New glowforge - laser not firing

Community Support
1

So I was engraving a board and 1/4 of the way through the job the laser stopped. Everything else was fine, not a single error and the print head continued to move as if it was going to finish the job. The laser tube was not glowing and there was no light hitting the cutting surface.

I turned off the unit then turned it back on and was going to start a new job. I sent the print to the GF and it offered me the pulsating light, I hit the button and it started up, but again no laser.

Can someone offer me some advice?

2

I’m afraid nothing that will solve it.

Support will most likely ask for a photo of the first print, along with the time (and timezone) of when that occurred.

They might also ask you to try printing the Gift of Good Measure on the extra sheet of Medium Draftboard that you received, and for photos of that. Obviously, if the laser is not firing, the material will remain unmarked, but it’s the most basic troubleshooting they do.

After that, all you can do is wait for a response from them.

3

Check the white cable that connects to the head – it may have come loose.

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4

I’d also check to make sure the laser lens in the head hasn’t come loose.

5

image
image612×816 109 KB

Glowforge making a grunting noise from what looks to be a pump pushing loads of bubbles into the tube

6

Here is a video showing the grunting of the pump and bubbles being pushed into the tube

7

It’s brand new … only ordered it as my glowforge pro broke down. This one lasted around 6 prints.

8

Check the coolant level. It’s the white reservoir.
Is the coolant reservoir cap on securely?
Did or do you see any wetness inside the machine at all?

9

Checked the coolant… securely fastened. No wetness at all. /uploads/db6859/original/3X/1/d/1d6124b9ab269e36adf57cc9b6bd0f615eb7d843.MOV

10

Uh-oh. :neutral_face:

Generally not a good idea to move the laser arm by hand when the machine is running. (That’s just so you don’t make the same mistake with your next machine, but it isn’t what caused this.)

The bad news is, there’s an air leak into the tube…it’s supposed to be a closed system. If you had just turned it on and saw the bubbles, that is normal, they take some time to clear after shipping…but having them appear after several prints have been done is not a good sign. I’d check the tube carefully for cracks, take photos of anything you see, but at this point, you need to hear from support what they want you to do about it. Just turn the machine off, unplug and wait to hear from them.

Sorry, that’s bad luck. :confused:

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11

Yes my glowforge pro broke which is bad luck and instead of sending back to the USA with courier costs I bought a replacement to cover the down time and then this breaks down on me…

12

Oh bummer, didn’t realize it was an international purchase. (Check that tube over really carefully with a flashlight and a mirror to get under the flaps at the side - you might see a hairline crack or the tube connector might have been loosened with bad handling during shipping. If you can pinpoint where the problem is, support might be able to work with you to see if there is a fix you can perform locally.)

13

I’m sorry for the trouble with your new Glowforge. Thank you for providing detailed information, photos and the video showing the issue with the laser tube. Unfortunately, it looks like your unit is experiencing an issue that we can’t resolve remotely. I want you to have a reliable unit, so I’m recommending we replace this one. I’ll be in touch via email to sort out the details. I’m so sorry about the bad news.

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