I noticed that the new update forces to use the “Choose best starting point” when the “Hide Backlash” is in use. Is there a way to uncheck this? Unfortunately when doing for instance round jewelry pieces, it is important for us to make sure it starts at a certain point because there’s usually a small discoloration at the point of entry/exit on the cut side along the thickness of the material and we want it to be at a certain spot. Usually this spot is at 12 o’clock where the hole for a earring hook usually is. Having the start / end point at 12 o’clock is the best place to hide this point.
Any chance of allowing to uncheck “Choose best starting point” or atleast choose the preferred starting point? Also we’ve found in our Thunderlaser that cutting the shapes in certain direction gives a better release on the start and end point. Haven’t had a chance to check if the new update does a better job at this though!
No - this is intentional and required for the way the “Hide Backlash” feature works. It functions by predicting how any movement will effect the total backlash in the system and choose the most optimal path to keep that backlash value down. Choosing your own starting point would be counter-productive to that.
Given that you are saying certain cut directions provide better results at the start and end point I would say that you have pretty significant backlash in your machine. I recommend first looking into fixing the actual problem with your machine and only using the “Hide Backlash” feature as a last resort. Likely you just need to tighten your belts. Thunder makes fine machines (I own one myself) and you should absolutely be able to remove the backlash mechanically.
The belt tightness can be the issue. Unfortunately in my oppinion the perfect tightness to the belts is so undocumented that there really isn’t a good reference point on how tight they really should be.
Would you be able to give any real tips on how to find the sweet spot on the tightness on the long X / Y belts? Thank you!
Haha - yeah, it’s the kind of thing that there’s no one answer. The answer is basically “tight enough”. What I would say is that they are clearly too loose so tighten them a little bit at a time, doing tests between each and see how the results change. At least with a laser, compared to a 3D printer, you can do a 10 second test that immediately shows you what, if anything, changed. If you machine is anything like my Nova 35 then there are 2 bolts on each belt used to tighten it. I would do a 1/4 to 1/2 turn between each test and just see what happens.
I haven’t had to tighten mine at all yet - but it’s only 6 months old and they do stretch over time.
Normally with smaller machines I actually use a guitar tuner app on my phone but with belts as long as those on my Nova 35 the pitch is basically sub-audible.
