Stuck Centering/Focusing: How to Troubleshoot for potential Lid Cable issues before contacting Support šŸ˜²

If your machine is out of warranty, itā€™s not covered. Itā€™s not a defect in the laser, itā€™s a cable that gets a lot of flexing, so it can go bad over time.

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Exactly. I just had to replace a belt in my car. It wasnā€™t defective, it was just worn and ready to be replaced.

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Enjoy that! An amazing place by all accounts. And Death in Big Bend is also a good read - but maybe from your next travel location. :slight_smile:

Curious - how are you doing on internet there?

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It was a delight - I was actually there volunteering, and was in the housing development where they have a lot of RV pads for volunteers and seasonal workers. I went with DSL for the few months I was stationary for the steady stream of internet then try to rely on the hit or miss cell phone connection. Oh, yes, all of the ā€œDeath Inā€¦ā€ series are great, and you are so right about waiting till you leave!

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How long does focusing take? Itā€™s been about 10 minutes. Thanks.

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15-30 seconds or so.

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Thanks. I guess I will move onto the troubleshooting advice from Jules.

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Thanks so much for this write-up @Jules! I have had my Glowforge since nearly the beginning and have seen lots of posts here and on the FB group about people having this issue. Today was the first time I have experienced it. Your write up saved me who knows how much time and frustration! Iā€™m back in business.

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Buy a used Glowforge Basic or a cheap Chinese laser so you have a backup when one or the other machine is down. When it comes to a manufacturing business, if you donā€™t have two, you have zero.

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I totally agree with you. What would be the Chinese equal to the Glowforfe? The k40?

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A good way to preserve the life of the lid cable is to not open the lid all the way :crazy_face:

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3+ years laterā€¦ worked for me! The lens was riding a little low but I pushed it back up in there and turned my machine back on and itā€™s working now. Thanks!

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Fantasticā€¦ itā€™s the gift that keeps on giving!

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Necro - but this evening I had my first ever experience with a machine getting stuck on ā€œcenteringā€. I had seen lots of ā€œdid not take pictureā€ errors previously but it still worked and was in fact taking the picture.

I checked all the connectors related to the lid and was surprised to find the one at the ā€œbigā€ end of the back lid cable (on the back of the case) was open, but jiggling that and closing it did not change anythingā€¦

So I searched and found this thread, and read Juleā€™s response on wifi. That didnā€™t make much sense because my wifi is fine, I am on it all day long - I have gigabit fiber and depend on it for everything, and everything (else) was working fine. I unplug the machine when not in use.

Long story short, I simply reset my router, and now the machine is running just fine again. :roll_eyes:

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