I have had my Glowforge for about a month now. The first few items I have made turned out perfect. However, lately the cutting has been off.
The first item I made was a name tag made of wood (proofgrade medium basswood using automatic settings). The Glowforge did not finish the cut exactly where it started. I tried cutting the item twice and it did the exact same thing each time.
The next item was a name tag made of acrylic. Again, it did not finish perfectly where it began. Also, this time a tried having it cut a key hole center on the first letter. The hole was way off it almost went off the edge of the letter.
The next item I cut a Game of Thrones cake topper using acrylic. Again, it did not finish the cut where it began. I had to get knife the finish the cut so I could pop the cake topper out.
The final time, just before writing this, I engraved and cut out a tag for a teacher gift made out of wood. However, this time the machine finished the cut, BUT this time the circle and the tag are completely misshapen. (I realize my engraving setting were off. However, I only asking about the cutting being off.)
I’d recommend copying all of this and starting a new thread in #problems-and-support. Moving it over there won’t open a ticket - it needs to be a new thread.
Also, in addition to the above info, I’d recommend rebooting, and then printing out a default design, like the Gift of Good Measure, and including pictures of that. Is this occurring all over the cut area or only on designs that are in a certain area? Like the front, or far right? If so, cut the gift of Good Measure in that area. If it seems to be happening wherever, I’d probably still put it over as far to the right as possible.
I guess I’ve never run into this issue. A few things I would check would be:
Ensure that the SVG file has all the connecting lines. It looks like you’re using fonts, so I don’t see where the issue would be there.
For boxes, like the tags, ensure that all the corners are connected as well. Again, if you’re using the same template for each of your tags you have in the last pic, I’m not sure where the problem would be.
Maybe it’s just me, but it looks like the wood isn’t entirely flat. I’m not certain that’s the case though.
If you have the SVG file still available, uploading that in the Problems and Support may help as well.
Looks like either a shift in material or some type of missed steps or axis error.
Ensure your crumb tray is down in the dimples very snug and not riding on bits of material.
Ensure your material is not shifting by using hold down pins, tape, or magnets.
But first would be to check all the rails, belts, pulleys and gantry ribbon to ensure that there is nothing hindering free movement.
Then with the machine off, move the carrage front to back gently and the head side to side over the whole surface of the bed to see if there is slippage or restistance.
After you have checked all that out, then print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade to see if it is still an issue.
I would second doing exactly what @jbmanning5 suggested. To me, that looks like a mechanical problem, maybe with a stepper motor, maybe a loose belt. The deformation is happening non-uniformly and across multiple files in different sections of the bed. You want to make sure that the Support staff sees it…which means opening a new thread in the Problems and Support section so they can open a ticket for you and look into it. It also wouldn’t hurt to check the belts for debris or a loose belt as @marmak3261 recommends.
To copy everything, click on the little pencil icon at the bottom of your post to enter Edit mode. Click CTRL+A to select everything, then close the edit panel. Create a new thread in the Problems and Support section, then click CTRL+V to paste it into the new panel.
Let them take a look at it. They might need to have you perform a test or two.
One other possibility is that your material is shifting just a little bit on the bed each time - if it is a small piece, or lightweight material, you might need to tape it down so it doesn’t shift. Watch a print all the way through to see if you see anything bump the material.
Thank you. I will definitely be trying this when I get home.
When the machine is on and cutting it appears to be running smoothly and not hitting any snags but I will definitely make sure I don’t see anything while its off.
My design is a perfect circle with a perfect circle key chain hole but what I got was far from a perfect circle. There must be something wrong with laser ? idk
Again, I would recommend printing a Gift of Good Measure. I didn’t suggest doing it just on a whim. They will ask you to do it because it’s a file they designed, that goes through all the various actions, and that they can diagnose issues from.
