Replacing power supply in Glowforge

I had a glow forge pro, it’s dead, won’t turn on, could be the power supply, you know if I can replace it?

1 Like

Welcome to the forum
My understanding is Glowforge technology is proprietary and can only be sourced from them.
Thus the reason I gutted the machine and replaced with open source parts and software.
Although quite time consuming it allows me to maintain the machine with available parts.
That’s the beauty of the K40 … so many parts sources and community support.
Best regards

1 Like

I’d start by taking it out or at least checking it. Probably proprietary, but doesn’t hurt to check.

You will have to get inside it…

Good luck

:smiley_cat:

It’s a proprietary power supply with like 4 low-voltage rails which was crammed into relatively little space.

You either need a new one or you have to get it fixed.

You can’t replace it with other power supplies, because there just isn’t enough room.

And of course Glowforge Inc isn’t selling any. You have to send the machine back and maybe they will be able to fix it.

Maybe it is as simple as a bad switch and not a power supply.
Might as well check.
Glowforge is clever in hiding the access points.
Tips for how to open, original circuit diagrams and the like are found in this thread :

However … Instincts, intuition tells me Glowforge will cop an attitude if the machine is returned in a basket.
The consumer can purchase basic consumables.
Everything else they want to do in-house.
Cost of shipping is a obstacle.

I once repaired a Makerbot Gen3 by replacing its builtin power supply with a PC power supply cabled from the outside of the machine. So while the replacement stack of power supplies might not fit in the chassis, why not make an external chassis and run wires into the machine?

I believe all the motor drivers are part of the power supply.

once the power supply is removed then there should be room for new motor drivers. Then again, it sounds like they put all the electronics on one board/box so calling it a “power supply” isn’t quite correct.

Should the power supply be the broken part it’s not possible to replace with a salvaged one from another machine.
Glowforge software being cloud based checks the unique identifier of each machine.
If the cloud sees the identifier doesn’t match, it won’t work.
Power supply includes some motion control, high voltage for the laser, 90V for LED lights, 24V, 12V, and 5V, 3V.
“Right to repair law” would completely change the Glowforge business model.

2 Likes

I’m looking for a salvage power supply, I did check the switch at back side and it is working, i I’ll remove my power supply this weekend and check inside of it, if have some internal fuse or bad capacitor, but if you guys know where I can find a new one or salvage one I’ll be happy

Look for Jonathan in the Facebook Glowforge Users Group (GUG). He sells salvaged Glowforge parts.

Thank you I will try

@PapaSteve You were smart to totally dismantle and rebuild your Glowforge with other open-source parts. I’ve now been without the parts I need for 3 months. It’s ruined the entire Christmas season for my business. And the worst part is Glowforge will not even answer the question when they expect to get parts in. If you look at their parts shop, they are and have been out of almost everything.

This is usually, not a good sign. :face_with_spiral_eyes:


After a bunch of googling, they claim a supply chain issue…

Good luck

:smile_cat:

Hopefully it’s true because a revenue stream or liquidity issue would be really bad news.
Most vendors had put the supply chain issues behind them through the summer.

Welcome to the Maker Forums
Lots of good information and talented individuals here.
The only aftermarket GlowForge supplier I know of . . .

Anything proprietary inside the machine probably won’t happen.
The K40 lasers start at $600, are plentiful and have lots of third part support.
I should have bought 6 K40’s instead of one non working GlowForge.
All the best

Yeah I understand supply chain issues. What I can’t understand is making everything proprietary, not answering customer support tickets about it and still marketing these machines to build a business with. I loved the glowforge when it worked. Unfortunately I had multiple problems from time to time… again, I still didn’t mind buying the part and fixing the machine… but going on 4 months of a great big paper weight is excessive. I did finally buy another machine from xtool, the P2 and I love it but I’m still in the honeymoon phase. I am thinking about gutting the glowforge if I can’t get parts and do what @Papasteve has done. I think all i need is the black lid cable though so I’m hoping I can find one of those from a 3rd party seller. I see @papasteve listed a part above. Im going to go snoop around on that site.

This Etsy shop carries a lot of spare Glowforge parts;

https://www.etsy.com/market/glowforge_parts

ouch! GLOWFORGE Black Lid Ribbon Cable Brand New OEM Glow Forge - Etsy

That cable is the only original internal unused part I still have.
(other then a few bolts and one sheet metal item)
part number printed on the cable is :
GF-ECA-00305
LID FPC v10

Is that what you need ?