Printing time

Was not really sure where to post this. Am trying out the Viking chess free file for premium) and in the details it lists 90min for the time…when I sent the board to print its over three hours…I’m using the 1/4” walnut it called for…am I doing something wrong? I have the plus if that makes a difference

Quite likely.

The reduced power of the Plus compared to the Pro would make a significant difference in overall print time.

Thanks…did not realize print times were based on the pro

Choose draft engrave if you can, it will definitely cut down the time.

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I’ve already got it going…if I make another I will try that

I usually set things that don’t need to be deep to draft engrave, so I would check in the side if it is set to SD engrave. If it’s already on draft, then you can try to reduce the lines per inch to save time.

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Only if the engrave was full power. Otherwise the model shouldn’t matter. The cuts should only be about 20-25% faster which leaves a fairly sizable delta unaccounted for.

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Is it possible that you are engraving the lines for the board rather than scoring them?

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you mean more like 12% faster? it’s only a 5w difference,

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The lines are set for score…I think it is the engraving of runes along all four sides…it’s moving very slow

The default setting for the design has the engrave operation set to SD Graphic (550/70%) at 270 LPI. Reducing the LPI a couple of steps should speed up the engrave without seriously impacting the design.

Given that the runes are all around the board, I am not surprised by a 3 hour print. It’s also possible that the 90 minutes listed in the catalog is a typo. It wouldn’t be the first.

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FWIW, the difference between pro and basic PG settings is a 20% difference, I’m pretty sure.

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Thank you

According to GF it’s supposed to be faster with other magic :slight_smile: The OpenGlow project did discover that there wasn’t any difference with motors, etc. so unless they’re overdriving those, you’re right. Officially though there’s magic occurring.

Alternatively, the 45W tube may not be 45W at all but perhaps a 50 or 60W that is downrated to 45W and they’re actually using the 50W capability. Then magic is not required.

If it is just 12% faster than the time delta between 90 minutes and 3hrs for the project just got much larger than just Pro vs Basic/Plus would suggest.

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There’s not a 20% difference in power between 40 and 45 watts.

I find myself hard pressed to buy into unexplained marketing magic.

:man_shrugging:t2: there is a 20% difference in cut speeds though on PG settings between pro and basic.

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When it comes to glass CO2 laser tubes, length and maximum power output are directly related. The Glowforge was built around this limitation: the case is as small as it can be to accomodate a 45 watt laser tube. A 50 or 60 watt tube wouldn’t physically fit. They’re 1000-1200 mm long, larger than the Glowforge’s ~960mm wide case.

As far as the time difference on the chess set, I wonder if whoever estimated it used the draft setting (1000 speed, 195 LPI) instead of the SD setting (535 speed, 270 LPI). Big difference there.

Of note, the SD setting changed from 1000 to 535 speed a little while back, but I’m guessing the times were never revised.

1000 speed is like 5.58 inches per second.

535 speed is about 2.73 inches per second.

So that would basically double the time from 90 to 180 mins.

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Sometimes. You can get increases in “effective length” by altering the structure of the tube - it doesn’t all have to be a straight line channel to lase. That’s often done in high end tubes where space is at a premium. It’s entirely possible that’s part of the GF magic - their tube is proprietary for valid reasons. Their tube would be more expensive than a normal glass tube or even a higher end RECI or other “pro” level tube. A bespoke tube isn’t something to undertake lightly. I have to believe GF did it for a reason.