Hey all, I recently remodeled the room my glowforge was in and just pulled it back into the space to use it again today. During the focusing and calibrating, it started to bump like something was in its way or the head got off track. I’ve inspected all that and it looks fine. I centered the laser head under the camera like the support page recommends, but that hasn’t helped either. Any idea what’s going on? Has anyone else had this problem?
I did change the table it’s on. The table seems pretty level, but could that be an issue if it’s not a perfectly level table?
It could definitely be a non-flat table - the case has flex - level is good, but FLAT is very important
Or something in one of the tracks - when you checked did you turn the off and move the head all the way forward and back and to both sides to verify everything was smooth?
If one of your belts is loose they can also cause that - they should spring back into position immediately if you poke them
Thanks for responding everyone. We finally figured it out. It was an optics problem. I had set it up by an open and very bright window and it was messing with the camera. Closing the blinds solved the problem for me. I hope this ends up being helpful for somebody else that may be having a similar problem. It’s a good thing to try out anyways.
Yep, it uses fancy computer vision software to identify the position of the laser head during the startup/homing process. If it can’t clearly find the black rectangle with a Glowforge logo on it, it can send down the wrong movement commands and slam it into the side. As you experienced, bright lights can cause this. Another common issue is having a piece of material on the bed, especially if it has cutouts that resemble the laser head.
I’m glad you resolved it! I’m going to close this thread. If you run into any other trouble, please start a new topic, or email us at support@glowforge.com. We’re here to help!
off and move the head all the way forward and back and to both sides to verify everything was smooth?