Way out of line & cutting all over the place

Last week my glowforge bar went crooked while doing its usual centering. I cut it off and clean it out and made sure nothing seemed to be in the way of it moving. I turnt it back on and it centered correctly. Tried to mAke a print and it paused the print and said something had hit the hid and may have knocked my print off so I cut it off and check it again. When I cut it back on it would not center it kept pausing. After restarting it a couple times it got where it wouldn’t move at all when cutting it back on. So I done the whole WiFi setup thing again this morning and I finally got some movement. It will center just fine but my cuts are WAYYYYY off and it doesn’t even do the cuts like they appear. What

is going on.

What kind of machine do you have? (Pro, Plus, Basic?)

basic. had it for 6-7 months with no issues.

You need to start by checking the tension on the belt underneath the laser arm.

Instructions for how to do that are here:

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I tightened the belt, it was initially very saggy so im THINKING this is the problem! About to run my test print & will post the outcome! Thanks so much!

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YESSSS. Holy crap you are AWESOME! thank you so so much! You have saved a panicking woman. I have a paint party coming up this weekend with 24 people I was going to have to cancel if this wasn’t fixed! Thank you so much!

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Now check your lens – I think it might be upside down. Those cut lines are HUGE. Although the engraving looks fine, which confuses me…

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I’m so sorry that you hit a snag. Good to hear tightening the belts worked to improve your alignment. I agree with @geek2nurse, it looks like the lens may be installed incorrectly. Please make sure that the flat side is on the bottom of the printer head. You can follow the instructions here to check your lens: Things That Need Wiping

Please let us know what you find or if you have any other questions.

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Okay. Will do that as soon as I get back to the shop!

okay, so lense was in correctly. the cut is very big & jagged, now that its been pointed out. I was just so happy that it wasnt all over the place that I didnt even notice the cut lines. Any other ideas? @chelsea

What are you cutting there? (What material.)

RevolutionPly 5mm Poplar Plywood, I’m on the glowforge Facebook group and according to many they use this and cut it at 138 full power but I have to cut it at 122 for it to cut through in ALL places. At 138 it cuts through most but a couple places will still be attached

Well, it might be that you need to use that slower speed to cut through that material, which is going to mean a wider kerf. The jagged edges are file created, so if you check that and smooth it out, your cuts will be smoother as well.

In other words, it’s probably not the machine…or it’s too hard to tell using that material. Try a print of the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade draftboard if you want support to analyze how the machine is working, using the default settings, and post screenshots of the results. (There’s a reason we use that file for testing on Proofgrade material.)

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okay I will update tomorrow as I do not have any of the proofgrade draftboard with me at the moment, I do have proofgrade acrylic however, if that would work.

It would, but you don’t want to waste acrylic…it can wait on the Draftboard.

I am curious to know how your next test print came out!

If you’re still having trouble, I would like to check over just a few more things. Could you do the following for me?

Send photos of:

  • The bottom of the printer head

  • And the same photo, but with the lens removed as well.

Once we have those pictures, we’ll follow up with next steps.

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.