3 weeks and another breakdown

Now the laser wont register new image on screen. Same problem over and over and over and over and over. This company, really makes a garbage product. For the price that they charge they are not worth it. My machine loves me hanging in the worst of times. They dont have a phone line to call for help. I am soooooo over this company. I’ve only had my machine approximately 6 months and it’s the middle model. I dont run it all day everyday and it’s an essential tool.

Yeah, this. Especially considering there are something like 15,000 people on here, 99% who are able to use it without an issue.

Venting can feel good but doesn’t usually result in a solution. More details as to when the problem occurred, what troubleshooting steps you’ve taken and what results you got would help both GF Support as well as folks here who might be able to help.

Unfortunately, you’re probably going to have to wait for Support. BTW, they often have a chat option available. You might find that quicker. Or you might find it’s not staffed enough hours for you so may be frustrated by that option too. Regardless, nothing anyone can help you with in your problem “report”.

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Interesting that you would use a “garbage product” as an “essential tool”

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Hi! Looks like the Glowforge isn’t the right machine for your needs. Suggest looking into another brand that will fill in the gaps Glowforge you feel they fall short.

This isn’t what you want to read and it’s an expense that you do not want or have funds to do. If this machine is integral to you business, it better to sell it and use the funds to something that fits your needs.

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Good point. To elaborate a bit, the GlowForge is designed as a consumer / light duty laser cutter/engraver, with consumer level support. If you really need a machine that’s robust, with business-grade support, there are other laser cutter/engravers for that market, with higher prices and more expensive support options that are a better fit if any down-time is costing you money. On the other hand, you could buy 2-3 Glowforges for the cost of one of those.

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Do you think that I just bought this knowing that it was such a piece of garbage? I love how people fool themselves. Of course no one spends $5,000 on a machine they know is going to constantly break down on them.

I use my laser for maybe a maximum of 5 hours a week. I only engrave one type of material and always use the same artwork. I would consider that to be a hobby amount of time. It’s not like I’m running this machine day and night seven days a week. For the amount of time that it gets used, it should not be breaking down every 3 weeks. Also, I doubt that 99% of users go without problems and that I just so happen to be one person who got a machine that consistently breaks down.

Of course not. Those were your words, not mine.

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So you suggest I throw away the $5000 I spent on this machine or try and sale a broken machine? Gotcha

Yes, I am making this suggestion. I’m fully aware what I’m implying as this machine isnt working for you.

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Ad hominum attacks are forbidden by forum policy and will always get flagged.

This forum has a diverse crowd, many of whom own pre-order models they have been using heavily since delivery. Not every machine is perfect, and it’s frustrating when your first or even second machine falls into that category. However, support will get you sorted out.

None of us know the actual return rate of these machines, we can only extrapolate from our own experiences. By and large, the folks here enjoy sharing projects, helping new users, and learning new techniques. It’s a fun crowd, and they want you to succeed.

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In general I’d say that’s true. :slightly_smiling_face:

Sometimes though people might be better served buying a different machine. Lots of them out there & used markets too - both for selling whatever you might have and buying something better tuned to specific needs.

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Well, I use my GF (which I have had for several years) about that much, and it’s generally been reliable. I have occasionally had issues, but GF has been quite responsive to bug reports, both in forum posts and in emails to support. I usually use forum posts, because often other forum members can troubleshoot (e.g. if there’s a problem with the SVG file I am trying to cut) amazingly quickly and thoroughly, and surprisingly politely! The GlowForge in my local maker space has had some hardware issues (cable failed and needed replacing), since it runs much more heavily than my home unit, but so far GF sends replacements for free so nothing to complain about there, other than a little down-time. Well, one time I thought there was a hardware issue in my GF, but they remote trouble-shot the issue (pulled logs, etc.), and issued a software fix after which all has been fine. So while I’ve had a few issues, it’s been pretty painless compared to K40s a few friends have bought (and rebuilt, etc.). I may be an unusual customer - I am an engineer, and do a lot of 3d printing, laser, CNC routing, etc., - but the GF is far from the most troublesome device I own.

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A dropped signal anywhere along the route can cause a hangup such as you describe. It’s a generally easy fix by simply rebooting the router, computer and machine.

Simply restarting everything is always the first thing to try.

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I spent $5,000 on my first car and it was always broken. :rofl:

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:+1:

I am sorry to hear that you’ve run into trouble printing. We’ve followed up with you via email. I am going to close out this thread.

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