Carriage Assist Fan

Hey Guys! I’m thinking our air assist fan on the carriage is out again. We clean it really regularly since this has been an issue I’m the past. Really bade flares that pull to the left like last time. Glowforge was able to send us a replacement part before but now I’m out of warranty. I would like to know the cost of getting that replaced again. Thanks!

Since you are out of warranty, depending of the cost from GF, take the fan off and measure in MM then search the net to see if you can find one that will work. There are so many different size fans with different connectors you may get lucky…

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That’s a solid idea! Thank you!

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Kind of wondering what you are cutting and how many hours a week? How the fan is getting gunked up so fast.

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I’ve just had the fan issue for the first time. Fortunately, the air compressor was sufficient to clean it up this time. While it was apart i looked up the fan part number. Turns out it’s readily available. It will probably need the proper connector installed. I’d recommend getting the same one if you have to go that route, because the system monitors the fan speed and shuts down if it doesn’t see the desired response.

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We don’t even really cut often. Mostly engraving. We engrave a lot of draftboard, glass, and leather. The draftboard is what really gums it up. We use the machine 3-4 hours 5 days a week. :slight_smile: we do a light clean every Other day and a deep clean almosf ever week. The draft board is really that messy to work with in bulk.

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It is just a basic unit though. I wish they had the plus option available during the crowd source campaign lol. I had never worked with a laser before and didn’t want to get a pro out the gate.

I’d be surprised if GF isn’t sourcing the fan from a standard offering. Cost is king and a custom motor wind would significantly increase the cost of the fan. There are likely replacements available from places other than GF.

A lot of times, the hub of the fan will have a manufacturer and model number on it. I’ve never been that far in to my GF to see, and don’t remember from pictures others have posted. But if there’s a label and it doesn’t say “GF” you can probably find an exact replacement on-line from a dozen different sources.

I’m not at the point where I need to do this with my fan, but I’ve had small fans fail in other equipment like Power Supplies and AV Amps, and I don’t think I’ve ever needed to go back to the manufacturer of the equipment to get a replacement fan. If you can’t find it on the Internet, it doesn’t exist. :slight_smile:

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The air assist fan is common. THA0412AD

Can get it from a bunch of sources. Probably would come with bare wires and need a new connector or splice the old connector. So for many people GF would be an easier source.

Information was from Scott Weiderholt https://github.com/ScottW514/GF-Hardware/wiki/01_Hardware-Overview for his Openglow project. https://community.openglow.org/

Haven’t needed to pull the fan on my unit. Not all that dirty. Never do 3D engraves or use Draftboard.

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I’m so sorry for the delay responding.

We don’t have carriage plates in the online shop, but we do have some available to sell.

I’ll follow up with you via email to arrange the details.