My replacement machine is now stuck focusing

[birdsneststudios]

I’m on my second machine and trying so hard not to be really frustrated. My machine is stuck focusing. Wondering if my logs could be checked to give me some place to start toubleshooting? I’ve already made sure lenses are clean, top of printer head is clear and the logo is easily read. I have not troubleshot wi-fi yet because I’m in a building where my router is not easily accessed. It has to be a last resort.

Please help.

[MorganW]

Hello @birdsneststudios,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I’m sorry to hear your Glowforge is getting stuck while focusing. I’m happy to help troubleshoot the issue with you.

I extracted some logs from your Glowforge to investigate, and it looks like your Glowforge is having trouble communicating with the printer head. There are two key connections I’d like you to check for me.

Could you please do the following?

1. Turn off your Glowforge.
2. Holding only the finished black surfaces, grasp the printer head as shown. Pull gently up and back to disengage the magnets and remove the head.
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3. There is a small tab in the center of the wire ribbon. Push down fully on the tab to release it, and gently pull the wire ribbon plug from the printer head.
   
   
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4. Take a clear photo of the gold pins inside the printer head where you just unplugged the wire ribbon. It should look like this.
   
   
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5. Pick up the printer head and wire ribbon. Make sure the tab on the wire ribbon is facing up. Slide the ribbon back into the head until you feel it click securely back into place.
6. As shown, lower the printer head over the metal plate so that it rests next to the two round posts. Then push it gently away from you – you’ll feel a “click” as magnets pull the printer head until it sits snugly atop the metal plate.
   
   
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7. Pull the laser arm all the way forward.
8. Reach over the laser arm, and to the left of the inside of the unit and you’ll see this circuit board:
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9. Take a photo of the circuit board, please use flash for this photo. If the cable I’ve indicated above with the red arrow appears to be loose, please reconnect it and try printing again. This cable should ‘click’ back into place.
10. Turn your Glowforge back on.
11. Try a small test print. If you still get stuck during the focusing step, please send me a photo of the bottom of your printer head, like this:
    
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12. Send me the photos you took in step 4, step 9, and step 11.

Once I have the photos, I’ll review and follow up with next steps. Thank you!

[MorganW]

Hello @birdsneststudios, its been a few days since we heard from you. Are you still having trouble with your Glowforge? If so, can you please perform the steps that I posted previously? Once those steps are done, I’ll be able to review and provide next steps.

If things are going good now, please let me know that as well and I’ll close this thread. Thank you!

[birdsneststudios]

I’m sorry, on Friday I was getting ready for a tradeshow, Saturday was the tradeshow, and I took a much needed day off yesterday. I am just now able to complete the troubleshooting steps above. Thank you for responding.

[Brandon.B]

Hi @birdsneststudios. No worries about the delay. We completely understand, and appreciate you getting back to us with the requested photos. Upon review, we noticed a couple things to try to help resolve the print trouble.

First, the flat cable at the bottom of the circuit board (highlighted in photo below) may not be fully seated with the connection. Can you try re-seating it and letting us know if it fails to click into place?

Next, we noticed some small specks on one of the focus windows, and smudges on the Print Head Lens that could use another cleaning with a wipe. Can you let us know if any of the marked spots remain after another wipe down?

After completing the steps above, can you perform the following test print?

• Print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade material, using Proofgrade settings.

• When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates.

Check the completed print:

• If the Gift of Good Measure fails to cut through, take a photo of the front and back of the print and attach these photos to your reply.

Feel free to complete these whenever is most convenient for you, and we’ll look forward to any results. Thank you!

[birdsneststudios]

The specks on the top lens in the photo are on the inside and the ribbon that you indicated may not be seated, definitely wasn’t. It’s up and running again! Thank you!

[Brandon.B]

Hi @birdsneststudios. That great news! Thank you for letting me know. I’ll go ahead and close this thread, but feel free to create a new thread, or write us at support@glowforge.com, and we’ll be here to help. Happy printing!