Good evening.
I am putting together my forge and I am having trouble getting the ribbon cable in.
I am unsure if one of the pins is bent. Sorry for the bad picture.
If it is, can I bend it back with your permission?
Thank you
The bent pins are there to make the connection better. Bending the electricity makes it overheat less frequently. Straight pins are what those other laser manufacturers (you know the one I’m talking about 
) use.
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Very easy to do if you are not used to plugging in those connectors. If the pins don’t line up exactly and you force it then it will bend the pins. With experience one would feel it hasn’t lined up and wiggle it a bit to get the pins to mate before pushing it home. It may have been bent a little by the person removing the last plug but not as far as that. That is caused by insertion.
You should be able to straighten it with perhaps a tiny flat blade screw driver to pry it away from the end wall and then needle perhaps nosed pliers to straighten it up. Not everybody has those tools though, especially the ones likely to need them.
I think Glowforge have been a bit naive expecting all of their customer base to be able to make that connection.
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I’m waiting for Glowforge to say I can bend it before I void a warranty.
So no not up and running. Now off to the second job. I hope I don’t have to ship the whole thing back for a simple bent pin.
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I can understand you wanting official sanction but I don’t see how straightening an already bent pin can void a warranty. The very worst that could happen is it snaps off but that is very unlikely if it is only done once. If you don’t straighten it then it would have to go back as it won’t work bent.
In a career in electronics I have seen it happen many times.
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I want to agree with you Palmer. I really really do. In fact I do agree, but in a battle, the best paper trail always wins.
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If you do straighten it ground yourself by touching the metal chassis first to avoid any ESD damage.
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I am very curious as to the cause of the pin mashing. I’ve been connecting and disconnecting the ribbon from the head since November fairly often. I’ve never thought about the pins because the ribbon slides in and out easily in the channel. I had to take a look to see what the ribbon was being plugged into and now understand the potential for problems. Wonder how it happened.
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I just slow tried to push it in, but it wouldn’t click. Then I took a look.
If the person removing the connector pulls it from one side it can leave the end pins a little bent. If you don’t notice and push the connector in straight without realising how much force to apply you can easily bend one over. The end pin missed its hole.
With experience I would check the pins and if they are slightly bent I would insert the connector from that direction and try to pick them up before straightening it and picking up the rest of the holes. It is just something you do after connecting and disconnecting similar types of connectors many times a day for more than 20 years.
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with time it becomes a habit, I check every time I connect something in something else … Those poor pins, poor pins.
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I see you emailed us, too. I responded to that message, so I’m going to close this one.