I’ve been trying to cut with the K40 laser and sometimes it does exactly what I expect, but sometimes, seemingly randomly, it will show me the preview exactly as I want it, and then when I tell it to start, it offsets itself by a seemingly random amount of space. Sometimes it will be way off the preview and start grinding. I have no idea what’s causing this – do I have some box checked or not checked that’s causing this to happen?
I’m using the stock Corel software
Welcome Sarah!
What version of Corel Draw do you have?
Sometime this could happen if you have values other than zero in the refer-x and refer-y fields or if you manually move the head and forget to rehome/reset the head before engraving/cutting.
Is the head rehoming after every job is complete?
Also how are you setting the reference origin in the file?
Happy to help if you really want to stick with corelLaser, but we do recommend switching to a different program like K40 Whisperer.
Be sure to zoom out from your drawing on Corel draw and make sure there are no bits of random graphics debris beyond the limits of the document. Also I always place a locator dot (small .1 mm circle) at the coordinates 1,199 to insure that Corel starts in a predicable, known place. Full disclosure, stock k40, Corel draw.