While machine is getting fixed, some desired statistics please

Community Support
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My pro machine died out of warranty (original supporter).
It looks like it is the power supply (not confirmed yet but won’t turn on). Not really sure how / why a power supply should go out. I have had hundreds of electronics and computers and only 1 has gone out in my lifetime, now likely 2. This is likely one of the lesser used Glowforges out there, being turned off for weeks at a time.

I have paid $200 to ship it back for repairs a few weeks ago. It feels like Thanksgiving a few years ago where they said there was going to be an announcement, and instead of positive news it was the message that no shipments would make it that Christmas. Maybe I’ll get mine back by Thanksgiving this year, 2020.

I am told the expected repair could be from $400 to $1,000.

As Glowforge now has my machine, I would like the following information:
-number of prints I have performed on most recent unit (I have had 2 units, 1 replaced under warranty)
-hours used of laser
-any kind of possible % of laser tube life used / left?
-any kind of update: machine received? your machine can be repaired? will provide another refurbished machine instead?
-ETA?
This information can help me review how I am using the machine.
Also a “your machine has been received note”? would be nice.

It would be great to have an open ticket that is kept up to date with the status.

As I have boxed it up and incurred the expense of shipping it to Texas, this would be a great time to know how much life is left in the laser as that is expected to go out sometime in the future. Maybe this would be a good time to replace the laser tube? I wouldn’t know.

Does anyone else have other desirable metrics that you would like to know in such a situation?
Thoughts on how they can improve their communication process?

Looking back through the years, I think the Glowforge should definitely be categorized as a home hobby machine. When it breaks there is no timeline as to when it will get fixed. I cannot imagine how anyone could run a business / fulfill orders while having no clue when a machine might get fixed / replaced.

I am really impressed how beta features are finally being rolled out. The registration has been helpful and the pass through alignment has worked really well.
In the end, would I make this purchase again? probably not. While I have learned a lot about lasering and my family has made many gifts, today’s retail price of $6,000 is pretty close to $10,000 for a much higher duty machine.

Glowforge, can I please get some kind of status on my repair?

thanks,

hj

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Because :glowforge: is still a tiny company the repairs are done at a different facility - so you’re unlikely to get the answers you’re looking for, but it’s good to make the requests because as they grow we want them to know we care about these things!

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As they store all of our processing jobs due to the cloud, it should be a simple query to get the stats. This can be done at corporate, not necessarily the repair facility. Who owns the job history data? Shouldn’t the customers who paid for the laser be able to get the job stat detail? Some type of user based query web form would be great.
Wouldn’t prospective customers like to know the process and turnaround time for repairs before making such a sizable purchase?
I’m glad no one appears to have worn out a laser tube (anyone) yet so maybe it will be another few years before this is an issue.
hj

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Oh the data is available - you can download your logs anytime. What they haven’t spent any time/money on (thank goodness) is putting them in an easy-to-read format. They have pointed their work-hours on improving almost everything about the machines rather than prettying up data that the majority of their customers won’t ever use.
There is no company, no matter how large, that can estimate exactly when a laser tube is going to fail. They gave the guesstimate of 10k hours/2 years early on but as thousands of units have already exceeded that…

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… but many have been replaced. Dan has commented that they lose money on them. They don’t publish those numbers.

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Hi @hjohnson,

Thanks for your thoughtful post, and I’m sorry your repair is taking a bit longer than expected. I’ve just sent you a follow up to our email thread with updates and answers to your questions. Since we’re communicating there, I’m going to close this thread.