Running cuts twice to cut material

I am having an issue where it takes multiple runs on a cut to go all the way through a material. I have a pair of calipers to measure out the materials and such. I did not have this issue a few weeks ago. I have even tested with a piece of proof grade material and it still takes at least 2 runs for it to cut all the way through. I have cleaned the lenses and the first time, yes I put the head lens in upside down, but after flipping it back I am still having the same issue. it also does not seem to be engraving properly either. I had made a test piece of a small acrylic token with symbols on both sides. had to run the cut twice on proof grade medium clear acrylic and the HD engraving settings only removed the paper.

You say you’ve cleaned the lenses - but this is almost always a cleaning issue. There are 6 lenses/windows, the mirror - did you get them all?

(Scroll down to “Things that need wiping”):

I have had initially cleaned the 3 lenses that I knew of, 1 on the carriage and the 2 on the head, I did not know of the mirror inside the head or that the two lenses covering the sensors would need to be cleaned because those were not mentioned in the initial instructions when they first came out a few of years ago. I have cleaned all of these items according to the instructions in the link and it is still having the same issue.

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I have found the especially on the lens on the side and under the left side of the lid the very slightest film my not stop it from cutting but will weaken the beam and make the cut not go through.
In addition, if the smoke turns to like a candle flame then the laser at the working point is weakened considerably and will not cut through at just that one area. Usually, there is a darker smoke stain at that point as well :slightly_smiling_face:

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I have gone through again and cleaned all of the accessible lenses with a cotton swab and 91% alcohol and went over with a microfiber cloth. it seems to have at least fixed the cutting issue but there is still the problem with engraving. the draft and SD version of both graphic and photo seems to work just fine, but the HD of the graphic and photo settings barely even penetrate the paper covering and the graphic I used was a solid black circle for testing.

After further investigation, there is something wrong with the HD engraving settings for proof grade materials as I should not have to go in and manually change them to get the desired result or even to just penetrate the paper layer.

The HD setting is very light - it always has been though. It does a beautiful job when you want detail, but if you’re looking for darkness or depth it’s not the right answer. I use SD Graphic for almost everything :slight_smile:

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Given the fact that you’ve had the laser for a few years now, if it’s the original one you received and original tube, it’s very possible (very likely) that your tube is losing power.

It could be that your 10 power (or whatever HD is) is no longer 10 power so it doesn’t have enough oomph to get through the masking at the default Hd speed. Or it could be that 10 power is now below the firing threshold for the laser.

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about the trouble with your recent prints @andrew_fay.

To help our team take a deeper look, could you include a few photos of the prints that didn’t turn out as expected? Please include the date and time of the print as well.

Next, could you run a test print for me? The design we use has some known dimensions built into it and it will help me extract logs afterward to take a closer look.

Here are the steps for the test:

  • When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates.

  • If the Gift of Good Measure fails to cut through, take a photo of the front and back of the print and attach these photos to your reply.


Once we have the above info, we’ll take a deeper look and follow up with the next steps!

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