SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20211103-59ED4-2147358962. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Glowforge Glowforge Pro (Glowforge laser cutting system Model Glowforge Pro I own a Glowforge laser cutting system. The company is based out of Seattle. After a little over a year of use I have come to the conclusion that these machines appear to be built using very unsafe design practices and their use could lead to catastrophic fire. Electrical faults are rife. The component layout is dangerous. The tube cooling capacity is poor and susceptible to overheating. The main cable that controls the laser head is exceptionally easy to damage during cleaning or maintenance, and the insulation wears off alarmingly quickly, exposing the conductor traces. The main cable also runs very close the stepper motor. These motors run very warm and there is not adequate separation between it and the cable to ensure safety (or reliability). The cable then runs through the drag chain, where it is subject to a great deal of friction and wear. In addition, the machine is advertised as a 'Pro' device that is able to cut wood, acrylic and more. However, the electronics, heat sink and exhaust fan are all located next to each other in the same area of the machine. The accumulation of dirt in fumes in both the fan and over those critical components is alarming. The design reduces cooling capacity over time. Finally, there is a red tension cable that carries around 26,000 volts and feeds the laser tube. This cable is not designed to be flexed or strained at all and is very fragile. However, the high tension cable is installed next to the main ribbon cable (mentioned above) which carry control signs. Mains and high voltage signals should also be separated by a considerable margin for safety - the potential for noise and errors passing between the cables could cause glitches, faults and represent a fire hazard. The final area I am concerned with is the ducting supplied with the system. T