Should I expect to be to be losing power already?

Everything Else
1

I have an 8 month old Glowforge Pro, that isn’t in warranty because it was a replacement for one that stopped working after 4 months.

I use it mostly to cut large words out of Thick Draftboard, probably 200-300 sheets of it in the past 8 months.

I shut it down and clean the optics every 1-2 hours. I also blast the air assist fan with some air every day to keep it free of buildup, and take it apart for a thorough cleaning every month or two. The exhaust fan is cleaned similarly.

Recently it’s not been cutting cleanly through Thick Draftboard. Even right after a cleaning, I often have to pop out parts that didn’t cut clean through with some force or an xacto knife.

The crumb tray is flat, the boards are flat, I’m using PG material at PG settings, is there anything else it could be except the laser tube producing less power than it used to? Any tips for remedying that other than just going slower than PG settings from now on?

2

Check the thickness of the draftboard (each piece before cutting) and adjust the Focal Point for the correct thickness. Thick draftboard should be 0.209" thick for the defaults to work.

What happens over time, with exposure to humidity, is that the Draftboard swells. When it gets swollen, it gets just a little bit too thick to cut thorough with the default settings.

Or you can just use a slower speed. I’ve found that using a 10 point slower speed enables me to cut through medium draftboard that has swollen up to 0.143" from the standard 0.125" that it starts out at.

You can save it in your custom settings and have it ready to go with one click.

5 Likes
3

Thanks for the tips, I hadn’t thought of that. Last board I pulled is measuring 0.225"!

1 Like
4

Yeah, that would do it! Just set up your own Custom Thick Draftboard setting and save it. (I have to use one, it’s very humid here.) :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
5

I consistently cut at 150 instead of 168 to ensure a full cut.

In my case it’s not thickness or material.

I suspect that since swapping the internal fan for external it doesn’t quite clear the smoke in the same way, but I’m guessing.

6

Thought you were in the U.K.? That’s one of the most humid places I’ve been to…you sure the wood isn’t swelling up on you too?

7

Humidity in UK is nothing like we get here in the South.

1 Like
9

The warranty was 12 months from original purchase, which has now past.

No manufacturer resets the warranty when they provide a replacement during the warranty period.

In your case, you would need to start your own discussion with GF to determine when your warranty period begins.

10

Ok. I gotta stop reading these threads because I make wrong assumptions.

11

It should be noted that as far as I know the humidity theory is just a theory, and has never been officially supported or proven in any rigorous way.

2 Likes
12

This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.