very difficult to stay connected to.

Using a WIFI extender might help, but you might also need to reach out to your internet service provider for assistance. If you contact them, ask if they’re able to run any diagnostics to measure the performance of your 2.4GHz frequency band. Please explain that you’re having trouble with the connection of one device that only uses 2.4GHz, and our technicians were able to verify successful connections and no dropped packets, but low signal strength (around -91dBm).

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!

We had our Internet Provider out yesterday and there was a connector on the outside of the house that had gone bad. It has been replaced and our service is much, much better. I have ordered a Wifi extended too because the room my Glowforge is in is a good distance away from the router. I was able to cut several projects yesterday.

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@msc31469, I’m so glad to hear they found the cause and you’re back to printing, that is great news!

Since things are better now, I’m going to close this thread. If you run into any other trouble, please start a new topic, or email us at support@glowforge.com, and we’ll be happy to help!