I noticed that you mentioned focus as well as different power settings. When I read your initial message, my immediate thought was focus issues. One suggestion that I would make is a simple series of tests with a 1” or so cut line and run it at very low power. ( I will generally make 5 or more short parallel lines at different power steps) I would expect to see a perfect line that just barely scores the surface of the material . If focus is off, the line will NOT be crisp. To often, we try to blast through material and don’t see the subtle tell tale of offset focus (or dirty lens). Low power testing is the trick. Post pix of your fine lines to validate.
I used to do some very critical metal marking with precision optics on another unit (with very fine but short focal length) I would do my tests at 5-10 lines , each at a slight z offset step in a 1”square. Then choose the setting with the crispest line. This is my go to calibration for new or troublesome materials.
I do the same for grayscale raster steps with 10 step chart black——white to tweak power settings once I have my focus optimized…
I do notice gf sometimes doesn’t get the auto focus perfect. My other laser is all manual and it’s tedious sometimes but Being forced to solve my critical focus issues has opened my awareness of this critical setting.
Perhaps you have already done this step but I wanted to throw this out there.
Just my 3 cents
I’ve found out that different leathers of the same weight require different settings. Glad you found something that worked for this. 6 oz. has always required lots of testing for me.
Leather thickness can vary significantly, even with pieces from the same hide. I use calipers to measure my leather and I’ve had good success using PG settings + entering thickness manually.
I am new to the Glowforge community and have been trying to educate myself on the types of leather that I can cut and engrave. I have half grain and full grain, aniline dyed leather. Is this suitable to use in my glowforge?
The preferred leather to use in the Glowforge is veg tanned. Some have used oil tanned and even chrome tanned, but the process used in tanning leaves chemicals that are not really ideal for lasering.
I need to find a way to cut leather that I got from Tandy Leather. I’ve layered 2 pieces together and all it does is burn the material which is about .08 thick. any Ideas would be appreciated
I’m pretty new to using leather, myself but I’m wondering why you’re doing 2 layers at once? And, is the total thickenss of both layers .08"? You didn’t mention what settings you are using. I usually just use the dropdown menu and choose either proofgrade thick or thin…depending on the thickness. Sometimes too, I mask my leather to keep cleanup at a minumu. More info. from you would help.
I am using 2 layers to stiffen it up some, I was also using a piece of poster board between them.
Also I’m a newbie only had my glow forge about 2 months.
It’s never a good idea to stack material, it can cause charring, and a even cause a fire in some materials.
So Step 1 is to stop stacking them together, and definitely never layer with different materials like posterboard. (You got lucky.)
Step 2 is to cut yourself a handful of these out of some scrap Medium thickness plywood or draftboard:
They are the absolute best thing for holding down flexible materials, and keeping it from bowing up while it’s being cut.
Step 3 is… the best way of dealing with the quirks of leather that I found is this info:
Step 4, last but not least: Run some tests using a small square on each piece of leather to see how it is going to cut and to determine the best settings…it’s not going to EVER be the same unless you are using Proofgrade. You will need to set Custom Settings.
What kind of leather are you using? Veg tan cuts very nicely most of the time, but many chrome tanned and oil tanned leathers don’t laser well at all. (the Proofgrade variety sold by GF is veg tan)
? Please interpret. And, when you gave the settings you use, wouldn’t those depend on the thickness of the leather? You don’t use the set focus? I usually have good success just by using the dropdown settings for PG leather, no matter if it really is or not.
As an example I am going to use a 2 ounce leather. Leather has 2 sides grain and flesh. The grain side is the front. Flesh side is the back. Different leather manufacturers finish the flesh side as smooth or rough.
In the past when I have tried cutting leather and the back side is rough I was challenged using the proof grade settings. When the back side was smooth sometimes the proof grade settings worked.
I do not use set focus. I found casing the leather before cutting makes the leather have a nice clean edge cut.
Here is a great video to show you had a case leather. Ignore the products he suggests. I use plain water.
