Hi everyone,
Just got my GlowForge today, honestly it’s like handling a new born baby. I’m trying to be very cautious, Any-who, Opened the box, cleared a surface, and set down the new device. Noticed that when I open and close the Glowforge, it sticks a little more on the left side. Hopefully I’m being overly paranoid, but is that a problem? Anything I should do to mitigate this?
literally just tried shifting the forge around a little and it seems to have fixed the issue for now. But I’d still like people’s input.
You can try leveling it to fix it, but personally, I’ve found the tray being level was more important than anything else. My unit rubs more on the left than right, and my glass lid isn’t level (factory defect), but the machine runs flawlessly. You’ll eventually get a good feel for what your unit can and can’t do, and get used to the quirks. Welcome to the family!
There is some “play” in the body of the Glowforge and shifting it slightly has been known to fix any sticky door. It is important that the table is sturdy and that the honeycomb tray is level. Several owners have had to shim a corner of their Glowforge with some cardstock to level it out. Overall it shouldn’t be a problem. Hope you are up and running soon.
The surface needs to be flat, as in all four feet need to be uniform, as the case can flex a little as stated above. Being perfectly level with regards to the earth is not all that important as long as it’s close.
The best thing to do is shim up one of the feet to make sure the lid is even on both sides, as that’s how it was assembled. If the gap is closer on the front left side, then you need it lift up the front right. Use scraps of cardboard or, if you’ve already been cutting, some of the material.
If it helps to relieve your mind a bit, I’ve had my Glowforge for 2 1/2 years now and it’s had a ‘shim’ under the left end for a very long time for the same reasons. Has caused no problems whatsoever.
As mentioned above, the case has a certain amount of flex to it, and depending on how you set it down, it can cause rubbing on one side or the other. If you “stretched” it by moving it a little, it’s going to be fine and no need to worry.
My understanding is they assemble and calibrate the machine on a stone slab. Few surfaces are stone-slab flat. Any deviation in the floor beneath one of the table legs will telegraph to the tabletop.
I had the same issue, the surface wasn’t flat enough. Repositioning it slightly fixed it.
Thank you for reaching out about the trouble with the lid. If the surface is unstable, uneven, or too small, then you could have inaccurate prints, the doors may not close properly, and the camera might be misaligned. Each Glowforge unit is tested on a flat surface. Many tables are not perfectly flat, which can create some friction when the lid closes. This is not harmful and does not require any changes.
If you would like to improve it, however, try inserting a spacer - for example 20 sheets of copy paper - under the center of the printer. If that doesn’t help, try moving the spacer to either edge. It may require some experimentation, including more or less paper, to find the arrangement with the least friction when it closes.
It sounds like you have already moved the unit and improved the position of the lid, so I’m going to close this thread. If you run into any more trouble, please start a new thread or reach out to us at support@glowforge.com