I’m keenly following this thread, hoping this gets resolved because this is exactly what happens with mine
Welcome! Thanks for joining us.
Good to know it’s not an isolated problem, that’s helpful.
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There is no way that GF could ship 4 machines in a row that are bad. Statistically speaking, for that to happen, it’d have to mean that the vast majority of machines they ship are bad. Which isn’t the case.
I don’t like the cable wires as an explanation. Unless the first thing the OP does when they get a new machine is fling the lid open has hard as they can, this would require the machine to be defective when shipped.
I can’t think of anything the user would be doing wrong that’d consistently cause the same problem. The only thing there is to do is mount the print head and it’s pretty hard to do that wrong. And the prints seem sharp and in-focus where the printer is running correctly. I don’t think a misaligned printhead would behave that way.
It’s gotta be an external cause and the only thing that all 4 printers have in common besides the OP being the one to use them is that they’ve all been plugged in to the same power (maybe even the same outlet).
I think you had the right idea when you said “power supply issues”. Power supply issues aren’t just the power supply not working correctly. Incoming power can cause problems. The GF’s power supply isn’t immune to noisy incoming power. I’m sure it does an acceptable job of filtering but that by itself may not be enough. The laser works on milliAmps of current. It doesn’t take much of a deviation in the laser’s voltage/current to have a significant effect. In addition, the problem is always that the power drops, a sure sign that the laser isn’t getting consistent power.
My guess, there’s something about the incoming power that the GF power supply doesn’t handle well. No matter how many GF’s you get, none of them will work any different because they’re not busted to begin with.
Unfortunately, the equipment you need in order to look at the quality of the incoming power is not something most people have lying around, or the skills to do. You could take your GF someplace else, like a friend’s house that’s a decent distance away from your house, and see if it works better there.
Alternately, I know that GF says “no surge protectors” but I do not believe that this applies to a UPS. I use a UPS with my GF. A decent UPS will deliver clean power to connected devices, almost regardless of the quality of what’s coming in. Since it’s a warranty thing, you shouldn’t do it without GF’s say so. But if they agreed, you could try a UPS and see if the problem goes away.
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I had thought about an intermittent or fluctuating incoming power source as well… it’s not something common here, but maybe a good question to ask of the people having the issue is…do you have frequent issues with your power supply fluctuating where you live?
If that’s the case, the machine isn’t going to be able to function. Sketchy Wifi shouldn’t affect it, once the data is downloaded to the machine, the job will continue as long as it has power.
Wait…have you folks having the issue tried plugging the machines into a different outlet? Not the same one you have it plugged into now, try one on another wall. (You can temporarily use a high-rated outdoor extension cord if you need to for testing it with another power source.)
Ohhhhhhhhh! (Picture me smacking my forehead…). Do you have the Glowforge plugged into a circuit that is being used for a lot of other devices as well? It might not be getting enough power…it requires 800W peak power dedicated…so if you have a lot of other devices on the same circuit, try moving or turning something off. (It isn’t always easy to determine which devices are on the same circuit, since you need a diagram of the wiring in your house. Just try a different wall or room if you can.)
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Hmmnn. This is an interesting thought. I have my glowforge plugged into a UPS that my PC is also connected to. I would try plugging it into a different outlet and would report back if there’s any improvement. Thank you
Hey all, sorry for the delay in response. Had company over the weekend.
So, as for the questions about the power, it HAS NOT been plugged into the same outlet. I’ve tried 3 different outlets over the course of the 4 units (keep in mind unit 1 worked, but the wires were bumping into the heat sink and they had me send it back but there were no printing issues on that one).
As for the rabbit pendant that Jules created, it cut perfectly. I’ve since been able to cut most things with precision and accuracy without any issues.
Also regarding the lid, I’ve never lifted the lid any further than needed as I read up on this machine and knew that was a big no-no, so I don’t think that would be the issue.
Lets hope that it continues to print as needed. I’ve only tried wood so far, so will test this week with other materials such as veneer and acrylic and leather and make sure that it continues to cut as expected.
Thanks you all SO MUCH for all of your input and help. Thanks Jules for saving me from crying my eyes out lol. Your patience and guidance is super helpful! 
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I’m so glad! Having a bad file is a hell of a lot easier to deal with! Have fun! 
For the sake of completeness… “power quality” has a more to it than the the voltage and frequency. It’s not only about spikes (surge suppressor) or dropouts (UPS). There’s also “noise” which is generated by all the mechanical switching gear connected to the power network. From wall switches to large relay-controlled loads, they all generate glitches that can propagate out in to the power system.
There’s also “power factor”. AC is “Alternating Current” but really, it’s alternating voltage and current. They are two coupled, but independent things. They both change at the same 60Hz rate but they don’t stay in phase. Electric companies have large banks of capacitors they can switch in/out to correct power factor, and large industrial power consumers (like a steel foundry, for example) will have their own power factor correction.
I’ve had problems with customer computer equipment running in areas near large industrial power consumers. I’ve had problems with computer equipment caused when the building’s elevators ran. I once had a problem than only happened every Sunday night, turned out to be a floor polishing machine the cleaning people were plugging in to an outlet on the outside wall of the computer room. People tend not to think of power “quality” until they have a blackout. But power quality is really horrible. It’s amazing stuff works as well as it does when you plug it in.
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I’m sincerely dismayed to see this is occurring with your replacement Glowforge. Thanks so much for sharing the photos of your results (they’re super helpful), and thanks for the community for offering all their help. Unfortunately, it looks like your unit is experiencing an issue that we can’t resolve remotely. I’ll be in touch via email to sort out the details. I’m so sorry about the bad news.