I’m just another user, but I would work up the electrical path from the head, and that starts with 4 little spring-loaded pins on the bottom of the head. They complete the circuit from the head to the carriage, and I would wipe the pins and their corresponding contact pads with alcohol.
Next is the cable that plugs into the carriage, Make sure none of the pins are bent (that happens when reconnecting the ribbon at a slight angle), and ensure the cable goes in straight and snaps into place.
In troubleshooting other customers I have seen support ask for a picture of the other end of that ribbon cable to visually check that connection. It’s the same connection on the other end as the one on the carriage and is located on a small circuit board on the left side.
Beyond that, you are at the mercy of official support. They have access to the machine logs and can figure out if it’s a user-serviceable issue. Right now the next step for them would be to consult with the company engineers to make that determination. Over about 6 years I have seen support perform well. Not as snappy as we would like, but some things take time. Also, I have received a reply from them on Easter Sunday before (a support tech, not an engineer).
As a business owner dependant on a single machine, this should serve as an unwelcome wake-up call.
Two years and all of a sudden, Dang. Good Luck!
I realized during this I should reconsider lasers. I have other cutting machines CNC, etc. but always use the glowforge due to the ease of use. When I have had any issues with my other machines I have always had quick repose from customer service and parts are always overnighted. I get a response once a day so far from glowforge. I would have never thought it would be this difficult to get any resolution. But I did check all the cable connections. This machine has basically been taken apart to try and figure out what the issue is and can’t find anything that fixes the issue.
FYI
Correct, they do not officially work weekends, though sometimes you’ll get responses. It’s a hobby level laser, and a tiny company, though they’re growing by leaps and bounds. For 24/7/365 customer support you’re looking at 10k+ lasers designed for business.
If you continued to respond to the same email, they will receive all of your emails when they go to work on your ticket (in the order it was received, etc.) - if you sent new emails, or posting here, opens a new ticket and they are required to find/verify/close any additional tickets before they can actually respond to your open ticket - so you’re actually slowing them down.
In the future if you want community advice despite already opening a ticket via email you can post in Everything Else which doesn’t open a ticket in the support queue. You’ll know you’re about to get a response via email when a staff member closes this post.
If you ever want support from the community and a staff member simultaneously, don’t send an email at all, just post here in P&S.
I’m so sorry for the trouble. We’ve just responded to your email request. To simplify our communication going forward, we’re going to close this Forum post.
