Right side is not cutting

When I first got the machine it seemed like anything to the right of center wasn’t cutting as strong as the left side. I chalked it up to inexperienced user error. I’ve favored the left side since it was printing ok and I did not have time to troubleshoot, nor was I ready to use it on a regular basis. I am now ready and need to figure out what the problem is.

After reading some of the other related posts…
I did a calibration. (on white acrylic…No more draftboard, the few I received when the machine was delivered was cut improperly due to this problem)

I printed Gift of Good measure 3x. left side middle side right side. about 11:27AM this morning)
-Left one printed correctly. Middle one cut thru half, right one did not cut through at all.

Hopefully you didn’t wait so long that you’re out of warranty.

That problem typically means there is a misalignment of a mirror inside the left side of the machine. It would need to be shipped back for repair/replacement.

1 Like

oh geez I hope not! It was delivered in Sept. :grimacing:
Thanks!

Is your crumb tray properly seated? The feet in the recesses on both sides?

Other than providing clear pics of your optics (windows, mirror and lens) as you you will find in the “cut didn’t go thru” troubleshooting section, or in other similar threads here, that’s pretty much all you can do until support checks in.

2 Likes

FYI on just this point - you can re use old material - or even use cardboard as long as it’s the right size and perfectly flat. Put new masking on it. No need to waste full sheets of new material for a calibration!

1 Like

Thanks so much! I read that AFTER and thought “doh”. …the more you know :sparkles:

1 Like

Yes I triple checked. I will upload the photos and wait. Thanks so much!

1 Like

I’m sorry for the trouble with your Glowforge and that it’s not cutting through correctly. What @eflyguy suggested regarding sharing photos of your unit’s optics is a great next step. In addition to that, may I see a photo of the back of the material shown in your original post? This will help us to see how close the Glowforge came to cutting through on the right side of the bed.

In addition to the photo of the back of your material, here is the complete list of photos of the optics which will help us while we look into this with you:

  • Both windows

    • The printer head window, on the left hand side of the printer head

    • The laser window on the inside left of the Glowforge

  • The printer head lens

    • Both sides of the lens, top and bottom

  • The mirror inside the printer head

  • The bottom of the printer head with the lens installed


Once we have those pictures, we’ll follow up with next steps.


Here are the requested photos. The cutting problem seems to be anything to the right of the center camera on the lid.






I think they also requested a photo of your mirror.

They did and I did not! Thank you! Here it is.

Thank you for the detailed photos of all of your optics and the back of your material that didn’t cut through. After reviewing these images along with the logs from your Glowforge I’ve found that, unfortunately, this isn’t something we’ll be able to resolve without replacing the printer.

I’m going to close this thread, and I’ll be in touch with you very soon via email to coordinate next steps.