How often are you guys having to do recalibration?

[gewubs]

That is great to know. I like using the camera, but I am totally up for dedicated fixtures to locate mathematically.

[gewubs]

I am happy to key my crumbtray to a zero play position, and fasten stops for reference to that.

[pip]

I’m so sorry for the trouble.

If you can help me find some prints that had alignment trouble in the logs, I’d be happy to take a look and see what I can find.

Time/date stamps, and photos of print results are usually the most helpful way to find what we’re looking for.

Though generally speaking:

• You shouldn’t need to recalibrate your Glowforge unless you move it to a new location. If it’s still sitting where you set it down, and you’ve calibrated in this location, it’s rare that a camera recalibration will help

• If the head gets bumped it can lose alignment, but rebooting your Glowforge forces the centering process, which should always restore the same head position

• On recalibrated machines, the common causes of print alignment troubles we see are:

  • Set Focus was not used.

  • Red laser went off the edge of the material, which provides an incorrect height, which causes an incorrect dewarped bed image

I did briefly look at a couple of your prints, and I did notice the head wasn’t always in the same home position I was expecting it to be in. Try rebooting your machine a bit more frequently, and let me know the time/date of any prints where you have trouble and I’ll take a look.

[oceansofaloha]

Hello @pip!

Thank you for your response.

Sorry, it might be a silly question. How do I go back to see what I’ve printed for time/date stamps for you?

To be honest, I feel like it’s been happening more often than it has not. So, most of the prints should show something. The one that was probably the worst was the one with the bat symbols and ear savers. I’m not sure if that helps any.

Thank you.

[eflyguy]

I think they mean going forward, or just a rough guess for ones you remember.

[ivan1]

@eflyguy is correct; an approximate date and time would help us to take a look back through the logs to locate the print you’re describing.

Another option would be to run a test print using the Gift of Good Measure design on a piece of Proofgrade material and then let us know the date and time you ran the test. We could then extract the logs from the test print and take a closer look.

Here are the steps for the test:

• Turn off your Glowforge.

• Check for small pieces of debris or dust.

• Check the lower door to make sure it closes all the way. It may require some force to open, but open it, wipe any dust off the edges, and close it all the way.

• Remove the tray and clean any dust or debris from the surface underneath. Pay careful attention to remove all debris from the four dimples where the tray rests.

• Check the lid to make sure it closes all the way. Small particles of material, such as dust or debris, can prevent it from closing completely.

• Check the surface your Glowforge is on to make sure it’s flat. Ensure it is not twisted slightly and that there is no debris propping up one side of the machine.

• Turn your Glowforge back on.

• We included an extra piece of Proofgrade Draftboard with your materials shipment for troubleshooting. Place the Proofgrade Draftboard in the center of the bed and print the Gift of Good Measure using the default settings.

• When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates. Without moving your artwork or your material, take a screenshot of the Workspace to show us the difference between the artwork placement and the actual print placement. Make sure to include the rulers in your screenshot and show as much of the bed as possible.

• Mac: Press Shift-Command-4 and click and drag a box around your image. You’ll find the screenshot file saved on your desktop.

• Windows: Click on the Start Menu and type “snipping tool”. Open the Snipping Tool > New then click and drag a box around your image. Click the Save icon and name and save your file.

When the test completes, please let us know the date and time it was printed and then post the screenshots or email them to us at support@glowforge.com. We’ll be happy to take a look!

[oceansofaloha]

Hi!

Thanks for your response. I sent an email to the support. My machine seems to be progressively just getting worse. Now, it won’t get out of the yellow button stage. I’ve tried to turn it off and on. Then, it will try to home or center, and I’ll just get error after error. I’ve ruined so many PG material sheets because I cannot get this problem fixed. I’m so frustrated, and I think my warranty just ran out, even though I’ve been trying to get a resolution to this problem from before it expired I guess it’s what I get for not testing out the Glowforge immediately when I got it. Let it sit for a few months until I was finished moving. I could’ve probably figured out that it always had a problem.

Is it possible that there’s a problem with machines that have been manufactured during a certain time period? I’ve been seeing a lot of people with problems recently that sound like mine. Maybe those in the last six months?

All my prints today were problematic. So, anything after 3:50PM PST on June 1st. It is printing incorrectly. It is also having an error problem during print, so I am not even sure if it’s taking the end photo for you folks to see. I’ve attached some photos. Thanks!

[oceansofaloha]

Since no one has responded to my email, I am writing further on here regarding the issues.

After my last post, the machine would continually have “homing” issues with a constant yellow button. At some point in time, it powered on and was starting to cut. I started taking a video so that the staff could see that it wasn’t printing how it should, then there was a flare-up or a fire (I didn’t change anything during this time). I immediately stopped it and let it chill. After that, it would turn on but not be able to rehome again. So, after letting it be powered off for a day, the Glowforge won’t even “laser” at all now. It homed properly once I turned it on again, but then it just wouldn’t laser. The settings are the PG settings, and the power is not on 0.

I tried to clean the lenses. However, the mirror and lens look burnt. I’m not sure if this has to do with the flare that spontaneously happened two days ago. I took a video for support to see the laser malfunctioning. I am not sure why it happened. But, my machine seriously feels like it’s having one issue after another. And, progressively breaking down. I literally have only used this machine for, I believe, a month. I was moving, so it didn’t get set-up for a few months.

I finally brought it out to support the Glowforge ear saver mission and have been making donations ever since. I have no been using anything that would have messed up my machine. Primarily PG acrylic. I tested a few sheets of draft board since I had to recalibrate a few times already. Still don’t know why my alignment was consistently poor.

Something I have noticed, the medium PG black acrylic has been a common denominator in some of my worst issues. Both black acrylics that I’ve tried have created significantly worse prints than the other PG acrylic sheets that I have, as can be seen in the photos I posted in this thread.

I’m really frustrated because I need to send more ear savers out to people who need them. And, I was going to donate BLM earrings to raise funds for charities. I have literally not started the projects that I was planning to make my GF cost back.

I’m terrified after reading about the costs associated with repairs, and I’m really frustrated that my problem has been consistent from before the expiration of the warranty. And, now, it’s past the warranty period. GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. From reading other magical experiences, I feel like I might’ve just got a defective machine. And, now, I can’t bare the thought of having to shell out half of the cost of my machine for a month-worth of use.

I’m going mad waiting over here. I wish there was a way to talk to someone over the phone, so the issue could be addressed in its entirety.

Does anyone know if the company that they use for repairs is the only one that can do it? Is it possible that there’s a local person that might be able to fix it? Not sure how repairs work for laser machines. I’ve been trying to get problem after problem fixed on the forum since April. GAHHH.

[MarcM]

Thank you so much for providing all of these amazing details about the trouble you’ve been experiencing in this thread. I see you already emailed us about this and we’re working on it there, so I’m going to close this topic.

I’ve made sure we have this information captured inside of your ticket. We’ll continue troubleshooting the behavior you are experiencing directly via email.