Why Your xTool Test Grid Isn't Working

Did you run an xTool laser test grid on a piece of scrap, pulled it out, and every single square came out looking identical.

The numbers are scored along each side and the bottom but clearly nothing changed on each test in the grid. 

You're not imagining it and your laser engraver is not broken. But your test grid did not test anything - it ran the same settings across the whole grid. 

Let me explain what is going on so you can try to avoid it.

A test grid is only useful if the squares are different

The whole point of a test grid is to run one small piece of material at a bunch of different settings all at once. Power changes as you go one direction, speed changes as you go the other, and every square gets its own combination. 

A light engrave should land in one corner. A dark, deep one in the opposite corner. Everything in between falls somewhere on that scale. You should be able to burn one board then pick the square you like the best to use those settings for your laser engraving project. 

But xTool's test grid running the same power and speed across the entire grid is a fail..and it's not an uncommon one. It's due to how the software creates these grids. 

Why it happens, and why nothing warns you

When the grid gets made, it does not invent those settings out of thin air. It builds them from an image you set up first. If that starting step does not happen the way the software expects, there is nothing for it to build from...so every square just takes on the default settings. 

The frustrating part is the preview makes it look like it will work fine AND there's no warning that it won't.  On top of that, all the numbers line down the side and bottom of the grid like you'd expect. Nothing pops up to tell you the settings did not take. It looks completely normal right up until you burn it and realize every square is the same.

If you're like me you're kind of left staring at it like...am I supposed to be seeing some difference here? 

It is not you..and there is no difference. It is a step that has to happen in a specific order, and the software does not tell you when you have missed it.

Ok so how do you confirm if your test grid is set up correctly? 

10 second check

Once your grid is built - and before you send it to process - click into an individual square and look at the settings. Check them against the numbers printed on that square's own row and column. If they match check a second one - the numbers should be different from the first but match the row and column number. 

If every square shows the same settings, your grid did not take, and you need to re-set up your xTool test grid. 

The fix, start to finish

Knowing WHY it happens is one thing. Actually setting the grid up correctly so it works every time is the part worth knowing, because the order you do things in is everything, and it is not obvious from looking at the screen.

I walk through the whole thing in this month's Silhouette U video. I show you the version that fails first, so you can recognize it the second it happens to you, and then the exact setup that makes your grid actually test something. Plus a couple of other little traps in there that trip people up, like the range you pick quietly ruining a grid even when everything else is right. You can watch the full walkthrough here as a Silhouette U member of preview it before you join.

And if you would rather not run a test at all, it is always worth checking whether your material has already been dialed in for you. Our free laser settings finder covers a lot of common material and machine combinations, and honestly a test grid is really for the times it does not have what you need. If you want the basics of building one, I also have an older walkthrough on how to make an xTool test grid here on the blog. 

This kind of thing is exactly why Silhouette U exists. When your laser is doing something baffling and you cannot tell why, you get same day help from a real person here in the US instead of burning through material guessing. Come join us in Silhouette U.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!