Everything I see indicates a focus issue. Especially with the cuts all looking the same after you manually changed the focal height for each operation. If that was done correctly, it should have changed the focus point for each job and the cut lines would look different.
The camera focus is fixed from the factory and won’t inhibit the cutting ability. I don’t know why some of them are that fuzzy. You’d only have to be close with that wide of a lens for everything to stay in focus. That said, the lens doesn’t need perfect focus generally to read the QR codes.
All in all, I think the reality here is that you’ll need to get a proper crumbtray in, and then cut the gift of good measure to see what it looks like. (To get actual Glowforge support - it needs to be Proofgrade material on a proper crumbtray, with a known good file from GF - to eliminate other variables).
Presumably one of those pins in the ribbon cable connecting the head also controls the AF motor, so it might be worth checking to make sure the ribbon connector is seated correctly. If so, disconnect it, take a picture of the pins and post it up here.
I just double checked the seating of the connector, and took a picture of the pins and everything looks good. From my limited understanding and research, I think you are right- it appears to be some kind of focus issue. Too bad there isn’t some kind of lens calibration routine you can run to test it. I am not sure if the lens is even moving.
After doing some tests and thinking about this, I have a hypothesis on what is wrong, but I’m not really sure how to test it. It seems like in the tests I’ve tried, engraving looks pretty decent and isn’t out of focus. However, cutting seems to be out of focus because the lines are wider, based on the feedback that people have shared in this post after looking at my cutting attempts.
Is it possible that the movement range of my lens is “stuck”, or maybe limited? Perhaps it can move appropriately for engraving, but the movement it needs to make to focus for cutting isn’t working- assuming it needs larger movement. I really don’t know how much movement is required for the lens to make on cutting vs. engraving, but it’s just an idea.
Basically, the head has a focus mechanism with a number of steps/positions. The material height is either measured by the scan to set the focal height, or it uses your manual focal height setting, and then it adjusts the lens to the appropriate position which correlates to the distance.
I’m not sure if your engrave is actually in focus either. With an engrave you have a lot more leeway than a cut.
Here’s a Gift of Good measure i did a while back. You might be able to compare it to yours.
The good news is that if it is out-of-focus, and you’re happy now with the engraving, you’re going to be really happy when it’s right.
Is it possible the cut lines are actually 2 lines close together from an expand operation? Zooming in to ridiculous magnification should reveal that if it’s the case.
Thanks for the image example. From what I can see, your cut lines seem to look more narrow. However, I do think the engraving area does look pretty similar.
Frustrating, but I don’t think you can learn anything more until the fixed tray comes in and you can run tests on PG material. It really sounds like a bad unit so far, but nobody will be able to tell until some variables are eliminated.
The good news is you’ll be an expert about all this by the time you get your first proper cut!
In case anyone is interested, I got an email saying I need to pack up my Glowforge and send it back. I have no idea when I’ll have a working unit, and they can’t give me any kind of time frame for the replacement. In the mean time, my warranty is burning away and I’m unable to use my machine. I am quite disappointed with my experience with Glowforge so far. I hope I am in the minority of having issues.
On a related note, are there any instructions for how to put the packing materials back in? I can’t seem to find anything on the forums about that. I want to make sure I don’t do it incorrectly.
I’ve known people to wait months for warranty to finally get them back in business… with TVs, ovens, airbags… There is a precedent for your concern. Many companies are really bad at honoring warranties.
I never buy extended warranties because I’ve never had to send something back after 30 days. With most things, if it works out of the box then it works.
In my experience, your Glowforge replacement is really quick. My replacement passed my original unit in transit and I was up again in only a couple days.
My Glowforge was the first time I actually used a warranty, and it worked so slick and quick. If you can be realistic in your expectations of UPS, then I think you’ll be very pleased with the way Glowforge handles your situation.
Thanks! I sure hope it goes as quickly as it did for you. I am still optimistic. I asked them to send me a replacement as soon as possible but I haven’t heard back yet, and still waiting on the RMA, guessing I may not hear until Monday. I feel like it is a bit unfair to lose a month on my warranty since my machine never worked properly in the first place. Hopefully the next one is solid.
Just closing out this thread. My replacement has arrived and is working perfectly. My original unit must have had some kind of focus issue. When I compared some of the gift of good measure engraving (that never cut fully through) to the new unit, I saw a significant improvement and sharper focus detail. The new unit also cuts through just right.
I ended up having to get a replacement Glowforge unit. If I remember right, it took about a month from the time I sent my glowforge to the time they sent me a replacement. On the plus side, I have been using my replacement for a few years with no issues. If you are having problems, as @Elfyguy said you should submit a new post. I’d recommend trying over at the Problems and Support forum.
But I am surprised that this thread still allows replies. I thought they auto closed after a certain amount of time…