Pro stopping mid cut?

Community Support
1

I’ve begun experiencing a recurring problem wherein my cuts are stopping in the middle for no apparent reason. I’ve perused the forums for a while to see if there are similar problems, and have undertaken the following actions based on my findings:

PROBLEM: Print stops mid cut. This is a file I’ve cut hundreds of times with no problem - it is a jigsaw .svg cut from medium clear acrylic on proof grade settings. I am using Safari, if that matters.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS FOUND IN FORUM:
Temp/overheating? No warnings or alerts pop up. Print will just shut down in the middle, and the timer will continue to count down as though nothing is wrong for about a minute before the “Print stopped - cannot complete print” message appears, and the head re-centers.

Air intake blocked? I’ve removed any and all possible obstructions from the work table.

Ambient temperature within range? Yes, it is operating in a room that is roughly 76-78ºF (I know that’s starting to get into the upper range, but still no “cooling down” messages or anything)

Loose wires in lid/hinge? Not that I can see, but I’m not 100% sure what to look for.

I’ve cleaned all lenses, mirrors and the camera.

Corrupted/bad file? I’ve re-loaded the file in a new unit of time (i.e. not using the saved file that I usually work from). I also tried re-uploading a new .svg of the same thing. As I mentioned before though, I’ve cut this design hundreds of times with no issue.

I have also noticed an increase in occurrence of the “something went wrong - refresh browser window and turn Glowforge off and on” message, sometimes before I even ready up a print.

The problem is intermittent, but is beginning to increase in frequency. Please advise on anything I may have missed. I recently received this particular unit as a replacement to my original in which the laser tube blew out, so this is a refurbished model. Warranty is up in about a month.

EDIT: Pretty sure it doesn’t make a difference, but for info I am using the front pass-through slot. The sheets I am cutting from are the 48" ones.

NOTE:
Last failed print was approximately 11:30 PST today. Two failed projects with a successful one in between, and I have since done several successful cuts.

After the first failed print I lifted the lid following the head shutting down and the countdown continued. I set up a new job at this point and the dialogue popped up telling me to refresh the browser and power cycle the printer.

Second print I waited for the countdown to finish (countdown stopped about 4 minutes after the print stopped and gave me the “couldn’t complete print” message). Was able to reset print and successfully complete the next job.

1 Like
2

Make sure the white cable hasn’t come loose from the head.

Do you have magnets on the bed or anything? They can interfere with the air assist fan, but that should throw an error too…

3 Likes
3

Thanks for the suggestion!

Checked the cable connection, looks good. I don’t use magnets, but I do use the honeycomb bed holddown pins to keep the acrylic level and steady. I’ve measured to ensure they do not exceed the .5in mark, and have observed no issues with the fan bumping them.

4

No idea if this will help or not, but it’s a pretty easy one to try…try clearing your browser cache, then restart the GF and browser, and re-upload the file?

5

I did try this earlier. Appreciate the suggestion.

6

Gotcha. Sounds like you’ve tried a lot of good troubleshooting-hope support sorts it out for you!

1 Like
7

If you note the time/timezone of the print, support can probably look at the logs and tell you what might have caused it.

Most issues will throw an error, which is usually shown on the UI screen or by changing the color of the magic button. As you don’t appear to have either, it’s likely something unexpected.

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Could be a comination of issues, It could be a temp issues or something else coupled with a poor wifi connection from the machine back to the router. If the machine has an error it will do what it has to and stop and then it will attempt to send the information that it has stopped back to the dashboard. If it was me i would try and run a print that has had issues in the past but using your phone as a mobile hotspot and have it near the machine to eliminate one of the possible problems.

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This is why I posted, as I understand posts in this section of the forum open tickets (could be wrong about that). Thank you for the pointer on noting the time and time zone.

Last failed print was approximately 11:30 PST today. Two failed projects with a successful one in between, and I have since done several successful cuts.

After the first failed print I lifted the lid following the head shutting down and the countdown continued. I set up a new job at this point and the dialogue popped up telling me to refresh the browser and power cycle the printer.

Second print I waited for the countdown to finish (countdown stopped about 4 minutes after the print stopped and gave me the “couldn’t complete print” message). Was able to reset print and successfully complete the next job.

I hadn’t considered the wifi connection as a problem source. Good point. I have had my network go down in the past and the print went ahead and finished (I believe the whole job uploads to the machine prior to pressing the button?). I’ll try your suggestion. Thank you!

1 Like
10

I’d unclip and then reattach the white cable at the head. Check it as well to see if there’s any abrasions or serious kinks. Check the end that plugs into the board under the left side. Unclip & reclip it there as well (that one is hard to get to). When you unclip, take pictures of the ends because Support will want those.

Those symptoms are very similar to mine before I got the white cable diagnosis (although they subsequently caveated that and I’m waiting on a review of the logs I sent them). At least since you’re in warranty it won’t cost you to get it fixed.

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Will do! Thank you.

12

I’m sorry that you’ve run into ongoing trouble while printing. I extracted the logs from your unit, and it looks like there have been recent entries where the temperature was above the Glowforge Pro’s operating range.

To help troubleshoot your exhaust, could you send me a few photos of your exhaust system? Specifically, please include pictures of the following:

  1. The exhaust fan from the inside of the unit. To capture this photo:

  2. Turn your Glowforge off

  3. Open the lid

  4. Using both hands, gently pull the printer arm towards you as shown below:

    800×600 789 KB

  5. Move your phone or camera inside the Glowforge on the left-hand side, past the metal rail, pointed away from you towards the exhaust hose, to capture a photo like the one below:

    800×578 65 KB

  6. A photo of where your exhaust hose attaches to the Glowforge, where your exhaust hose exits the room, and the path your exhaust hose takes from your Glowforge to the exterior vent or Compact Filter

    612×816 117 KB

    816×612 150 KB

    612×816 89.9 KB

  7. The exhaust connection on the back of your Glowforge, with the exhaust hose removed:

  8. Any area where you see smoke escaping from your Glowforge while printing

We’ll review the photos and then follow up with next steps.

13

Have to ask. Have you tried another file?
If the problem is only with that one file, a lot of the things you are going to be asked to do will not alleviate your issue.

14

Are you using a compact filter? Maybe it is plugged?

15

Thanks, Ivan. It’s been operating fine since I posted this. It’s been cooler in my area, so it may have been the overheating.

I’ll post again with photos if this happens again.

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! This community is awesome.

1 Like
16

I’m glad to hear it.

I’m going to close this thread - if the problem reoccurs, go ahead and post a new topic with those photos.