Need help with my broken machine that caught on fire :/

My machine caught on fire. I sent it back to be repaired by Glowforge and just got an email saying that it can’t be repaired but they would sell me a new one for a small discount (and keep the one that needed to be repaired). There was no details of what was wrong and couldn’t be repaired, no breakdown and I felt like I was just trying to be sold now that they have my machine and know I need a new one.

It caught on fire but I caught the fire pretty quickly. The lights and camera were damaged and a bit of the inside but not much more than that. I am of course disappointed with the answer of no fix but even more turned off that I am being sold without explanation now that I am in a shit spot.

Anyone else with this experience? It was less than 6 months old and not under warranty because according to Glowforge I wasn’t cutting proofgrade acrylic.

They outsource repairs to a 3rd party, and don’t get a detailed report on what needs fixing. It’s not the greatest system – a lot of folks have griped, but for now it’s what we’ve got. :frowning:

I’m not sure you are aware that posting in Problems and Support opens a support ticket --? If you didn’t mean to do that, I can move this over to Everything Else where the community can still chime in but we don’t clog the support chain.

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I am sorry about the fire and the fact that your machine cannot be repaired. I don’t have first hand experience with this issue, but over the years I have come to believe that Glowforge acts in good faith and makes reasonably fair offers. Many companies would just say, “sorry you caught the machine on fire and it can’t be fixed. Good luck.”

I think you must consider why you bought the machine in the first place and decide if you still want to own one. You can look around for people selling used Glowforges, or take this offer if you decide you want one. Perhaps you can get some help from your home owner’s insurance. I wish you well no matter what you decide.

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Sorry you had the fire. Glad you caught it before it escaped!

I can understand that you feel this way.

Sending in for repair is a complex issue. They contract their repairs out, so they have little agency in communication and granular service.

Lid camera is such that it requires a full calibration as I understand it. I have seen in the forum too that some minor fires actually cause some major damage. Little bits of each of the different systems are going to end up compromising each system, I’d say and then it all adds up to total loss since repair costs don’t balance up.

The opaque response about what is the actually damage and why it can’t be repaired is a big hurdle. I have been following this enterprise quite closely since their pre-order launch and can say they are very concerned about having a good product and care for their customers. I don’t know if trust is the right word for it to recommend to you, but I can say that totaling a machine isn’t done just to make a sale.

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Looking at your original post about this fire, your print head, the white cable and the laser tube seem undamaged. You could, perhaps, request a low price for the replacement since these parts are now available to the repair shop for use in other machines.

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Thanks guys. I def appreciate your input. I get they contract a 3rd party but this isn’t me buying a new vacuum cleaner you know? This is a couple thousand dollar purchase/ decision and you would think their third party vendor would have to give them detailed info about what is wrong. I mean at the end of the day they are going to use those parts so they have to get some kind of information.

I am also so hesitant to buy the refurb unit since all the FB groups report many problems with them. Ughhhh this is bad.

Actually, many times buying a refurb is better than new, as they get checked over and tested even more thoroughly than they might have in the beginning. I follow posts on the GFUG on Facebook and I don’t see any more complaints about refurbs. than I see about brand new ones that either arrive damaged or end up with a problem and have to be replaced. I hope if you decide to buy from them that you won’t use that as your only criteria. Best of luck.

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Hi @alizabeth33,

I can definitely appreciate this is a costly decision for you, and I am so sorry for the unfortunate events that took place which left your unit damaged.

I’ve just followed up with you directly over email so we can resolve this issue, so I’m going to close this thread.