Update on the cutthrough problem

A few months ago, I posted here:

And explained that we were having a lot of trouble cutting ALL the way through draftboard.

We spent a lot of time and effort on cleaning things, including the lens, with Zeiss wipes, buying magnets, etc.

Also discovered the four dimples under the crumb tray and cleaned those. Worth it. But it didn’t fix the problem.

It turns out that there was a tiny piece of cruft in the hinge on the top. That cruft wasn’t big enough to keep the top from closing, but it was big enough to cause a tiny rift in the time-space continuum when the lid was shut. That tiny flex was enough to cause the problem.

Still in favor of the machine being smarter about it, but it’s a relief.

Wanted to share here in case anyone else was also frustrated.

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Interesting fix.
Thanks for sharing it.

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Huh! Interesting fix…wouldn’t think to check the hinge.

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@sethgodin: A good addition to someone’s list of things to check in situations like this. I’m checking my hinges just to be sure. Thanks for sharing! :sunglasses:

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Great that you have it working. But the solution confuses me. Nothing with the lid should have any impact on focusing. I wouldn’t be surprised that a lid twist would affect the preview image accuracy, but can’t see how the gantry alignment or head would be affected. The lid could be completely open, as long as the sensors were defeated, focusing would continue normally.

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I’m glad you resolved it! I’m going to close this thread. If you run into any other trouble, please start a new topic, or email us at support@glowforge.com. We’re here to help!