My exhaust fan quit working completely. It began by making a loud humming noise. I have had the machine for 10 months. I do regular maintenance including the rear fan. I have the pro model, so you cannot access fan blades to cleanse. I did do the recommended extra cleaning with the 3m electronic cleanser when the noise started. the front of my blades are clean. But the back is extremely dirty, again with the pro you cannot reach the rear of the fan to clean.
So I started another print, the noise was worse and the fan stopped working completely. I have tried to gently make sure all cables are connected. And they are from what I can tell!
Obviously, I cannot work on the 6 orders that I have because I don’t want to damage my machine any further.
I removed my broken fan and cut out the restrictive grate about 2 years in,
Also a pro, and not easy to get at.
You could go to support and likely get offered a refurbished machine. That was not an option when mine failed, but I do not miss the noise the fan made. The 6" inline duct fan I have is virtually silent.
The fan is available on DigiKey for about $40. You have to be certain it has the right connector, unless you are skilled in re-creating the right one - it comes in many different configurations.
I am an electrical engineer, and it was just simpler to eliminate the awful built-in fan and go with an inline duct fan. My warranty was over anyway.
No, under the 3 dot menu there is a toggle to turn it off. I second the inline fan, it will make it sound like a different machine. Just mount the fan as close to the building exit as possible so the smoke is being pulled out the entire length of the exhaust run. If the fan is closer to the machine the smoke is being pushed out and any leaks it the run will let smoke out into the room.
Mine did exactly that. What happened in my case was the stuff that I sprayed went to the bottom in a puddle and evaporated leaving behind a solid plastic like block that was like a rock, freezing the fan in place.
A stalled fan presents a pretty significant obstruction to airflow.
It’s definitely not easy to remove it on a pro, but it makes a difference. The amount of debris that built up before I did was significant. I also cut out the grate - the original design had a horrible, obstructive pattern. Of course, I’ll never be eligable for a refurb now.
Edited to add, I had a duct fan when my exhaust fan failed, but the debris that built up was obvious. After removing the fan and cutting out the grate, the machine “cleaned itself” noticeably. I have never cleaned the tube, just the optics and rails, as prescribed.
You can use an external inline fan while you wait for a replacement machine to arrive. Your GF Pro has a 12 month warranty so they’ll send you a new laser to replace yours due to the broken fan. Get in touch with customer support before your warranty expires.
My pro has its exhaust fan completely removed. There is no feedback to it and so the machine does not stop any operations if the inline fan has an issue (only the air assist will trigger a cancel when printing).
Then again, that machine is only ever used for low power fabric engravings.
Thank you for all your advice and recommendations. I have been contacted by Glowforge, a replacement will here soon. Photos revealed a broken fan blade. Not sure how that happened. But I still purchased the inline fan as suggested on Amazon
Thank you, good to know. What a horrible thing to happen to such an expensive machine. I know the purpose of the cooling blades, but I wish there was a better way to get to the fan to clean on the pro.
Yes. Most of us using an online fan don’t remove the GF fan. Make sure it’s near the exit end of the hose so it’s pulling air through the whole hose run. Also, the GF fan may still collect dust, smoke residue, etc as it’s a drag in the exhaust pathway so it’s good to pull off the hose and vacuum it out when you’re doing regular cleaning.