Ribbon

Howdy folks and God bless ya! First of all I bought a Glowforge Basic and thought I had the best of laser cutters or engraver until it about 2 weeks ago. Had it a little over a year. Glowforge wants me to mail it back for a refurbished unit and pay over $1000and a 90 day warranty. When if they would mail me the parts I could fix it myself or have so company local fix it! Does anyone know where I can get the parts to start I need the ribbon that go from a board to the head because I’m getting a yellow button.

There are so many things that can lead to the yellow button. I can help give you the answer you are looking for if your are fully confident that is the issue and you are already well versed in removing the side panel and taking apart the cable tracks. How much time have you spent doing those items. Also, did glowforge say it was the white cable?

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The cable is damaged bar metal in spots.

I did that and got a very nice machine. If you spend what it might take, you will have a likely lower probability of success and a higher calculation by Glowforge. Many parts are special to Glowforge and not designed to be fixed without special knowledge or tools. Local folks will not have any idea about what is needed for the repair.

I
-bought a laser box instead that does more than glowflorge does…

FYI, they’re offering a refurbished unit because it would take WAY longer for them to repair it. The last we heard they were switching repair facilities and would stop offering refurbs once that was up and running.

If they are offering you a refurb it generally means they think the repair would likely cost you more than that - just a cable isn’t usually that bad so it may be that they’re seeing more. Yes, you can absolutely get aftermarket parts for some things, that at a really good hand at engineering might get you a working machine. There are folks on here (@MyDogsThinkImCrazy being one of them) who have done major repairs to their machines.

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Love the response above.

I will still help provide a source of a cable if you are willing but I only feel like it is responsible on my side to make sure you are well aware and can safely replace that cable.

IMO, the glowforge deal is really good. I rebuilt a pro (which was destroyed by someone else) and it costed well more than 1K just to get it going again. I know people hate on the idea of playing in for a replacement but I do not think a lot of people understand the actual costs and the deal they are getting. For example…Glowforge sells a brand new carriage plate for $150…If you want to just repair a carriage plate:

  • new 4 wheels on etsy: $100
  • new belt on amazon $10
  • new assist fan from digikey or amazon or anywhere you can find a part: $25
  • the assist fan does not come with the correct connectors to change out to JST 2.0 mm pitch is at least $20 unless you already have the needed kits and crimpers.

So it would already cost more then just the glowforge price to redo a simple part on your own. You wouldn’t even get a new plate and circuit board if you did your own route.

No point in trying to sell you on glowforge but if you are not willing to get a refurbished unit for $1K then I know a few people that would be willing to buy out your machine and pay $1.5K (so you would in the end not have to pay $1K and you would get $500 and not have your machine to deal with). If that is something you are interested in then let me know.

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