Coming off tracks. Help!

[jordanlvetter]

Please help me if you’re able! I opened my brand new Glowforge yesterday and took my time getting it set up just as instructed. The laser arm keeps coming off of the track on the right side. I’ve made sure everything is clean, the belts have tension and aren’t missing any teeth. I’ve turned the machine off and gently repositioned the carriage back on the tracks and when I turn it back on it slides forward to the center, then goes slightly of track, then adjust again to be even further off. Attaching a video of what it does when you go to print after repositioning.

Also, I’ve contacted customer support as well as reached out via instagram and Facebook and haven’t heard a word back. The lack of customer support on a 6 thousand dollar machine is disheartening.

[Jules]

Looks like the tension in one of the side belts might be too loose, or the pulley might be not screwed down tight. Tighten that up in the slot with a 3mm hex wrench if needed. (Check the pulleys to make sure there are no cracks or junk in them too.) Instructions are here:

Banding/resolution/lines not matching up?

Hello, thank you for letting us know about the trouble you’ve run into with your new Glowforge. To assist with troubleshooting, would you please check your X and Y axis belts for me to ensure they’re correctly tensioned? For the X axis belt (Located under the Laser Arm) Turn off your Glowforge. Carefully remove the crumb tray. Without removing the carriage plate and belt, locate the black pulley fastened by a metal screw on the right end of the laser arm. ​[image]​ Insert the short side of t…

Target tension is demoed here:

New release improved greater speed - but skips and is off center

I’m sorry about the trouble with your print results when running at higher speeds. Regarding your alignment, since your unit engraved first and then cut, the cut being misaligned is likely related to the shift in your engrave. Could you check the tension of the belt below your laser arm for me? When pressing lightly on one side of the belt, the other side should not move. Like this: ​[image]​ (You should see an animated image above) Let me know if the belt is loose and I will follow up wit…

[jordanlvetter]

both of the belts seem to have good tension. They’re also both clean and aren’t missing any teeth.

[Jules]

Neither one is tighter than the other?

Okay, turn the machine off, then slowly pull the laser arm forward by hand so you can feel for a hangup in the movement.

[Jules]

Another thing to check is the wheels that run on the aluminum rails…check them for cracks with the machine off. (Flashlight helps to see cracks.)
(Much more rare, but it can happen if it was a damaged wheel.)

[eflyguy]

Typical response for support is one business day, you’ve opened another ticket by posting here but they will likely respond to your email first.

If the bests are equally tensioned, you likely have a bad motor, and the machine will need to be replaced.

[jordanlvetter]

The belts are equally taunt. I’ve just checked all the wheels for cracks, they’re all clean, and undamaged. When the machine is off and I move the arm it moves freely without any bumps or feeling like it’s catching on anything.

[Jules]

Can you take a picture of the pulley at the rear of the belts…like this… both left and right side?

[jordanlvetter]

[eflyguy]

Support will have to confirm, but I would start gathering your box and such…

[jordanlvetter]

I just opened it yesterday so the box is handy. Hoping support gets back to me, it’s been almost 24 hours since I contacted them. The Glowforge community has been exceedingly helpful, however I’m not thrilled with the customer support, or lack thereof.

[eflyguy]

Again, one business day is their standard response time. You’ll hear from them shortly.

It was three days just a few months ago. This is not a business-oriented machine. For that level of support, you could expect to spend $20k or more.

[Jules]

Looks to me like there might be a slight bow in the rail on the right side, but that might be a trick of the lighting. It might mean a replacement, but wait to hear from support…they might think of something else that they want you to check before you start packing it up. Sorry we can’t help any further. They will get you squared away.

[jordanlvetter]

Thank you, Jules. I sincerely appreciate your efforts to help!

[ivan1]

I’m sorry about the trouble with your new unit. Since we’ve been able to connect via email and are taking care of this there, I’m going to close this thread.