Thanks @Jules for all your time and effort to post this helpful tutorial.
Actually if that scenario with the masking can happen to you it can happen to any of us. Thanks for sharing!!
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You could always use the bookmark feature of the forum. Just click on the three dots to the bottom right of the message and bookmark is one of the options. Itās the icon that looks like a pennant.
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First saw the bag sealers like this at the Iowa State Fair last month. My sister has them. Nifty!
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Huge thank you for this. Iām a service tech who works on medical equipment. I KNOW the value of regular maintenance. This procedure will become part of my routine. Thanks again.
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Thanks for the awesome write-up!
Finally found one benefit of having the Basic vs the Proā¦ No heat sink blocking access to the fan:
Guess I know what Iām doing tomorrowā¦ 
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Yours doesnāt look that bad! (And yeah, thatās gonna be a hell of a lot easier to clean! Five minutes tops!) 
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Awesome write-up! Nice click bait title 
I guess I need to take a peek at my fan and see how it looks. I really think that the case could have been designed to have the fan on a door that could be unscrewed for cleaning, but it is what it is. I saw a video by Dan in which he said that they have machines that they never clean on purpose to see how well they hold up. I wonder how those machines are doing.
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Iām sure those machines are gunked up but probably not as bad as some of ours. They may only use Proofgrade materials.
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Thank you @Jules !
And also @dwardio for the picture of the complete fan telling me that the center on the machine side has no place where buildup can be the cause of a slowdown. however, I am wondering if the goop at the outer ring could get thick enough to interfere with the fan. Another thing it shows is the side of the blades we see are the back side even though the edge is the leading edge. I would expect that the other side is dirtier.
I have not yet received the recommended cleaner, but I have received the endoscope, but have not been able to get it working as yet It would be very interesting to sneak it into the exhaust system and watch the fan in action.
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Jules,
After reading your write up I have a suggestion to use zip ties instead of the bag sealer to hold the fan blades in place. I use zip ties to test the function of exhaust fans that are twice as big as the one in the Glowforge and with an 8" zip tie like the these I can stop the fan while it is running. You can also insert them easier by removing the exhaust hose and sticking them through the holes in the grid behind the fan and if needed you can add multiple to make sure the fan does not move.
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Good suggestion, that might work tooā¦ Didnāt think to try thoseā¦I think weāve got a bunch of them out in the garage somewhere. 
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I was thinking a length of PLA filament might work, too. 
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It might work tooā¦but in both cases Iād be really carefulā¦if you drop it, you might not be able to retrieve it. I really did lose a popsicle stick in there for over an hourā¦you just canāt see around all of the wires without a camera, and you canāt reach it with your fingersā¦I had to create a little sticky pad to work it back outā¦it fell down underneath the heat sink into the track.
The yellow stick is long and stiff enough not to fall under the wires in the first placeā¦part of it will land on top and you can grab it and get it back out.
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Actually my usual go-to for stuff like this is bamboo skewers. Theyāre very hard to break, long, flexible, and super cheap.
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I was planning on using them, as well.
I canāt believe that you have not created a āCustom-Kut GF Fan Retention Deviceā made from 
Acrylic for ease in cleaning!
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Doh!
Actually, Iām afraid acrylic will breakā¦itās going to be thin and that tends to be more brittle than whatever plastic the bag sealer is made out of.
Donāt make me 3D print you a custom one, from NylonX + Titanium reinforced filament with a proprietary āAnit-Jules Dropping Retainerā handle on it!
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Yes! Sounds like something that should ship out with the Pros!
Oh all the funā¦thanks @Jules so after the fan filled hrs what about this mess. Would have loved for this whole assembly to have been able to be pulled out for easier access. I have big hands and hard to get into those nooks and crannies
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