Wife just got her Christmas present, a Glowforge! She is pumped. Anyways, a few observations and questions prior to opening a support ticket with the company.
I went through the Camera Calibration after we did our first ruler test (ruler turned out fantastic btw) and found it to be really far off. It is on a stable surface and flat. Low lit room, shipping box didn’t look damaged, etc. I rebooted it after it finished up, re-checked the “bulls eye” pattern, still way off. I’ve “Set Focus” on the print, I’ve focused on the middle of the screen, I’ve not used it, I’ve moved it all over, still they will simple not line up. I powered it off and manually moved the laser mount to when I powered it back on it did a little alignment test, still it seems to be quite a bit off. Note that it is spot on horizontally, just vertically it seems to be off.
When we ran the Camera Calibration, it said use 12"x20" sheets. The proofgrade stuff they sent me (I measured it all) is actually 20.5", half an inch longer than the 20". I also can’t see the full view of my piece of material in the preview window. Something is always cut off (yes, I’m zoomed out enough). So right off the bat I can see that the preview screen in the GUI only is showing me 19.5" of a 20.5" piece. You can see what I’m talking about here. The piece of material fits snugly between the right and left sides of the honeycomb sheet. To perform this calibration do I need to cut half an inch off of this material?
There is a grey strip that looks to not be capturing my whole barcode, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. Is this perhaps related to the above alignment woes? Picture here on what I’m talking about.. 50% of the time when putting a barcoded piece of material from the company into my Glowforge it won’t pick it up and I have to restart the unit a couple times.
When I put a piece of material in from the company (the ones with bar codes), how do I align it on the honeycomb vertically? Do I slide it towards me until it JUST covers up the honeycomb pattern, or try and split the difference leaving a little at the top and bottom?
The camera view in the GUI is SO blurry. Is this normal, and a byproduct of a wide-angle lens? I mean, its really bad… May be why it can’t read a barcode.
Thanks so much for the wonderful community of people here, I hope she doesn’t have to send this beast back and hope someone can steer us in the right direction
#3 The laserable area will vary depending on the setting score, engrave, cut. Your Glowforge can currently print up to 11 x 19.5 in. Engravings take extra room to speed up and slow down, so the area may be a bit smaller.
#5 Make sure everything is flat. You can always chose the the material manually, it especially helps when you cut off the barcode on a previous job.
Support will probably want to see screenshots of the targets overlaid with where they actually printed. Did you use set focus on each one and print it before repeating the operation for the next one (only one “set focus” per print)? Was your material pinned down to ensure it was perfectly flat against the honeycomb tray?
This is normal. There is always a strip on the left and top that doesn’t show; it’s outside the printable area. No need to cut off the material; as long as it fits between the plastic margins of the tray, you’re in good shape.
This is the “curtain” that shows your engraveable area, or in this case the area in which you can place the “set focus” target. It won’t interfere with the camera’s ability to read the bar code. The engraveable area will vary depending on the speed of your engrave.
Any of the above. If you’re doing the calibration, it needs to be all the way to the front of the honeycomb tray, but for anything else, align it how it works best for you, depending on what part of the material you’re wanting to access.
You can also use magnets, but if they’re too strong they can interfere with the air assist on the head. At the edges that butt up against the frame of the honeycomb tray, you can use blue painter’s tape. (That stuff is super useful, keep a roll of it next to your Glowforge.)
Just out of curiosity, may I ask when you placed your order for your machine? I was supposed to get my Glowforge Pro the week before Christmas, then it changed to today, as as of now, it still shows my order as unfulfilled. Seems like many have had issues with shipping. Thanks
I’m sorry for our delayed response, and that you ran into trouble with your new Glowforge. It’s great to see that you’ve already received some good information from other community members. Thanks folks!
After extracting the logs from your unit, I’ve made a change on our end. Will you please restart your Glowforge, run a test print for us, and then let us know how it goes?
Here are the steps for the test:
Turn off your Glowforge.
Check for small pieces of debris or dust.
Check the lower door to make sure it closes all the way. It may require some force to open, but open it, wipe any dust off the edges, and close it all the way.
Remove the tray and clean any dust or debris from the surface underneath. Pay careful attention to remove all debris from the four dimples where the tray rests.
Check the lid to make sure it closes all the way. Small particles of material, such as dust or debris, can prevent it from closing completely.
Check the surface your Glowforge is on to make sure it’s flat. Ensure it is not twisted slightly and that there is no debris propping up one side of the machine.
Turn your Glowforge back on.
We included an extra piece of Proofgrade Draftboard with your materials shipment for troubleshooting. Place the Proofgrade Draftboard in the center of the bed and print the Gift of Good Measure using the default settings.
When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates. Without moving your artwork or your material, take a screenshot of the Workspace to show us the difference between the artwork placement and the actual print placement. Make sure to include the rulers in your screenshot and show as much of the bed as possible.
Mac: Press Shift-Command-4 and click and drag a box around your image. You’ll find the screenshot file saved on your desktop.
Windows: Click on the Start Menu and type “snipping tool”. Open the Snipping Tool > New then click and drag a box around your image. Click the Save icon and name and save your file.
Send us the screenshot along with the date and time of the print, and we’ll investigate.
We’ll review the logs and screenshot from the test print and then follow up with next steps. Thank you!
