Hi! We own a Glowforge at school. I already wanted to post this back in March, but due to the Corona crisis I didn’t have access to the Glowforge until last week.
I’m experiencing more than one problem, so I hope you don’t mind me addressing them in one post; I have a feeling they all might be causes by the same undelying thing, since they appeared alle around the same time.
The Camera image is very blurry and overexposed; the GF can’t even recognise the QR code on proofgrade material.
(The material in the picture is Medium Clear Acrylic.)
I cleaned the camera with a Zeiss wipe. That didn’t fix it.
The laser doesn’t cut through the material. Could this be caused by the spots on the lenses, or the tiny speck on the mirror? The spots can’t be wiped off with a Zeiss wipe.
The spots could be baked on residue. You could try soaking a soft cotton cloth in isopropyl alcohol and holding it against the windows for a minute to let it soak in, before attempting to wipe it off.
I’m also wondering if there’s too much light entering the top of the GF – if it’s next to a window, or something, you might have better luck covering the top with a towel to reduce the glare inside.
You were right about the light. I rolled down the window blinds and the overexposure is gone. (I should have thought about that myself, because I moved the glowforge to another place to check for better wifi reception )
I’m sorry that you’ve run into trouble with your unit. Regarding the camera, would you please share a photo of the lens of your lid camera?
Regarding your optics, the spots I can see in your photos of the print head window, mirror box window (window with the silver frame) and the lens in your printer head could cause issues with print results including trouble cutting through material. Will you please let us know if additional cleaning improves them? If not, replacing those components would be the best next step.
When you checked your unit’s optics, did you also check the mirror located inside the top of the print head? I would recommend checking the mirror for any build up which won’t come off with cleaning as well. Please let us know how it goes!
As you can see, the dirt came off fine! Cutting through material (I tried Medium Clear Acrylic) goes a lot better now, although it’s not perfect: at some places I have to exert some force because the pieces don’t fall out by themselves. But for now I don’t mind that, because it’s a huge improvement already, so thanks for all help so far!
Thank you for working through all of those steps, and for sending over the updated images. Basd on the photos, your optical components do appear to be properly cleaned, and installed correctly. I’m glad to hear that you’ve seen a large improvement in your prints.
Regarding the scanning trouble you’ve been experiencing, I’ve extracted the log files from your Glowforge to review your most recent prints. Since you’ve already ensured that the black lid cable is connected properly, the cable will need to be replaced. I’ll close this thread, and follow up directly via email on the next best steps.
It has some speckles too, even after I wiped it.
