GF focus help

Community Support
1

Hello. I’m stuck on focusing. I have tried…
-Resetting wifi.
-Turned the forge on and off several times.
-Cleaned all lenses.
-Checked all cables no kinks or anything looking damaged.
-Checked crumb tray to ensure its seated properly. -Turned lights off in room.
Still stuck on focusing. I have attached a couple photos of print head lenses and cable connection.

Please advise of anything else I should check or what other troubleshooting I can do.
Thank you!

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2

Hi–is your unit close to a window? Sometimes bright ambient light can confuse the machine–close the curtain, or put a towel over the lid to block out all ambient light to determine if this is a factor or not… As well as make sure there is nothing on the bed–some times starting up the machine with material on the bed can also confuse it…

3

Close to a window but closed drapes as well as shut the room lights off. Nothing in the bed on start up.

4

Well, worth a shot. Can you try a different browser? I few weeks ago I was stuck on rendering and switched from FireFox to Chrome, and able to run OK again. Fortunately it’s OK again on FF. Sometimes updates to the browsers causes glitches…

5

Let me try that. I did manage one cut before it happened. I’ll report back shortly.

6

Different browser, unfortunately still stuck on focusing.

7

Here are all the official steps to try:

Personally I’d focus on WiFi issues; that’s what it has been for me every time, except for once when it was black acrylic that was confusing the camera.

8

I have been through all those steps as well as resetting my home WiFi and connecting to my phone hot spot. Still focusing.

9

Well, darn. Resetting the wifi doesn’t get rid of interference on the network, but usually if it’s a wifi issue the hotspot should work. It might be a black cable issue. :frowning: Support will be along soon, and they can check your logs and see what clues might be hidden there. Sorry!

10

Kinda sucks but thank you for suggestions!

1 Like
11

After letting it sit all night. I have it cutting again. Will update after this cut to see if I can cut another project when this one is finished.

1 Like
12

Well made the 15 min project and now it’s back to the same thing. Stuck on focusing.

1 Like
13

I’m so sorry you ran into trouble. Thank you for taking the time to do some initial troubleshooting.

I extracted the logs from your Glowforge to investigate the problem, and it seems like your unit is running into trouble during the calibration step in which the lens focuses inside the printer head (you may hear this when it’s happening - there’s an audible “ticking” sound as the lens moves up and down in the head). There are a few different reasons this error may be occurring. Could you please check a few things for me to help narrow it down? If you see a step you’ve already done, just let me know that you skipped it.

  1. Check the printer head lens by following steps 1-5 from these instructions: https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033633614-Cleaning#things-that-need-wiping. If you see anything unusual such as damage to the lens or debris in the printer head, please take a photo of it and attach it to your reply
  2. If you are using magnets to secure material to the crumbtray of your Glowforge, please remove or reposition them and try again. Magnets placed close to the printer head may cause trouble during calibration
  3. Check the connection of the printer head to the white ribbon cable in the printer arm. Turn off your Glowforge, unplug the head, and plug it back in. Note whether the cable plugs back in securely, and whether you feel it “click” into place

Let us know how it goes!

14

It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.