Proofgrade material

Community Support
1

I am so tired of wasting my proofgrade material because it doesn’t cut!! Non proofgrade material cuts better than this!

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If you note the time and date of this cut Support can pull your logs and see what might be going on. It has always been my experience that Proofgrade materials cut much better than material I buy elsewhere.

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PG material is literally guaranteed to cut - it’s part of the price you pay. If you were just throwing stuff out without reporting to support and getting it refunded AND finding out what the issue is with your machine, that’s really sad :frowning:

What is your material
What settings were you using
When was the last time you cleaned your lenses (all 5 areas) + the mirror
You should cut a Gift of Good Measure (in your dashboard) and post pictures of the front and the back and the time you made the attempt.

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It might be an illusion, but the picture you posted shows a thickness variance in the shadow cast by the material. If that is correct, then it would appear that the material is slightly warped (it’s happened before, I had a full order that arrived warped) and that would definitely cause an issue with focus and the resulting cuts.

Check your materials, even when they’re of the Proofgrade variety, and make sure that they are perfectly flat on the crumb tray. Use pins or tape when necessary, to help keep materials flat during processing, and your cut-through performance will improve.

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Thank you, I will do that. I don’t think they are warped. I have used non proof grade material that has been warped and it cuts perfectly.
Btw… where can I purchase the pins? I have seen them being used in videos.

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You can make your own, there is a file and more info here: Honeycomb bed holdown pins

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I use a piece of painter’s tape to lift the cut while making sure not to move the material. if it didn’t cut I can just run the cut again.
@deirdrebeth is right, the company will replace the material if it fails to cut with proofgrade settings. Do as she said and do the GOGM and take pictures of front and back. They have the ability to adjust the settings on your machine if it isn’t performing correctly.

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8

I’m sorry to see that your Glowforge failed to cut all the way through on Proofgrade material. Reviewing the photos of your print, along with the logs, it appears the material may have been warped resulting in unexpected results.

Could you let me know if this happened on other Proofgrade material prints? If so, please send some pictures of the front and back of the prints so I can take a closer look. In the meantime, I wanted to send some information about warped materials. I also sent this information to your email.

When natural products like hardwoods and plywoods are exposed to temperature and humidity changes, they change shape. This is known as “warp.” It is especially common after shipping or during the Glowforge printing process. In both cases, the warp will diminish with time. However, improper storage can cause permanent warping. Your Glowforge can print beautifully on materials with some warp, but here are some tips to reduce it.

  1. Give your materials time to flatten
    • Humidity and heat from shipping and printing may cause your materials to temporarily warp. If this occurs, unwrap them and store them, per the instructions below. They will relax, and their warp will lessen over the course of about a week.


  2. Store your material carefully​
    • Upon arrival, immediately store your materials in a cool, shaded, dry place
    • Stack materials on a clean surface. Stacking warped material on top of other warped material can make the problem worse.
    • To prevent discoloration or damage, keep them out of direct sunlight
    • If your materials need to be stored in a humid area, wrap them with plastic wrap or shrink wrap to keep moisture out


  3. Set heavy objects on top of your material
    • To ensure your materials stay flat, stack heavy objects on top of your materials
    • Distribute weight evenly on top of the material. If possible, use a flat object like a textbook.

Let me know if you have any additional questions!

1 Like