The machine’s hose exhausts through a window to the outdoors. Temperature outside right now is 37F.
I’ve raised the machine slightly so that it can ventilate better. The Glowforge is located right next to a portable A/C on full power. Also lowered the thermostat.
Cleaned the machine: the fan on the back right side and the one on the laser head, the slit on the front side, the camera lens, the honeycomb, etc. Used a vacuum and lens wipes.
Sent a file to print (cut), with no material and the hose disconnected. It will stay on “Cooling Down” forever.
Reset and disconnected the machine several times already. Left it on for over an hour (without cutting) to see if anything would happen. Currently disconnected and cooling next to an A/C. However, I don’t think it’s the surrounding temperature that’s causing the problem because the room is colder than usual.
This problem started gradually. First, it would go to “cooling mode” in the middle of a print, but now it doesn’t even start printing.
I need this solved ASAP because I use this for my university projects (due very soon).
It’s very possible your unit is too cold! There are limits in both directions, and if it’s getting 37F degree air from outside, and you have an AC unit on it…
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 are still running into trouble, please let us know the following so that we can investigate further:
A description of the things you tried and what happened
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
The date and time (including time zone) when you had the problem
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
@MarcM, the reason why I posted my Glowforge issue here in the first place is because I’m sure I’m not the first or only one with this kind of issue. I would appreciate any help from other users who were able to overcome this inconvenience since support will probably take a few days to respond to my email. I already tried printing with nothing on the crumb tray and no hose connected, but this didn’t make any difference. The origin of the problem is probably inside the Glowforge, perhaps an inaccurate temperature read. Is there a way for me to access to my Glowforge’s logs so I have a better idea of what it is detecting?
@deirdrebeth and @Jules, I did think of that earlier today and removed the hose from the window. I left the Glowforge without any direct contact to the outdoors for a couple hours. The (indoor) room temperature was within the range for the Glowforge to work, but I got the same error message.
I also tried placing the Glowforge facing a window A/C on “high cool”, “low cool”, “high fan”, and “low fan”. It still showed the same error message, except on “high cool”, when I got a different message (“Your material must be less than 0.5” tall with the tray in, or between 1.5” and 2” with the tray out”).
