I just finished 3 cuts within 7 minutes. I am cutting cardstock. Temperature in room is 70.
30 seconds — (thirty seconds)— No problem
26 seconds — (twenty-six seconds) No problem
1 minute—(one minute) BIG PROBLEM!!!
After the cut was finished I hear an unusual sound. Look at the screen on my iPad and this is what it shows. I opened up the GF and the air assist fan is running. There is air blowing from the little chute that is under the carriage plate. The button is now orange. I quickly turned off my Glowforge.
This is also the very first time the air assist fan kept running after a print was finished. The fan did not even shut off when I opened the GF to investigate.
I have less than 3 hours since my last full cleaning with the advanced cleaning of the exhaust fan.
These are the 3 things that occurred after the print was finished.
The GF interface shows a warm up and does NOT show the typical finished, cooling down, etc.
Air assist fan is still running after the print was finished and even when the GFwas opened up.
https://imgur.com/gallery/NKTBSRj[quote=“JimmyWayneWestie, post:1, topic:67051, full:true”]
I just finished 3 cuts within 7 minutes. I am cutting cardstock. Temperature in room is 70.
30 seconds — (thirty seconds)— No problem
26 seconds — (twenty-six seconds) No problem
1 minute—(one minute) BIG PROBLEM!!!
After the cut was finished I hear an unusual sound. Look at the screen on my iPad and this is what it shows. I opened up the GF and the air assist fan is running. There is air blowing from the little chute that is under the carriage plate. The button is now orange. I quickly turned off my Glowforge.
This is also the very first time the air assist fan kept running after a print was finished. The fan did not even shut off when I opened the GF to investigate.
I have less than 3 hours since my last full cleaning with the advanced cleaning of the exhaust fan.
These are the 3 things that occurred after the print was finished.
The GF interface shows a warm up and does NOT show the typical finished, cooling down, etc.
Air assist fan is still running after the print was finished and even when the GFwas opened up.
The machine has been turned off for over an hour. I just turned it back on. It went through the setting up process and after it was finished the air assist fan started on its own.
For the very first time ever mine paused several times this afternoon for cooling as well. You might want to check the underside of the front right corner of the machine and make sure there is no paper, dust , debris , etc blocking the intake for the fresh air. I overlook this at times, but on hot days just a little bit of blockage can make a huge difference.
I think I may have found the problem and now it is fixed. GF is working GREAT!!!
I unhooked the white cable and very carefully cleaned the gold colored terminals on the laser head with a Zeiss wipe. Since I had always used canned air all the slimy burnt gunk was there. I also wiped down the terminals on the end of the white cable. Those were also flithy.
Every 20 hours I do a full cleaning that takes 5 hours. I even vacuum the air intake grate underneath the right side.
You do not want to do this!
I have had it happen three times. Mostly after having used pause. By the fan running it heats up the head to be very warm to the touch and I expect will burn out the fan if left as it continues to heat and the sensor will continue to report that it is hot,
It has happened episodically and not connected to other issues. The overheating report is because it is overheating so not the issue.
Two (30 second) cuts worked great after I cleaned the gold terminals.
3rd cut was only going take 30 seconds but I had to open up the Glowforge because there was an unusual clicking sound and then a very bad sound was coming from the inside.
Went to the interface and ended the print . Air assist fan came back on and it did not turn off until I turned the machine off.
It sounded like the air assist fan was not on when it was printing but then it turned on after I ended the print.
Was my thinking the first time as well but watched as the running fan only heated the head hotter, and only leaving the machine off for and hour let it cool down.
I have never seen the head that hot before.
That doesn’t make a lot of sense, as the air assist runs at full speed for hours with long engraves, for example. It’s also a long way from the head back on the carriage plate.
Oh, I know what that is—- I call that thing a little windmill. Mine is very clean!!!
Of course a fan inside the laser head would be called a head fan.
Would you know what is happening with my GF?
I am terrified it is something bad and I will have to ship it back—— all the way to Seattle . I do not use my GF at its full potential because I am so afraid something bad is going to happen if I overuse it.
I’d speculate a problem with the white cable connector but you already addressed that. You could try it again, just be very careful as that clip is not designed for repeated use. I never unplug the head when cleaning.
I will say that I think being obsessive about cleaning is not a good thing. This machine is full of delicate electronics and connectors. Clean the optics and the two main fans, as indicated by the manufacturer. Beyond that, the lid, so you can see what’s going on, but stay away from the cables and electronics.
