So it appears, at least at this incarnation of the user interface, that many advanced settings are not user-controllable, as @Tex99 mentioned earlier:
Now this has me wondering about how these advanced settings are managed in manual mode.
A good experiment to try in this respect is to use a piece of proofgrade material, and first do some cuts and engraves on one portion of it, using the proofgrade settings.
Then hide the barcode and pretend the material is non-proofgrade. Dial in the settings for speed and power manually to match the proofgrade settings that were used previously. Then re-do the same cuts and engraves on a different region of the material.
Then compare cuts and engraves in the two portions. Are they different? Does the Forge use different defaults for the advanced settings when used in manual mode?
I doubt acceleration and compensation for overshoot, etc, are material dependent. They are more related to the dynamic properties of the machine and getting the best out of it. They may have more effect on more delicate materials but you probably want the best motion parameters on any job unless there is a big speed quality trade off.
This is why being able to use the Proofgrade settings as a starting point is so important. Plus being able to then manually adjust…
It would be very easy for a GF to present a warning if it detects you are using Proofgrade settings without a piece of Proofgrade being present. That way it can warn you’re on your own and confirm you agree. So no liability or potential support calls.
But we would still have a starting point for other materials…
As it sits now, PG loaded (or unloaded- as in you manually pick it from the material picker), when you goto ‘manual cut/engrave/score’ it populates the settings it was going to use.
Unless you switch to ‘unknown…’ (PG not loaded) it will not let you run the op. But at least you can see what it was going to use and use that as a baseline.
I cut like 5 stargates when I got the glowforge. It was the second thing I did. I didnt notice any difference. (Ive since given them away as they were all the same)
Suppose the cut with the manual settings (matching the proofgrade settings for speed and power) cuts differently, e.g., has overshoots or other problems.
So can I just check, that on the latest software (or at least the version you are running). The GF will not let you use the Proofgrade settings unless it detects the presence of Proofgrade material?
The functionality to manually select PG settings (and run on any material) has been developed and is working (see @takitus). If this has been removed then it looks like GF are deliberately restricting functionality. Pure speculation on why, but I have my suspicions.
Potentially this will be a big issue for:
International users - due to shipping costs of PG.
Users who have there own supplies of materials.
Users of PG who have removed the masking tape (on which is the PG code).
Users of materials that GF do not supply eg all the different stocks of card/paper.
I really hope that GF reverse the position on the ability to manually select PG settings… @dan can you comment?
While opportune for PF money grabbing, it also, as pointed out, cuts down on liability.
“I used the 1/4” birch setting and the GF burned down my house!" followed quickly by “I’m suing!”, is not something anyone wants to hear or have happen.
You can manually select proofgrade settings. It will let you see whatever you want to see. You just can’t hit print while proofgrade is still selected (if that proofgrade QR isn’t detected). If you want to write them down, change back to unknown material, and enter them by hand and then hit print, you can.
They aren’t trying to make it hard to use whatever materials you want. They just are making sure that they aren’t at fault for suggesting settings that might not be compatible. By entering the settings manually they know there’s no way it could be accidental.
I’m totally ok with this. It’s a little bit of a pain but I completely understand.
I’m not clear on what settings would not be available for non-ProofGrade that is there for ProofGrade? Could you give me an example?
My thought is that the settings for ProofGrade are actually simplification or streamlining. I have often used custom settings on ProofGrade just because. It’s not adding anything that I can tell.