Ah. Thanks for the update!
Man, I’m sorry to hear it. Hope they get you resolved quickly!
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Yes, I powered on again last night as requested to attempt to print the Founders Ruler again. The same thing happened as described in the email I copied into my last post.
So far, two attempts to print, both with the same result where the left side of the gantry moves forward and the right side drags behind causing a major alignment issue with the gantry.
I hope so too. Thanks for caring.
I think the multiple communications channels (forum and email) have caused the issue to be fragmented.
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It does. I believe the best method is to pick one… Either use the Forum, or e-mail Support. They both create tickets. So when you do both, there are 2 tickets for the exact same issue which causes issues in its own way. 
For me, I e-mail when I believe it’s “my” problem. And I use the Forum when I believe others can benefit (or help).
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I’ve usually found that I get much better (and quicker) response if I email Support directly with a mechanical issue. And if I do that, I don’t also post it on the forum. (If there are two support tickets open on a problem, they tend to close one of them, and it’s harder for them to keep track of which problems get resolved.)
I had a grinding issue that I shot a short video for, popped it off to them, and they had it fixed by the time I fired up the machine later that afternoon. That was on Friday I think.
The easier you make it for them to diagnose the issue, the sooner they will figure out how to fix it. Take pictures, close-ups if possible, shoot a short video so that they can see what’s going on. Explain what you were doing when it happened. Send the file to them if you suspect that the file is causing the issue. Tell them what browser and operating system you are using if you suspect it is a communication problem. Send them that and wait until you hear back from them before using the machine again, especially if it is a mechanical issue.
It can take a few days to resolve an issue. If it’s a technical problem, they’ll have one of their technical people try to duplicate the issue. If you hit the problem right before a weekend it adds time to the resolution because they might need to wait until a work day to address it.
In the interim, while they are working on it, they will not send any communications. They’ve got lots of other issues to answer for people. It doesn’t mean they’ve dropped your issue. I’ve had it take up to three days for someone to get back to me on the PRU after they worked out what was going on, but at the end of that time it was fixed and I just used the time for design work in the meantime.
Now that they have opened up the forum for problem resolution as well, it’s a good way to get quicker response from other users here, but it’s slower to actually get a response from Support. They process direct emails as a priority first, and if you duplicate the ticket, they’ll tend to close the one here on the forum. Since each case is different, for mechanical issues, you really are better off contacting support directly. For software issues, or if you need help figuring out how to work something, the forum is a better place to post the problem. Those are more common, and other people are going to be able to benefit from it.
My experiences with Support have been excellent over the last few months. (They have been very patient with me.) 
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Odd that the calibration routine ran fine 
That lack of consistency is curious.
After realigning the gantry, at your attempt to print the ruler, did the machine successfully calibrate again?
I don’t see a set screw on the stepper shieve or whatever the term for it is, so I would guess a press-fit?
Unfortunate that your wait has been lengthened slightly, cruel tease, just getting it in your hands after the long wait.
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Could be that when driven with one motor the gantry moves more easily backwards without skewing or it could be that one motor will only move backwards. I.e. the have separate drivers and the direction pin is not working on one.
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I suspect it was minimal front to back and the head was near center so calibration was just a bit of left to right.
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Or maybe it moves slowly when homing and much faster when moving to the start of a cut. In which case perhaps one motor stalls at high speed or acceleration.
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When I first power on the unit after manually realigning the gantry (head centered under the camera) it appears to calibrate correctly. I’m not sure what correct is having never experienced it myself, but the head eventually moves all the way to the left and then the gantry moves to the back of the unit. I assume this is normal calibration.
The issue starts when I try to print from the GUI and the gantry begins to move, before I press the print button on the Glowforge itself. It’s during this movement when the gantry moves forward much more quickly on the left and gets jammed.
Interesting theory.
No, it was all centered with the head under the camera for the re-calibration any time the gantry has gone out of alignment.
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Sounds exactly like the behavior of this unit.
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that part is normal
that part is not normal. It should just sit there quietly pulsing the light on the print button until you press it.
When does it take the height measurement? Is it only after the print button press or before?
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oh… right. 
Sorry, I haven’t finished my first cup of coffee yet.
Turn on power > gantry and head movement during calibration, ending with the gantry moving all the way to the back and the head moving all the way to the left > Click Print in the GFUI > Gantry and head move to starting point of the design and scan material, then return to back/left > Design Processes in the cloud > the “ready to print” dialogue with motion-path preview and cancel button pops up on screen & Button on GF begins to pulse > Press the button > The fans ramp up and the gantry and head move into position and begin operation.
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Intriguing that it does the initial calibration routine without the gantry skewing, but when printing it skews. Would be interesting to see some video on this, especially inside the printer. Do you have a GoPro? You can always stick a phone to the front garage door after starting to record video and then examine what the pulleys and belts do.
But with the variance between the calibration routine and the print routine, it seems like it wouldn’t be mechanical but software driven.
Update: the unit I have will be returned to Glowforge and a new unit is going to be shipped to me as this issue is not resolvable in the field.
As such, this thread can be closed.
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Good! Sucks that it was necessary, but glad they took care of you so quickly!
Looking forward to seeing what you make with your new, perfectly-working unit! 
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I hope your next unit works with no problems. 
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I’m so sorry, but I know that a new one will be in your hands very soon. They’re good like that. Best of luck to you!
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Yes and hopefully they can figure out what it is doing it and prevent if from happening to others.
Good Luck with the new one.
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