My Glowforge is cooling down and it’s too hot now to resume. Will I lose my print...it’s half way done

My Glowforge is in my garage and I live in a hot area. I get up early to use it when it’s cool enough. It stopped halfway through a print and has been cooling down for over an hour. It’s too hot now I don’t think it will cool down. If I shut it down in the middle of the print will I have to start all over or can I resume in the morning?

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Welcome to the community. I’m sorry to hear that your first post is an issue like this. Unfortunately, once the Glowforge has been shut down, you cannot resume a print. It can be paused and then resumed, but that certainly wouldn’t help with your overheating issues. Some people who live in warm climates such as you do have installed portable AC units to help keep their work area cool enough to operate the laser. Also, sometimes a fan directed to the right side of the unit where the air intake is located will help to keep things cooler. Best of luck going forward.

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Thank you

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you may want to take a look at this post from @deirdrebeth
Machine stopped mid print, purple button.

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When the machine pauses because of over-temp it will resume where it left off providing the temperature lowers to within limits.

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Hi @dclark - As others have said, a portable AC unit, or a fan directed at the intake of the printer can really help if the printer is in an area that is otherwise warmer than ideal operating temperatures.

If the printer is able to cool back down to a manageable the print should resume on its own.

You can try any of these things to improve warm-weather performance, some of which have been mentioned by others already.

  • 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.

I hope this helps! If you’re still seeing trouble after trying the above, or have any questions let me know.

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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.