Been running into this for awhile now. Have less than 200 hrs on the machine.
I have to keep adjusting the speed lower and lower to get through 1/8 material. Acrylic or plywood/ draft board. I just ran a job this morning, and at 145/full, it cut through only approx half of the objects I requested. Objects on the right hand side tend to cut out fine, where the further left the objects go, the lower the probability for the cut to complete, where everything on the farthest left doesn’t cut through at all. This can’t be normal. Is there something I can fix?
For the optics, there are 6 places to clean with Zeiss wipes. (glasses cleaning wipes) There is a window under the left hand side that points at the print head. There is a window on the left side of the print head. There are 2 windows on the bottom of the print head. The lens (which is removed using the mystery blue tool) is between those 2 windows. And the mirror is under the magnetic “top” of the print head. Make very sure you notice how it sits in the hole and put it back exactly the same angle/direction. You don’t have to force it.
As for the Air assist fan, I just clean mine with cotton swabs and alcohol. It is located on the back side of the gantry, sort of under and behind the print head. It is a pain to clean, and a lot of people remove the piece it is attached to to clean it. I haven’t done that because, even though it is awkward to get to and clean, I think it is safer, given my mechanical aptitude (or lack thereof) to do it that way.
@tjones excellent directions should get you back to normal. Try to get in the habit of cleaning your optics regularly. Smutz left too long can get baked on by continued use of the laser. In addition to the reducing power you’re seeing, that can result in permanent damage to the lenses and mirrors requiring parts replacement.
That’s great news! Thank you for letting us know. I’m going to close this thread. If you run into any other trouble, please start a new topic, or email us at support@glowforge.com. We’re here to help!