Glowforge Forum (2024)

FAQs

How precise is the Glowforge? ›

The Glowforge specs state that camera alignment is warranted to within 1/4". Most of us get much better accuracy than that. The best visual alignment is directly under the lid camera and the poorest is in the far corners. Always use the set focus tool where you intend to place your design.

Almost always because you have 2 lines defined. It may look like only one but if you delete one you'll see another one still there. The Glowforge will never add passes on its own. If you didn't tell it to make multiple passes in the cut settings, then it's following multiple paths in your design file.

For deeper scores, you would want to decrease speed and/or increase power. You can also do multiple passes.

The difference between the two is just the speed and power assigned. A single pass with the laser that is not strong enough to cut through material will score it. Conversely, a score line with too much power will cut the material.

There are 8760 hours in a year. So a tube rated for 10000 hours would run continuously for about 1.2 years. So a tube rated for 10K hours, that's used for 8 hours/day, ought to last 3.6 years. Except the laser isn't on all the time.

To my knowledge, the lid camera calibration does not affect anything except alignment - nothing whatsoever to do with cutting. You are much better off cleaning the optics and fans and adjusting the speed and power. All of those things do enter into the performance of the Glowforge.

After every 40 hours of printing, you should clean the cameras, laser lens, and windows of your Glowforge with ZEISS lens cleaning wipes (available on Amazon and many other stores). This will keep your printer working properly and help prevent damage.

How many 1 hour engravings can the glowforge run without a break? You'll likely need to clean it after about 30 hours or so. (I know they say 40, but if you're running constantly for thirty hours, stop and clean it.) If it overheats, it pauses itself.

By changing it to minimize margin, the on-screen grey zone will shrink allowing for a larger printable area. This can make your engraves much faster, especially at high head speeds! Because accelerating takes a while, engraving in the margins can drastically decrease the time it takes to print.

Can you score on aluminum with Glowforge? ›

Glowforge makers interested in metal will have to use what we call non-Proofgrade materials. As mentioned, anodized aluminum is suitable for use on Glowforge, but galvanized metals are not laser compatible.

Cut - cuts all the way through your material using the laser. It's high power than engraving and scoring – you will likely see more smoke with this. It works along lines. Engrave - Bitmap images can only be engraved.

The Glowforge can cut some 1/2" (13mm) hardwood and acrylic; for best results, 1/4" (6mm) or thinner materials are recommended.

The Glowforge bed can accommodate materials measuring 12 x 20.4” with the maximum printable area of 11 x 19.5”. It can take space for the laser to decelerate so it may be reduced somewhat when the laser operates at high speed.

Kerf is a term used to describe the amount of material removed by the beam of a laser as it cuts. Generally this measurement is around . 005.” However, this number may vary depending on materials used, the speed of the laser, and the thickness of the materials.

Ideally, laser cutting can focus on about 25 microns, which is about ¼ of the width of a strand of human hair. Additionally, the cut width can be extremely small, at less than 0.001 inches. On the other hand, the dimensional accuracy is typically quite precise, at about ± 0.0005 inches.

Precision power, as the name suggests, is precise and consistent. It does not use the full power of the laser. It's ideal for cutting and engraving delicate materials such as paper, or when you want a very detailed print. Full power uses the full power of the laser, while sacrificing some consistency.

Just so you know, almost all materials are opaque to a co2 laser beam, including glass and acrylic, so unless you are peeping through the passthrough slot there is no way you will be getting eye damage from the beam.