Laser head is "bumping" as it passes one spot going left to right

I’ve had my glowforge for just over a year and have had 1 replacement unit sent. I’m using a refurb Plus unit that has been perfect up until this morning.

Today I did a basic clean of the lenses before running a 49 minute engrave. About 12 minutes into the engrave I noticed a quiet mouse-like squeak. After the 3rd time I went over and looked at my glowforge and noticed that not only was the squeak coming from the machine, but as the squeak was happening, the laser head box was actually lifting and bumping out a bit. I let the print go on a bit longer but after hearing it about 4 more times (they got progressively louder and the bump became more pronounced) I stopped the print and am now trying to troubleshoot the issue. I removed the printer head and then moved the mount back and forth very easily past the spot where it was jumping around. I moved the gantry back and forth with no problem. I blew condensed air into the whole thing in case a small piece of something was caught on the belt where I couldn’t see. I even pulled the belt down and didn’t see any missing teeth or any debris on the belt anywhere. Any other advice before I give up and wait for ever for customer service to help? Thanks yall!

Are you using strong magnets on the bed?

No, I’m not.

Is there any damage to the guide wheels on the plate that holds the head?

No, I checked them as well.

After I posted this question I ran the same print on a scrap piece of wood. The same print, in the same position and same settings, and the print ran just fine, no weird sounds or movements. It had to be a fluke, but one that ruined my beautiful walnut plank!!

Probably some bit of debris in the motion components (or on the track since it would jump) that was dislodged when you went to check things out and moved the head back & forth.

2 Likes

Almost certainly debris on the tracks or wheels. The squeak was it dragging before it got jammed in enough to cause the carriage to get jolted.

2 Likes

I’m so sorry to hear that you ran into trouble, but I’m glad that the same snag has not occurred again. I’ll close this thread for now, but please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at support@glowforge.com if you run into any of the same behavior.

Thank you!

1 Like