Problem after camera calibration

I went through the camera calibration instructions carefully. The first time, the print went well but the machine stalled during measurement. It sounded like the head slammed into the right side of the machine. I didn’t see it happen because I had covered the window as suggested. The head remained in the upper right corner as pictured with the following message on the screen.

After that I remasked my draftboard, rebooted the machine, and ran the calibration again. The print was again successful and this time so was the measurement. I continued following instructions for Measuring Camera Accuracy. I turned the Glow Forge off for a bit. I then printed one target in the upper left. It seemed very well aligned. Then I moved the target to the lower right. My board is very flat, so I didn’t reset the focus, but when I clicked print, the Glowforge zoomed over there to check the focus and again sounded like it hit the right hand side. When it printed the target, it was way off as you can see in the photo below. I promise I followed all of the instructions carefully. I am now at the point where I submit screenshots for help from support.

Please look at my logs and see if there is a solution. I will be here and I can assist in diagnosis today. Feel free to call my cell phone number you have on file. 31.-…
Thank you
Steve A



Try turning off the machine, waiting for a minute, then turning it back on and letting it finish the startup calibration before you try to print the target again. (If I recall correctly, a couple of folks saw that issue when they first ran the calibration routine.)

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I did switch off the machine for a bit after calibration and then on again to print the targets. I waited until it settled down and seemed ready. Did you mean to cycle power between printing the two targets? Thank you for helping. I will turn it back on, and print another (waiting appropriately for it to be ready) just to see what happens.

Nope, sounds like you cycled it once, which was all I knew to do. You might want to cycle everything, (router, computer, Glowforge) once with everything off for one minute just to see if it changes anything. Other than that, support is going to need to take a look for you. :neutral_face:

I tried it again and it made exactly the same error.
Here is a video

Yeah…I think support is going to need to take a look at that. (They can always roll you back if needed, but that has to be done manually.)

Sit tight until they can take a look at it. Sorry, I know that wasn’t much help.

I’m so sorry about the trouble after running the calibrator. Thank you for the detailed video and description of the issue. I reviewed the logs from the two prints where this occurred. Would you please try the following for me so that I can look into this further?

Please try running the same print again, but Use Set Focus and place the focus area on the material, so it’s a bit above and to the left of where you’ve placed the precision preview pattern. After the print finishes, leave the lid closed until the image updates in the app.

Let me know how this print goes and the time and date you run it. I’ll extract the log from the print and take a closer look. Thank you!

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I ran a few more tests between 9 and 10:30 Saturday night. At first I didn’t totally understand what you asked for, but I think I got it and if I didn’t I’ve likely given you plenty of data to review. Here are screenshots.

I notice that the exclusion zone is much larger for setting the focus. I am patient and would not mind if you slowed focus and calibration processes to 25% of the current rate. I think it would help with quality issues and product longevity. That is a worthy trade off. Please set my machine that way and consider offering that option to others.

I am still unhappy with 1, the lack of precision, 2, the fact that I cannot safely print beyond 18 7/8ths inches, 3, the fact that the head slams into the right side even when prints are placed within the safety bounds.

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Thank you so much for the details. I’m looking into it now. As soon as I have more information I’ll update this thread.

Thank you. I look forward to your response.

I’m sorry again about the trouble.

We’re still looking into this, but in the meantime, I have one test we can run.

I’d like to revert your settings to the ones in use before the recent calibration, and have you test again on the far right edge of the bed area. (I can change them back again, if needed.)

I wanted to check with you before changing anything, because I didn’t want to impact any work you may have.

What do you think:

  • Should I make the change right away?

  • Should I wait for you to finish any prints you need to finish? And if so, when should I make the change?

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello Pip,
Thank you for the flexibility. I do have two pieces I need to find time to print today or tomorrow. (I’ll try to make it this evening.) when I finish I will let you know. I have no other jobs in the next week, so we can try your proposed test.
I’ll be it touch .
SteveA 8^)

Sounds good.

Thanks for your help.

OK I finished my prints (first snapmark passthrough poject. I give it a 96/100!) I also had a plumbing emergency.

Now, I am ready when you are to try your roll-back test. Just let me know what to do.
Thanks

Sorry for the delay, thanks for letting me know (and sorry to hear about the plumbing problem).

I’ve swapped your settings for the previous set.

I’d just like you to try a couple more of those prints over on the far right edge, to see if you’re still getting head bumps.

  1. Reboot your Glowforge to make sure it’s freshly centered

  2. Try a couple of those same prints

  3. If you see a head bump, stop, and let me know

  4. If you do several prints and see no bumps, let me know

  5. In either case, I’ll check the logs and see what I can see

Thank again for your help.

Hi Pip,
I tried 2 more tests. With the right edge of the target at 18 7/8 inches, the print was successful; although the lid camera view was off significantly more. I moved the target an eighth of an inch to the right, and the print was unsuccessful. There wasn’t a slam, but you can see that the right edge is flattened. I was tempted to move further to the right, but I don’t really want it to slam hard. For the same reason, I didn’t allow the Glowforge to set the focus on its own as previously described.
I have some jobs I need to do. I think I can run them within a limited zone with old alignment work-arounds. Please get back to me soon. The holiday season is here.
Thanks again,
SteveA

Thanks for running that test!

I’ve got one more thing I’d like to check out. Can you take a photo just like this one:

You can post it here, or email it to us at support@glowforge.com

I’ll take a look and determine our next steps.

is this a good enough view?

That photo is perfect, thanks!

It looks like the black pulley is slipping down a little bit, and could have been the cause of the flattened right edge.

  • For a longer term fix, I’ll need to send you a replacement, and instructions. (I’ll follow up in email to arrange the details)

  • For a short term fix, you can push that pulley up a little bit, and try the print again

Try to print print as close to the right edge as the app will allow.

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Good morning PIP,
Finally got to run the test - not encouraging. Where do we go from here?


Thanks for the tip about the pulley. It seems to stay in place now. I will check it regularly. How much is a replacement?