Heh - there’s a video out there somewhere showing the 
's bump protection - it’s Dan putting a coffee cup down and then hitting print. I thought it was cute marketing, but thought to myself “who would do that?”…so, thank you. I guess it’s not as out there as I thought!!
HI there! So happy i found this. Im a new owner of a GF Plus,only a week. Before i start,keep in mind Im in Canada so the price I paid was near double what its worth in the states and I would not dare to jeopardize anything that would damage my GF. I read the manual thoroughly and have NOT come across a list of materials you cannot use. If anyone has this list, please show me.So, I saw these cool vinyl records made into clocks, i decided to make some. I made 2 successfully, during the third, my machine cut out within a couple minutes into the project. Each project was only about 5/6 minutes. This happened 3 days ago, my machine only worked 2 times since then, for a few minutes at a time, very small projects. I reports it GF, sends pictures, they tell me its corrosion, went into my print logs and saw what ive done. Meanwhile, waiting for a response took awhile too… Im stuck not knowing what to do with this big machine! Now they say i can send it back and they can do a rebuild, let me know how much that will cost. For such a costly machine, service should be much better, but Ive been finding myself going on the forums since i got it. Im literally sick to my stomache and frustrated because I cannot do this all over again and feel like Im stuck. The machine powers up but the orange light comes on, it still sounds great, but doesnt move back and forth. When they say its corroded, dont i have a right to know where exactly it is corroded? Your post gave me a glimmer of hope, so maybe you can help me furthur!!! Much appreciated!
@ambeales1 There is very much hope for your GF Plus. My GF suffered quite a bit more corrosion than your it sounds like. I printed a PVC Vinyl Laptop bag that I engraved…Spewed HCL all over the inside of my machine.
When they say there is corrosion - they mean that Hydrochloric Acid has been atomized by burning the Vinyl and exhausted over the circuit board that is present behind the exhaust fan of your machine. The Corrosion is more than likely on the circuit board and preventing the computer from communicating with the arm of the machine - which is exactly why you are seeing the orange light.
I went through the same stuff with tech support that you have. However, the difference is I got tired of waiting and was fully prepared to toss my brand new GF Pro in the dumpster…that is how fed up I was.
Anyway, there is a method that could save your GF. It is completely up to you if you are willing to do this and it will probably void your warranty - I highly suggest you email tech support to see if there are any options to salvaging your warranty if you do this yourself…however it is in their hands at that point.
You are going to need to tear apart your machine. You will need to be comfortable and confident when you are removing the parts. Remember, these are electronic parts - they’re fairly durable but still be gentle. You are going to have to create a base of baking soda and water and scrub these electronic parts with a good vibrating toothbrush (like SoniCare) and then re-install them.
It is a fairly straight forward and easy process - but requires patience, confidence and willingness to accept the consequences if you make a mistake…
I will help guide you in the method that I performed on my machine - However, I will not take any responsibility for the outcome of your machine. This is completely your decision.
With your machine, what happened when you would turn it on? This is mine
cuts not cute!lol!
I’m sorry for all the mess you’re dealing with. In hindsight, I know…but, please go back in this thread and look at these two posts and the link(s) offered. You must have missed them the first time around;
Hope you get everything sorted out for the better.
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So mine would turn on, you’d hear the quick fan test and then nothing. Then you’d get the orange light.
Usually, after you turn it on there is the fan test and then you hear the motors clicking and testing…If you don’t hear the motors clicking…it is not getting any information from the computer.
The transistors on the circuit board are corroded and preventing the information from being communicated to the motors.
You’re right to call me on that. Sorry. I realize that this problem has already gone past anything the links I posted can help. I was just hoping that they might help prevent mistakes like this in the future.
Look, when I posted here as a new user a lot of the community pretty much did the same thing…rather than actually offering any help, they just kind of left me on my own and downplayed what I was going through. Honestly, it was very rude. Which is why I don’t share any of my work or designs with the community or make any comments within the community. Honestly, I never even visit this place.
If there is or is not information regarding PVC and this machine…it is CLEARLY not made VERY APPARENT that HCL will break this very expensive machine…maybe on purpose?
who knows…
Placing blame or giving comments that basically says “oh that sucks. Read this. you’ll be better” does absolutely nothing to help @ambeales1 with thier very expensive, non-working machine.
Please contribute something of substance rather than throwing it in @ambeales1 face that they didn’t read the manual.
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Thank you, I did read the manual, not sure how i can miss that section though, seeing its one of the main things to look for!! Ill have to deal with it the best way I can and hope for the best.
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if you would like any guidance on repairing this yourself using the method I did - please let me know. It worked for me and my GF Pro is still cruising along to this day.
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In saying that, Im all ears if anyone wants to give me some guidance, and thank you kindly Kory.fransen for your help.
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yes please. Should we contact here or via email?
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Oh don’t be ridiculous. Nobody is downplaying the effect of hcl on your machine, and there is no conspiracy here.
That which is presented without evidence can be dismissed without discussion. Take that kind of FUD somewhere else.
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are you here to help?
Yes I’m here to help but so far not with your specific problem. I’m here to ensure that that ridiculous conspiracy theory idea is called out for what it is which helps keep this forum in good health. That’s enough time wasted addressing that silliness.
As for helping you out for how to recover from a pvc cut, I think it’s been well covered here. There aren’t a lot of success stories in cases like this; it’s not easy and you have your work cut out for you if you even have a chance of salvaging the machine, which is not a guarantee because just how much damage has been done is going to differ from machine to machine with pvc cuts, unfortunately.
If it were me I’d probably send it to Glowforge for a rebuild, but then I’m in a position when I have more money than time.
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Maybe not alot of success stories but from what I knew, this was a Q & A on similar situations, where we can try to give advice on each other’s scenerios because if Im void on my warrenty, doesnt matter, any help is appreciated. No silliness going on, thers a place on facebook for that. If money wasnt a concern, it would be gone back, but unfortunately that can happen . As a matter of fact, I got billed another $939 today for custom duties that wasnt on my original sales!!! So yeah!!! Any info that is related to this forum, Im open to suggestions. Thanks!!! 
Ouch. What country are you in? Did I miss that earlier in the thread?
Im in Newfoundland Canada. The price with the $250 discount was $3750, plus tax, was $4094, convert it to Canadian funds was $5570, plus the $142 for foreign fees on my card, plus the $939 customs, this is what bothers me and I sincerely do not know how I missed that one section when i read everything else. This is why I need to find out exactly what Iam doing because I dont want anyone else to go through this.
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Yeah international shipping changes the economics. I have no additional insight into fixing it, I’ve seen very few threads about this concept.