I hate coming back again and again, I swear Im not normally this daft. lol
This is the second time this has happened on this file. Ive printed it 4 times. thats a 50% success rate. Not so good.
Does anyone have any idea why this may be happening?
This is also the same image that has had errors when trying to set up the HD engrave.
We’ve seen this (losing steps printing in the front right corner) on the forums a few times now.
Glowforge engraves from the front to the back, so it is losing steps trying to travel right. Losing steps can happen when the motion controller commands steps, but the movement is physically blocked. In that case, the machine will think the position is that many steps farther than it actually is.
Since the GF software only travels from left to right as far as it needs to for the last burn spot, it is traveling farther and farther right with this design due to the curve of the compass and the background. And then it hits the right side and loses some steps. Since that apparently happened at the most extreme right position in the design, it doesn’t lose any more after that (since the lost registration keeps it from hitting the side again).
Support may need you to reproduce with the good measure in that corner, but I’m guessing you should wait until they ask you to do that in case they have a specific location request.
You can work around in the mean time by avoiding putting the design in the front right corner. IE leave an extra margin on the right of about the width of the shift there.
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Thanks so much for the info!
Its a huge help.
Unfortunately, it’s a big map in printing, so I need to either make it smaller, or start on the left and cut thru the QR code up top.
Cheers!
Should be no problem to cut through the QR code. If you have left over material, you can easily select it manually in the UI when needed.
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We should be clear though… This is not a minor issue and needs to be addressed. And it seems to me that it still hasn’t. It’s happened to many people (including me, but in a previous machine).
This case should only be closed when this issue has been completely, 100%, unquestionably totally resolved.
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Some have reported engraving over the QR code isn’t consistent with the rest of the engrave. Not sure if the users were using their own settings or not. You can flip the material over and choose the PG type from the menu though (as you said).
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OP specifically mentioned cutting…
Btw, I’ve seen those reports, but have never experienced it engraving with my PRU nor my Basic. I’m absolutely, positively not saying this isn’t a concern, just that I have never personally encountered it.
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Yes, but the picture is clearly of an engrave so I figured I’d cover all the bases just in case.
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So moving the image to the center left, the issue is gone.
Hopefully they fix whatever the problem is. There can be a lot of waste from this sort of thing.
Thank you all for the info and help!
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I’m etching material, and running into the same thing. From what I see/hear, the first time the laser head hits that spot in lower right corner, it is maxing out movement in the right direction. There is a distinct “bonk” noise. After that, the artwork is moved left a notch, even if it doesn’t show that onscreen. At first I thought I’d bumped it, or that the slamming door (right next to it) had jarred it. But I carefully stood and watched this last time, and heard the noise and saw the shift.
The attached screen shot shows several things. First, the offset from where the artwork shows and where it actually etches. I’d thought it was looking from the center out to both sides, but this appears to show that it looks from the right side of the bed, toward the left. Second, the shift. The areas circled in red show exactly where the shift occurred. Third, even though multiple artwork is uploaded and placed at the same time, relative to each other, the fact that it’s two separate etch passes, makes the actual placement different. I did the three stars at the bottom in the first pass, then everything else on the second pass. Although I didn’t circle it, the star/swirl in the lower left corner are impinging on one another, although the screen placement has them away from each other.
I’m trying to find a method and placement where nothing is etched over the magnets in the corners, or on top of another element. This is proving VERY difficult. I’ve already gone through both sides of both legs on 3 different pair of jeans!
(Rank speculation warning)
I am guessing that on some machines the calibration results in the center of the bed origin is in error either a little towards the front or right of where it physically should calibrate.
If calibration were exact, it seems there is something up there that has almost zero tolerance for error. If calibration is off in the wrong direction, then the head hits and steps are lost.
My big problem is that I have to work off of hunches as to where the artwork is going to land. And the head hitting (not MY head hitting, although that might be next) happens no matter where the jig is placed to the front or rear. I’m be making a lot more screen shots to help figure out whether the placement is randomly off or not.
@gravesly, I apologize for my slow reply. Would you be so kind as to do a test that will help us understand what’s happening?
- Turn off your Glowforge (this is important to avoid damage to your unit)
- Open the lid and, using both hands, gently move the laser arm to the center of the bed
- Gently move the head under the lid camera
- Turn your Glowforge back on
- We included an extra piece of Proofgrade Draftboard with your materials shipment for troubleshooting. Please print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade Draftboard in the lower right hand corner of the bed
- Let us know the result. If the print looks incorrect, please include a photo.
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Thanks for you reply.
I’ll get that done some time today and post an update.
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It’s been a little while since I’ve heard from you. I hope that’s because everything worked out! If not, just let me know and we’ll keep troubleshooting.
It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.