Glowforge Not Repairable?

I sent my glowforge in a few weeks ago for repair because the glass top(lid section) of my glowforge shattered while I was moving from Wisconsin to Colorado. I followed the moving instructions to a “T” and after arriving to Colorado from driving it in the back of my covered pick up truck(it has a topper) I opened the box to discover the lid to be shattered. So I followed necessary instructions and sent it in for repair. After not hearing anything for a few weeks I decided to email them to check to see if there’s an update on my repair status. I just got a reply they says it can’t be repaired and they want me to buy a whole new(refurbished) unit. With no explanation of what was broken and I’m just supposed to drop the quoted($1625+ taxes) for a new refurbished unit. :pensive:

P.S any recommendations on what to do next if anyone has had to buy a new(refurbished) unit because of being “unrepairable”.

That is a major bummer. Keep us posted.

That stinks. It’s not a bad price for a new(ish) unit, but without knowing what was wrong, it’s a hard pill to swallow anyway.

Did you see if your credit card has coverage for post manufacturer warranty or check if your auto/home insurance may cover it.

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For the benefit of others following this, it should be noted that the owners manual specifically states the machine should not be exposed to:

Temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius) or over 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48 Celsius)

Be aware, these are not operating temperatures. For those operating it in a garage, storing unused, or moving during extreme weather, you need to be aware of these limitations.

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I just got my (2nd) refurb unit today. I can’t tell if it’s actually refurbished or not, because this thing is spotless. My first refurb was over a year ago and I’m sure it was just as clean, and it lasted without issue for a year, and when it did have an issue, it was caused by my careless cleaning habits. This new refurb is for for my second machine, and I assume it will last just as long as my original refurb has.

I’m curious, are they willing to send you the machine back, and if they are willing, I’m wondering if the refurb unit is still an option if you request your machine back. There’s a market for used broken machines, not sure how big it is, but whatever you got from the machine could help with the refurb cost.

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You have two machines!?? Good to know! :slight_smile: Did you purchase a refurb model as the second? Or just needed replacement. What was the cleaning method that broke it? Did you ever get any of that cleaning solution for the fans?

Except they don’t follow these guidelines when shipping new units out. Therefore, I would expect this to be acceptable when moving a unit.

Storage is a totally different story.

A lot of good having two machines does me, I have one working, and one not working machine. I bought the second one in anticipation of the holidays picking up and to be a backup machine in the event of my main one going down, little did I know, when I purchased the second, my other went down. Call it good timing or bad, the last couple of months have been a pain :triumph:.

First machine went down after corrosion killed the circuit board the black lid cable connects to. It looks like when I was cleaning the glass, I must have sprayed that board at some point. Needless to say, I will only ever spray the rag I’m cleaning with, and never directly into the machine again. Over time the corrosion built up and killed that board. GF was kind enough to send me that board, I repaired the machine and it worked for a couple of weeks, and now it’s bit the dust again. My logs indicate that it could be the ribbon cable that goes to the laser head, but this is self diagnosed with the help of the guys at OpenGlow, as I’m not looking forward to GF having me send in my machine, only to have something like what has happened in this post happen - where they keep the machine and try to sell me a refurb. I never ordered any of the cleaning solution, I just use baby wipes, and some broken popsicle sticks for the fan. I’ve mentioned my process before…here it is

I got the refurb, because the second machine I got had inconsistent engraving on arrival, as well as the shipping process knocked something loose in the coolant that lodged itself against the glass of the laser tube, pictured here :arrow_down:

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thank you for all of the details. I will keep it in mind with cleaning, which I need to do more of. I was hoping that you had some source for that spray that can clean the fans :slight_smile:
As mine lives on a Costco shelf, accessing the rear of it is not easy so I haven’t yet looked at the exhaust fan, which is a weekend project of mine. I do have an in-line fan also.
can’t wait for the weekend!

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No explanation of what is wrong is their normal repair process. There are many repair threads that go like, glowforge gave me a quote but won’t tell me what is broken. My uninformed diagnosis is that the cost to repair your machine is more than the cost of the refurb unit.

Quite a few people have sent in machines for repair under warranty and received back a refurb unit. So again, your situation mirrors what has happened to these people. Except you have to pay for it. And I echo MechanicalGoose, first check to see if the credit card you used to buy it offers an extended warranty for purchases. Then call your insurance agent to see if that is an option.

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