Mine came in fine too except for what seems to be some standard lid alignment woes. I do see some light through the side lid gaps & smell when I’m cutting things even though I’ve got my vent connections taped like crazy - not sure if it’s related or not. Definitely seems like the filter would be useless FOR ME since anyplace it’d run, it’d smell, so I’ll probably be cancelling that soon. Trying to decide if it’s worth trying to swap for a new unit though before I do that. My wife hasn’t complained yet, so maybe not. Ha ha!
I’m not a rocket surgeon, but that sounds maybe not so safe? For context, I’m scared to light the hot water tank and I think every headache is maybe an aneurysm - I’m a next level worrier. Maybe leaking lid is totally fine?
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Yeah Mike, I’d check the aluminum hose for tears or leaks too. Remove the masking immediately and pop it into a ziploc bag and see if the smell is reduced.
If you have a lid that is fitting improperly enough to let a smell out into the room for the whole time it is cutting, it might need to be replaced.
I generally smell a little whiff when the fans fire up, and then nothing until I open the lid afterwards.
This started with the first cut, and I’d already metal-taped the crap out of the duct fittings. I’ve been meaning to hold a flame near what I see as the door gaps and look for movement. Vent is just a short 2’ run with two 90s.
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Oh, thats really clever.
It smells so good though! It’s unfair that the fumes get pulled out by the fans! It seems like the neighbors might get to enjoy them more than we do. 
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I don’t mind the wood. But I’ll happily throw 100% of the acrylic fumes at my neighbors all day long. LOL
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There’s always a silver lining, and one silver lining to receiving a “damaged before being shipped out” or “sloppily manufactured” Glowforge is that the unique defining embelishments added to some customers’ Glowforges may actually add value to those machines. It’s entirely possible that ordinary, new-looking Glowforges will become blasé, and scratch-and-dent Glowforges will be coveted collector’s items.
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That’s good to hear!
Agreed!
Positive thinking is great, but man that’s a real stretch…
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It seems this has suddenly become an issue like the quality has dropped. Nobody mentioned mould sink lines before and haven’t seen them on any pictures over the years until now. Does that mean the injection moulding pressure or temperature is too low?
I think most if not all of the lid alignment is simply that you need to place the machine on a perfectly flat surface or else shim the corners. Something that big and heavy isn’t stiff enough to maintain alignment itself.
The body of the machine should be under negative pressure, so gaps around the lid should not matter in theory. Does the air assist cause enough turbulent flow to allow it to leak? One could try sealing the lid with masking tape to see if it makes any difference but I expect as soon as you open it to remove the object you would get far more smell than when it is running.
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Might get smells after the fans have stopped through lid gaps but if the vent is short, taped well and has no obstruction like a flap then there shouldn’t be any way for the smell to exit through cracks during operation. Even big gaps.
My machine definitely has air gaps where the lower and upper doors meet each other and where they meet the vertical surfaces of the rest of the case. These area do not have any type of gasket material to close up the gap. Its just a plastic on plastic fit and the fit is fairly tight, but air can get through. The fit between the glass sections on the top of the unit has rubber seals to close up the gaps and my machine does have the slight bow in the glass on the right side, which does seem to affect that seal. I stuck a piece of paper in the gap and closed the door and it was tough to pull that paper out. Not a great test, but good enough for me. I like @palmercr theory about lid alignment going out of whack on an unlevel surface, so I tested it and stuck a shim under one of the front legs and my unit did not sag on the unsupported side. The lid alignment seems to stay the same, pretty solid construction for a design with a big door right down the middle.
I have not noticed smoke or fumes leaking out of the machine during operation. During cutting you can watch the fan suck the smoke with gusto out of the machine. When the cut is done if you open the lid too soon there will be some smoke let behind. I would never be able to notice from smell alone if the machine is leaking. I have made a lot of cuts since receiving it monday, so the machine stinks of burnt wood and all the the off cut and finished work surrounding the machine smells as well like a camp fire. The whole area smells like burnt wood.
I also like @palmercr theory about the air assist pushing fumes out of gaps. I can imagine if the head is cutting close to the front door it could probably overpower the draft created by the fan and pouch some fumes throughout the gaps. I haven’t test it but Ill masking tape those gaps on my next test.
I think the machine does a sufficeint job congaing and expelling the smoke and fumes. I cut acrylic regularly in my shop and the odor is terrible even with all of my vacuums going. The best way to keep down the odor is large fans blowing through the whole room. I have barley noticed the odor when cutting acrylic on the glowforge. Granted the cutting processes are different from the router or table saw in my shop which spews fumes in all direction to the laser with its tiny kerf, but if the smell was the same in my house with the glowforge as in my shop, my family would be falling over from the smell and they have badly noticed it.
I suppose if you want a machine that totally contains all smoke and fumes then you might want to, inquire about and wait for further improvements down the line. Maybe they’ll add more gasketing material?
With that said, I love this machine, Well done Team Glowforge!
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meant to say the bow issue in glass does NOT seem to affect the fit with the rubber when the door is closed.
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Given that he cut the box open to take that picture instead of lifting it out lends me to think he tries to solo move it smacked the corner (the scratch looks like a drab mark after hitting a wall) and tweaked the while chassis. And then said o crud and shoved it all back together and made a post to blame gf on it. Then again we may never know the truth of it because he didn’t do a on boxing vid un edited. So we leave it to a higher being to know and sort out
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I just got my unit yesterday and am returning it for a replacement. I had many of the same issues minus the large scratch. I had glue blobs all over and paint chipped away.
I wouldn’t be so quick to question QC issues from flex at this point.
Side note @jrnelson was right about the “crack” it was just glue residue. I felt it as a protrusion with my nail and assumed it was a crack but it was just more crud.
See thread here
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That’s probably why Glowforge put that stuff about mars and scratches in the pre-shipping agreement (oops, I mean the post-shipping, pre-manufacturing-and-then-later-entrusting-a-shipping-company-to-deliver-the-machine-once-it-is-built agreement). Glowforge knows the machines are going out in perfect condition just as well as we do, but being the generous company that they are, they’re giving customers one more chance to defer their shipments until the machines are perfect (which I bet will be next week). That is truly going above and beyond!
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I don’t think you can blame all of these defects on shipping. I don’t know much about a manufacturing line, but it seems like a lot of this little cosmetic stuff would be picked in a final test and quality inspection. I realize they are rushing to push these out and I,we signed on the dotted line for an early model, but giving the units a final wipe down and blowing off the dust is maybe not part of the process yet? I was surprised to open the box and find that the outer case and glass top are not protected. A lot of effort went into designing the protection for the entire unit and, bravo, its well protected, love the silicon bumpers between the v-grooves rollers and track, but no cling film material on the top glass or a bag around the entire unit to protect it from the elements? Surprising.
One step further, the outer carton is great with the handle/locks, but they are big opening for stuff to fall into the box and since the unit has no bag or film to protect it it can get damaged.
Again, I agreed to take delivery now and I like my unit so I’m not complaining, I just want help those who have received their email decide if they are going to receive now or delay.
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I don’t think Glowforge could ever be described as early. These are very very late production units.
Yes a lot cheaper products than this come with foam film coverings or a plastic bag.
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