Sounds like the air assist fan isn’t spinning up in the startup process.
That would be worthy of it’s own support request, I think. Fans can and do go bad sometimes.
While you are here though, have you tried cleaning the contacts where the head attaches to the gantry? I believe the air assist fan power pass-through goes through there.
Yes, I cleaned the contacts. I plan to get the canned air after work today.
It does: 4 contacts on the carriage plate that 4 pins on the bottom of the head make contact with. It would also be worth making sure none of the pins is stuck in a depressed state.
Have you actually removed the carriage plate (belt and all) to get to the fan and clean it, @tonialdridge?
Yes. I pulled the head loose from the magnetic connection. I blew out the fan just with my mouth. It can rotate. There is some dust there, but I didn’t see that it impeded the movement of the fan.
The air assist fan is separate from that fan. The fan on the back of the head is basically a “purge air” - it helps to keep the optics in the head cleaner.
The air assist fan is further back and blows air at the surface of the material where the beam is hitting.
https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/clean-air-assist-fan
Cleaning it properly involves removing the head, then unhooking the belt, and removing the carriage plate itself to access the fan.
I will try that tonight.