GF stopped in the middle of a large job no clue why

I was JUST reading that after it starts, you can close the browser as it wont matter. Of course the time I do this and have a large print job, it just stops. It is stuck in the middle of the machine not doing anything. I have no clue how to find out what error or what went wrong? I thought it sends the full job after it starts?
Why did it stop? How do I find out?? This was for a client and is no good.

I tried hitting the button to start it again but nothing. I dont understand why it would sto or how to fix it.

Ok and it just started back up… after at least 10 minutes of not running. What could cause this??

Any orange button? No error messages,huh? Usually pauses like this are only due to temperature range issues.

Hope the mother ship can look at the logs and give you some indication of what was going on.

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Glad it started up again. Good to know. If I was doing a project for a customer I would not have the courage to try what you did. You are braver than me LOL.

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Sounds like it probably overheated.

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Not sure where you read that, but that is not supported. It might work, but you shouldn’t expect it to.

Why would you want to anyway? You’re going to be right there with the machine until the job completes. What difference does it make if your browser is running?

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This was a 4 hour job. GF was slowing my entire PC down for some reason. so I closed the browser. A search on this forum says it sends the job to the printer and has no input from the PC anymore so you can close it.

So it has paused again, 2 more times during this job. I dont really understand why. How do I look at logs or whatever to figure out what is going on?

I’m so glad it started back up @gewubs haha Im glad I didnt lift the lid or yea the entire job would be canceled I assume. I (somehow) waited patiently and I am not patient!

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That information did not come from support. As stated previously, closing the browser is not supported. It is correct that the job is sent to the cloud (“uploading”) then down to the machine, but there is still some “handshaking” going on between the UI and the cloud.

As to logs, support can provide the procedure to access them if needed, but they can access a lot of information from their side to determine if that is necessary.

While some hand shaking is going on(hit the cancel button, temp error message-but I don’t think anything else interacts or it’d be able to keep an accurate time count for pauses), i don’t recall the ever having been instructions from support to not close your browser or that you can’t close the browser either.

Support even has instructions on how to get back to the print time if the tab/window is closed, or browser is shut down. You can even “get back” to the print time on a completely different computer as long as it’s the same user account.

Once the job starts, it’s in the hands of the laser gods.

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I’m sorry that you ran into trouble during your print! I’m glad to see that you were able to continue printing, though.

Your Glowforge features a closed-loop liquid cooling system that uses the air from the room to remove heat. It is designed to be used when the temperature next to your Glowforge is between 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 Celsius) and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius). To check, put a room thermometer next to the right-hand side of the Glowforge; it draws in air from underneath, on the right.

You can try any of these things to improve warm-weather performance:

  • Try printing with no material on the bed (so as not to generate smoke and fumes) and no exhaust hose attached. If this works, then the problem may be that your exhaust hose is constricting the flow of air out of the unit, preventing cooling.

  • Examine the bottom-right side of your Glowforge, and ensure that there is no fabric or other flexible material underneath it, like a tablecloth. There are air intake vents, and if they become obstructed, it makes cooling less effective.

  • Try pointing a fan at the right side of your Glowforge. If there is warm air around the intake, this could help it cool off.

  • Power off your Glowforge when you are not using it. When your Glowforge sits idle, the fans are off, so heat can build up

  • Just wait. Your print may take a little longer when it’s warm, but your Glowforge will protect itself and make sure it cools enough to prevent any loss of power or damage. It’s clever enough to pick up from exactly where it left off, even if it needs to pause to cool down during the print!

  • Ensure that the sun isn’t shining on the lid. This could cause the inside of your Glowforge to heat up.

  • If you are venting outdoors, ensure that extreme temperatures or humidity do not enter the Glowforge unit through the exhaust hose. Disconnect the hose from the outside air when the Glowforge is not in use.

  • Turn your Glowforge off and open the lid for a few minutes before trying again. It’s possible for the air in your Glowforge to heat up, just like a car in the sun on a hot day, opening the lid will help that warm air to escape and your Glowforge to cool down.

If you have further trouble with your Glowforge pausing during a print, could you let us know a few things in your response?

  1. A description of the things you tried and what happened

  2. If possible, place a thermometer next to your Glowforge on the right hand side and measure the temperature there; if not, estimate the room temperature

  3. The date and time (including time zone) when you had the problem

  4. Take a picture of the exhaust hose behind your Glowforge that includes the part where it connects to your Glowforge, and the part where it exits the room

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(also @eflyguy)

Support has said in the past that you can close the browser:

I have done it on occasion without any issue, although I suppose that information might have changed.

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you, so I’m going to close this thread. If you are still having trouble - reach out and let us know.

Email us at support@glowforge.com or start a new thread and we’ll be happy to continue troubleshooting.