Finally hooked up and running so I had not noticed till I used it but the right side of my lid is out of alignment. It does not close flush with the rest of the unit and it has a large gap as compared to the left side where the lid closes. Pictures below are right side and left side respectively
So will this cause any issues with smoke leaking and or camera problems ?
Not necessarily. Generally if you see a slight variance between the left and right side it can be caused because the case, which flexes slightly, is not perfectly level on the table. Since there is air flow into the machine at the cracks (negative pressure inside) it won’t necessarily cause smoke to leak out. (My current unit is slightly high on the right side - I just haven’t bothered to level it. The PreRelease unit had a gap like yours and never leaked in almost a year of use.)
Pull up and out just a little (gently) on the right side of the machine…those non-slip runners underneath can hang up. You can try inserting a shim underneath the machine to adjust the level. (A small stack of post-it notes stuck under the runner is sometimes enough to level it out. Just don’t block the air intake at the bottom right side of the machine.
Or you can run some prints first and test it - it’s not going to hurt anything.
If the machine IS out of level this is a good catch, since there is a constant strain on the hinge end as it fights the machine wanting to sink. Some parts are glued, so there is a possibility of something giving up
I thought my table was level until bOb sat on it. It wasn’t as bad as this, but I had to place some thin cardboard under the right section runners to flatten the lid edge.
Looks like yours suffered some pre-shipping bumps and bruises and some touch-up paint. That might have something to do with it not being level. Check whatever surface it’s on to make sure that’s level. Shim one side if it’s not. If everything is level and there’s still an issue with the lid being out of alignment, I’d suspect that damage and the alignment of the lid are related.
Thanks for the help, all. @rotors, that’s correct. Each Glowforge unit is tested on a flat surface. Many tables are not perfectly flat, which can create some friction when the lid closes. This is not harmful and does not require any changes.
If you would like to improve it, however, try inserting a spacer - for example 20 sheets of copy paper - under the center of the printer. If that doesn’t help, try moving the spacer to either edge. It may require some experimentation, including more or less paper, to find the arrangement with the least friction when it closes.
Let us know how it goes!
It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.
