Just Pre-Ordered the Glowforge Laser Cutter!

[Triton]

Hey guys, I had been following this on Tested for a bit, and they just launched their pre-order.
Right now, you can pre-order for 50% off the retail price!

In case you guys haven't seen this, go check it out at www.glowforge.com.
It's pretty amazing. I showed the video to my wife, and to my amazement, she was in shock as to what it can do, and said "Order it...now."

:eek

Price is 100% refundable including shipping if you decide later you want to back out.
I know SOME things about it, and will do my best to answer questions about it. Shipping is this December 2015. So Merry Xmas to me!

Also...if you use my referrer code, we BOTH get $100 off our purchase!

http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=FrvUGs

 

[HighlanderFX]

I have done the same. I was just about to purchase a fullspectrum one too, but the passthrough software sold me. Do you know if they will come out with a rotary attachment, or is the camera for curved surfaces as close to a rotary attachment as I'll get?

 

[B Wo]

This looks too good to pass up.

I just have to decide whether or not it's going to be a surprise to my fiance.

I've heard it said that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Thanks for sharing, Triton.

 

[Triton]

This looks too good to pass up.

I just have to decide whether or not it's going to be a surprise to my fiance.

I've heard it said that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Thanks for sharing, Triton.

You got it pal! I figure, this way we all save some money! $100 is $100!
Like I said, my wife is a freakin' rockstar. I think she wants it just as bad as I do. She's into scrapbooking and stuff, so this will be amazing for her as well.

I'd like to pass along some wisdom for you prior to your upcoming wedding ( congrats btw! ). Purchases like these are generally best discussed prior. I've done it for all my big purchases, and my wife REALLY appreciates it. That's probably why she's so cool...cause I never try and pull a fast one, looking for forgiveness on the back end.

That's my philosophy though, and doesn't really mean squat I suppose. =P

But yeah...this thing is just TOO awesome. PULL THE TRIGGER!

- - - Updated - - -

I have done the same. I was just about to purchase a fullspectrum one too, but the passthrough software sold me. Do you know if they will come out with a rotary attachment, or is the camera for curved surfaces as close to a rotary attachment as I'll get?

The camera system from what I understand is the technical advancement to a rotary system. Technically, you shouldn't need a rotary system.
That's what they are touting anyways. We'll have to wait and see. The company seems REALLY in touch with their user base. People were complaining about the software requiring an internet connection to use the hardware...well, they are releasing the software under GPL at launch, so you can have your own server do the work locally. That's AWESOME.

 

[HighlanderFX]

The camera system from what I understand is the technical advancement to a rotary system. Technically, you shouldn't need a rotary system.
That's what they are touting anyways. We'll have to wait and see. The company seems REALLY in touch with their user base. People were complaining about the software requiring an internet connection to use the hardware...well, they are releasing the software under GPL at launch, so you can have your own server do the work locally. That's AWESOME.

Ah, gotcha. Sounds great!

 

[Triton]

I just wanted to make an addendum. When you use my referrer link, all through out the checkout process, it doesn't show up as you getting a $100 off your purchase.
However, once you get the email with your invoice, it shows on that as recognizing the discount, and is applied to your total.

 

[B Wo]

You got it pal! I figure, this way we all save some money! $100 is $100!
Like I said, my wife is a freakin' rockstar. I think she wants it just as bad as I do. She's into scrapbooking and stuff, so this will be amazing for her as well.

I'd like to pass along some wisdom for you prior to your upcoming wedding ( congrats btw! ). Purchases like these are generally best discussed prior. I've done it for all my big purchases, and my wife REALLY appreciates it. That's probably why she's so cool...cause I never try and pull a fast one, looking for forgiveness on the back end.

That's my philosophy though, and doesn't really mean squat I suppose. =P

But yeah...this thing is just TOO awesome. PULL THE TRIGGER!

That is truly sage advice, Triton. I appreciate it

I think I'd be taking my life in my hands springing a $2,500 purchase on her in our modest 2-bedroom condo, already cluttered with half-completed projects.

 

[TheWolfofBees]

A word of caution to those pre-ordeing this machine!

I agree this machine looks really awesome and it's pretty hard to turn up the 50% off, especially in that price range.

There are a few things to consider behind all of the shiny packaging:

1) The packaging itself! The laser cutter is encased in an injection molded plastic. Most laser cutters are encased in metal. The reason this is an issue is that when your mirrors are inevitably misaligned due the bumps that come with shipping, or move out of line over time, your plastic case can get cut/burn and that can be a severe fire hazard.

2) Cloud Tech. Cloud technology is really cool, and in some ways makes a lot of sense for this machine. Keeps costs down (is their reasoning) and means there is always enough computing power. It also means:

a) If your Wifi is down, your connection is spotty, or you move somewhere that doesn't have internet (say out into some areas of the countryside), you have a several thousand dollar paperweight that is inoperable because it can only run through the cloud.

A note on this: After initial concern was raised by quite a few people in the form of emails/forums to the company about this (myself included) Glowforge recounted and said that they would release the firmware for their machines. This is great! Butttt also leaves a pretty salty taste. Glowforge has said multiple times that they want to go to a subscription or cloud based service and that they are modeling this off of Cricut machines. (If you don't know cricut is a type of vinyl/die cutter machine. I've owned one myself for about 2 weeks before returning it and opting for a different machine due 100% to only being able to be run on the cloud. It's slow and incredibly frustrating when you can't use your own software. Add in that every time I wanted to cut my own design I'm being bombarded with their "Pay 99 cents for this Frozen cut out!" ads makes for an unpleasant experience.) There is also no guarantee of this, it still requires you or many other people to write their own code to make it work with other machines.

Releasing the firmware is not enough. This model goes against the ideas of being able to make things for yourself. Think of it as a version of Shapeways where you have to design, upload, send and print yourself. Why can't you just do it all in house? Isn't that the point of buying the machine in the first place? This companies philosophy is not built around making this open for you to use, it so far has been very plainly displayed as a cloud first company that is now saying well maybe well do that so that you'll still buy it (The wording on their release was also really sketchy, made it sound that this machine may have open firmware but that future machines won't).

b) If glowforge goes under, upgrades to a new machine in a few years and decides to no longer support the old machine (happens all the time!) then you again have a several thousand dollar paperweight.

c) Everything you cut gets sent to the cloud/their servers (and like we've learned time and time again with the "cloud") which means that it is not private. Cutting out your replica Mjolnir parts for your new Marvel Hammer? That is now another way you've infringed copyright (this is all in theory, I really don't mean to doomsay that you're gonna get the instant ban hammer for just thinking about using this machine haha)

3) The Exhaust system

The company advertises an additional 500$ (i think) component that will completely filter your air for safe home use and they demonstrate using the machine in the kitchen. You only need to do a quick google search to know that this technology totally exists! Buuuut is a lot more expensive than this and is also much large than the little box that connects to the bottom of your machine. The advertising for this machine is very much directed as easy to use/safe/house friendly. And if you take all the right steps, properly ventilate it and watch it at all times to ensure it stays safe then it may be. But this is a very powerful machine and advertising it has indoor safe with this small air filter while advertising cutting all sorts of plastics is just not true.

4) Still no real information about their custom laser tubes. They could be really great or really bad, it's just that no one knows. There has been some contradicting information released about their life time (ranging from 6 months to 2 years) and price point as well. Again, not necessarily bad, just an unknown variable.

5) The name. Okay I just wanted to tack this one on for fun, but honestly it's ridiculous. This goes back to advertising again (the name, the packaging, the photos of it in a kitchen) this company just seems like it's trying waaaay to hard to make this the new television that every home in north america has one of. 3D printers are really popular right now so let's smack that title onto the machine and we'll sell more. This is a little shady. I would hope that anyone willing to drop a couple grand on this knows what they're buying so let's be honest it's really not an issue of people buying this and then feeling swindled cause they thought it would print filament. My issue is that it's just bad advertising. 3D printers are one thing, Laser cutters/engravers are another and there are also actual 3D printers that use lasers to harden resin so this name just doesn't make any sense.



I don't mean to say "don't buy this!" at all. With everything I've said it still looks like an awesome little machine and has some really cool camera features that if they work add some interesting options to laser cutter design.

I just want this information to be considered by people buying it. I would hate for someone to get the machine not knowing this and to then wish they had spent their money on a different machine.


NOTE** I initially heard about the machine on tested, did a lot of research on it including emailing their support with some questions. These were my findings. I do not own a laser cutter but am looking to buy one and so wanted to carefully consider this machine.

 

[Triton]

A word of caution to those pre-ordeing this machine!

I agree this machine looks really awesome and it's pretty hard to turn up the 50% off, especially in that price range.

There are a few things to consider behind all of the shiny packaging:

1) The packaging itself! The laser cutter is encased in an injection molded plastic. Most laser cutters are encased in metal. The reason this is an issue is that when your mirrors are inevitably misaligned due the bumps that come with shipping, or move out of line over time, your plastic case can get cut/burn and that can be a severe fire hazard.

2) Cloud Tech. Cloud technology is really cool, and in some ways makes a lot of sense for this machine. Keeps costs down (is their reasoning) and means there is always enough computing power. It also means:

a) If your Wifi is down, your connection is spotty, or you move somewhere that doesn't have internet (say out into some areas of the countryside), you have a several thousand dollar paperweight that is inoperable because it can only run through the cloud.

A note on this: After initial concern was raised by quite a few people in the form of emails/forums to the company about this (myself included) Glowforge recounted and said that they would release the firmware for their machines. This is great! Butttt also leaves a pretty salty taste. Glowforge has said multiple times that they want to go to a subscription or cloud based service and that they are modeling this off of Cricut machines. (If you don't know cricut is a type of vinyl/die cutter machine. I've owned one myself for about 2 weeks before returning it and opting for a different machine due 100% to only being able to be run on the cloud. It's slow and incredibly frustrating when you can't use your own software. Add in that every time I wanted to cut my own design I'm being bombarded with their "Pay 99 cents for this Frozen cut out!" ads makes for an unpleasant experience.) There is also no guarantee of this, it still requires you or many other people to write their own code to make it work with other machines.

Releasing the firmware is not enough. This model goes against the ideas of being able to make things for yourself. Think of it as a version of Shapeways where you have to design, upload, send and print yourself. Why can't you just do it all in house? Isn't that the point of buying the machine in the first place? This companies philosophy is not built around making this open for you to use, it so far has been very plainly displayed as a cloud first company that is now saying well maybe well do that so that you'll still buy it (The wording on their release was also really sketchy, made it sound that this machine may have open firmware but that future machines won't).

b) If glowforge goes under, upgrades to a new machine in a few years and decides to no longer support the old machine (happens all the time!) then you again have a several thousand dollar paperweight.

c) Everything you cut gets sent to the cloud/their servers (and like we've learned time and time again with the "cloud") which means that it is not private. Cutting out your replica Mjolnir parts for your new Marvel Hammer? That is now another way you've infringed copyright (this is all in theory, I really don't mean to doomsay that you're gonna get the instant ban hammer for just thinking about using this machine haha)

3) The Exhaust system

The company advertises an additional 500$ (i think) component that will completely filter your air for safe home use and they demonstrate using the machine in the kitchen. You only need to do a quick google search to know that this technology totally exists! Buuuut is a lot more expensive than this and is also much large than the little box that connects to the bottom of your machine. The advertising for this machine is very much directed as easy to use/safe/house friendly. And if you take all the right steps, properly ventilate it and watch it at all times to ensure it stays safe then it may be. But this is a very powerful machine and advertising it has indoor safe with this small air filter while advertising cutting all sorts of plastics is just not true.

4) Still no real information about their custom laser tubes. They could be really great or really bad, it's just that no one knows. There has been some contradicting information released about their life time (ranging from 6 months to 2 years) and price point as well. Again, not necessarily bad, just an unknown variable.

5) The name. Okay I just wanted to tack this one on for fun, but honestly it's ridiculous. This goes back to advertising again (the name, the packaging, the photos of it in a kitchen) this company just seems like it's trying waaaay to hard to make this the new television that every home in north america has one of. 3D printers are really popular right now so let's smack that title onto the machine and we'll sell more. This is a little shady. I would hope that anyone willing to drop a couple grand on this knows what they're buying so let's be honest it's really not an issue of people buying this and then feeling swindled cause they thought it would print filament. My issue is that it's just bad advertising. 3D printers are one thing, Laser cutters/engravers are another and there are also actual 3D printers that use lasers to harden resin so this name just doesn't make any sense.



I don't mean to say "don't buy this!" at all. With everything I've said it still looks like an awesome little machine and has some really cool camera features that if they work add some interesting options to laser cutter design.

I just want this information to be considered by people buying it. I would hate for someone to get the machine not knowing this and to then wish they had spent their money on a different machine.


NOTE** I initially heard about the machine on tested, did a lot of research on it including emailing their support with some questions. These were my findings. I do not own a laser cutter but am looking to buy one and so wanted to carefully consider this machine.

The mirrors cannot be misaligned due to the enclosed system they use. It will never need calibration, or adjustment.
So the issue with it being in injected molded plastic housing is moot, as is the cloud tech. As I previously mentioned, they are releasing the full software under the GPL so you can run it on a local machine, removing the need for internet access to use it. =)

 

[TheWolfofBees]

The mirrors cannot be misaligned due to the enclosed system they use. It will never need calibration, or adjustment.
So the issue with it being in injected molded plastic housing is moot, as is the cloud tech. As I previously mentioned, they are releasing the full software under the GPL so you can run it on a local machine, removing the need for internet access to use it. =)

Every specialty tool like this needs adjustments, if you do a little more research into how its actually set up and not just their claim that their mirrors will never move you may see it a little differently. If you look at reviews for any of the laser cutters out there, including the multi-thousand dollar ones you'll see that there will be adjustments you make (Just look at 3D printing, there are literally 100s of machines that claim they are plug and print with no adjustments and yet miraculously they all seem to need tuning, even if it's after a few uses.

That's I'll I will rebut though because I think that covers my thoughts about the machine and you seem pretty confident in yours. So I hope it works out! Please let us know how machine is once it finally arrives as I'm sure many other would be curious to know as well.

 

[Triton]

Every specialty tool like this needs adjustments, if you do a little more research into how its actually set up and not just their claim that their mirrors will never move you may see it a little differently. If you look at reviews for any of the laser cutters out there, including the multi-thousand dollar ones you'll see that there will be adjustments you make (Just look at 3D printing, there are literally 100s of machines that claim they are plug and print with no adjustments and yet miraculously they all seem to need tuning, even if it's after a few uses.

That's I'll I will rebut though because I think that covers my thoughts about the machine and you seem pretty confident in yours. So I hope it works out! Please let us know how machine is once it finally arrives as I'm sure many other would be curious to know as well.

Will do!

 

[TheWolfofBees]

For those interested this was recent post from a user on reddit about the machine as seen at the recent Maker Faire this past weekend (Sept. 26/2015). Hopes it gives another perspective for people who want some more information!

Post is by WickedxJosh, link to the reddit page is HERE

Hello,
So a little background to start things off. This weekend I drove down to NY from Boston for the World Maker Faire mainly just to see the Glowforge in action. This is my review of what I saw, heard, and thought well at the Glowforge booth. And just so you can't claim after reading this that I just want them to fail or whatever, I drove down there with every want in the world to empty my wallet into theirs. I came so close more times than I can count to buying one all last week.
Also forgive me if this is a bit scattered as I took in a lot and am trying to organize it as I remember it and type it. Also spelling/grammar will suck but that's why I draw my idea's most the time, not write them.

The World Maker Faire
So here it is. Got up nice and early Saturday morning, loaded up the car and picked up my business partners and made the drive down to Queen's just to go get sold on the Glowforge. I was wanting to come away from Saturday with the trust that this product will succeed. We all wanted this laser cutter to be the pure gold everything we read about it lead us to believe. For the company we are trying to start and as designers the Glowforge could be huge to us.
Now to start with, when I looked into the maker faire they posted that you would be able to draw on a small piece of acrylic and have the glowforge cut and etch it on the spot. Keep that in mind for later.
Once we got there we made our way right to the tent at around 11:30am. It was pretty busy and they had a bunch of staff, all seemed to be employees or family. I talked pretty much right away with one guy on the team, don't remember exact roll but I remember him saying he was employee 13 of 13. He knew what he was selling us and was good to talk with. Both me and my friends I came with had separate goals for what we wanted to take away from the day. Mine was more of the hardware/production end and my friend was more interest in their design catalog and plans for that. Both was important to get a good idea of where the company stood on everything. We made sure to ask almost everyone we talked with almost the same questions just to see how everything lined up. I'll come back to this too in a little. So at 11:30am nothing was going on with the 3 laser cutters they had on display. They had a long table with a bunch of laser cut products. Almost every one was probably the same that you can find in most their video's, from the quad copter to Dan's leather wallet. Employee 13 told me that they would be cutting later in the day and to stop by then. So that was our plan, we would spend most the day checking out the rest of the show and come back before the end to see where they were at the end of the day. Also at first I noticed that all the machines said don't touch. Not a big deal, I can understand that in a way. But there was something particularly hollow looking about the cutters, especially the one machine with the air filter. Like there was no guts. Again not a total deal breaker, wouldn't be the first time a company brought a display model to a show.

So skip ahead to about 4pm when we decided to go check out the booth again. Its a little bit busier now as two of the cutters are running. The two machines are cutting out the little snap together candle holders that's been in a few videos. I watch them run through a couple passes. The machine cuts great, nice clean lines and seems reliable. They cut out 2-3 boxes that all fit nicely. Then I notice that's all they are cutting, the same box over and over. The box also has no etching on it. Thought that was strange. So we hang out for a bit longer, chat with a couple of the employee's. The whole time though I am focusing on the employee's my friend is not talking to. Listening to what they are saying to eachother. Trying to pick up on things they might not be wanting to share.

First thing I get was kind of big. I hear Dan (the CEO) ask one of the other guys kind of quietly something along the lines of "Can we do etching" and the guy just kind of shakes his head no and says "Calibration still isn't working". I thought it was funny there was no etching going on but know I know for sure. So after that I'm still hanging around and eventually I think Dan noticed I had been hovering around for a little longer than most people and so he asked me if I had any question. I asked him about the etching issue. His response, and this was another milestone in the steep decline for me, was "We can't do etching today because of issues with the sun interfering with calibration". On the inside I was so at a loss of words. Where did this come from? Never has there been any mention of the sun stopping this machine. I mean on the homepage alone it shows it sitting in front of a huge window. Nevermind you need it near a window for ventilation. And he follows up with "It should be running tomorrow" and "We have been trying everything we can to fix it" and points to a piece of cardboard taped to a wall to block the sun from the cutters(photo below). I only got a 1 day ticket so I can't say if it was working on Sunday but I can say it sure was a lot sunnier on Sunday. So as of the time I left at 6pm they did not do one showcase of the camera tracing your sketch and cutting it.

The next thing I noticed that really bothered me was they kept loading up the same exact cut pattern on a macbook they kept the software almost hidden from the public. I wanted to see the software and with all the controversy over the cloud based program, you think they would have had it streaming to one of the two TV's they had hooked up. But nope, it was on a macbook they kept partially closed most the day. I managed to take a few good looks at it(photo below) and it seemed to be working pretty well. I could see them using the camera to drag and drop patterns onto the materials. That made me feel kind of good. At least one thing seemed to be working as well as they claimed. Still pretty sure the software is no where near what they claimed since they kept it so secretive 90% of the time. Can't make any actual claims but just going on my feeling after seeing how they treated it.

Third big thing I came across was the air filter. They had 3 machines total. Two of the regular models, those were the two they had running. Well really now that I think about it, two were hooked up to run, but only one was ever actually running. The third machine was supposed to be the Pro model with air filter. This one wasn't hooked up at all and was on the other side of the booth and was almost treated like the ugly duckling of the three. I'm pretty sure that's because the air filter was just the plastic shell. The machine might have been functional but kind of strange they wouldn't want to show the 20"x Unlimited feature right? But back to the air filter. I noticed they were using the hose line for filtration like they say to do on the standard with no filter and the hose was running under the table behind a curtain to what I'm pretty sure was your standard air system for any laser cutter. Why wouldn't they be showing off the air filter? Its the perfect environment to be using it in. Only thing I can think of is the air filter is in even worse shape than the actual laser cutter. That's why the closest we came to seeing the filter was the empty shell in the corner. Kind of concerning they are willing to take over $3mil in pre-sales but are not able to show a functional prototype 3 months before launch. Photo's of the air filter are below.

So the fourth issue me and my friends were able to compile is going back to what I said about asking all the employee's similar questions. My friends main goal, as an unemployed designer, was to see what the plan for the design catalog was and how to get in on that. Our responses were kind of all over the board and all lead to us believing that as of right now there is absolutely no real set up for this service. Which is huge because they are selling people on the idea of being able to download products at home and cut them out right away. Some people told us they would love to hear from us and that they were looking to start working with designers and get them going. Then we finally talked with Dan and asked him the same question. And, like almost everything you will find on this company, this is what he plans on doing. Everything was a plan it seemed like and that's concerning for a product launching in 3 months. His plan is to give people who buy the cutter early access to signing up for the design submissions and then eventually opening it up for any designer to submit and make royalties off of. It didn't sound like any of this had made it off of the drawing board though. Again, 3 months people. And we told him we were product designers with a background in using laser cutting for product manufacturing and he had nothing for us really except buy a machine to get in early. You think if a huge part of his company is going to be getting good design to the non-designers of the world he would have a little interest in trying to at least give interested designers more of an opportunity to get in on this. We even brought products we have been cutting and selling but we didn't feel he had any interest. I know he was probably a little overwhelmed between the show and the crazy launch success but still. And the fact all the employees had a different idea of how this was going to operate showed their was no semi-solid plan back in the office yet.

So I think that was kind of the four big issues. There's a lot more I could add but I am running out of my 15000 character limit. Now I am going to do some bullet points to throw anything I might have left out in here and highlight the details.

So In Summary:

1. Nothing really seemed to go as planned.
2. Nothing they said seemed to really be a fact short of they had a laser cutter that kind of worked. It was all idea's or this would be cool's.
3. They talk about way to many idea's and features when it seems they haven't really got the basic, first idea's rock solid.
4. The build quality of the machines exterior was poor to say the least. Plastic was warped, things were hot glued on(and falling off), trim didn't fit or was not lining up. I know they still have 3 months and the plastic parts were not from the final mold but still.
5. The internals of the machine were a little interesting. One of the boards had everything from an Ethernet plug to SIM(might have been microSD) slot to an HDMI and several USB ports. What are those for? Maybe just a dev board? Maybe more parts to the open source? I want to know! Photos below.
6. There are clearly issues they have failed to acknowledge or haven't even hinted at like the sun causing several of the machines features to not work. Who knows what else there might be.
7. I don't think the air filter is anywhere near operational based on what they had at the show. Looking forward to hearing a response on this.
8. The software, show me it! Stop trying to hide it on a mac that you close whenever you walk away. Throw it up on the big screen for us. 9.You had all these beautiful laser cut examples on the table(somehow didn't take a photo) but there was no proof it came from a Glowforge. I could have cut it all on my FS just as easily. And you didn't ever really claim it came from the Glowforge either. Just kind of danced around the subject like a team well trained from legal.
9. Your design catalog is a huge selling point for people who don't know product design. And from everything you have on the website people would think they have access to it when they get their Glowforge. From what I saw though it will be months till they see that.
10. You say December launch for buyers but from what I was told (by I think Dan) was that the first models that goes out in December will be to a large private order you got, to reviews and critics, and to a special list and any of us normal people will be waiting until at least early 2016. So why don't you tell everyone that. If Joe Schmo is going to buy the machine tonight don't claim December when he never even had a chance of seeing it this year.
11. I truly believe this is the next step in laser cutting. I just don't think this model or company has what it takes, as of right now. Prove me wrong though. I really, really, really want you to. If December rolls around and everything is rock solid I will personally mail you an apology cake and order a Glowforge. For the sake of the company I am trying to start and for my love in small run fabrication this machine is a dream come true.
12. The 50% off promotion scares me as much as it excites me. Its kind of like finding a new fetish. Haha. The idea that I could get such a powerful machine for so cheap right now makes me want to throw money at them. At the same time though I have a hard time seeing a start up really be as successful cutting their initial sales in half. Im only a designer though business Is beyond me. I do have to say though if your looking for a payday and running for it nothing will bring in thoughtless purchases like a big half off sign with a limited window.

I think there's more but I need to do something else before I spend my entire night trying to recall everything.

Now for Photos:
Pro Model & Filter
The "Pro" model with the air filter. It says "Don't touch" but I might have poked it once or twice to test my hollow shell theory.
Open Door
This is one of the two machines they had set up to run but I never actually saw running. On top of it is a lonely acrylic panel waiting so patiently to get scanned and etched.
Circuit Board
Close up of the board with lots of plugs they have never even hinted at.
Software
The elusive software when I managed to sneak a peak when someone left it unattended for a minute. Also can see the air hose hookup. You can also see the warping plastic they seem to have just kind of bolted on the back. It was also just a piece of cut polystyrene from what I could tell. Kind of like a last minute fix.
Whats under there?
Under the table was pretty well covered but that's where the hose led and from what I could see was a air pump and system for the cutter. Not really an issues. Just would have liked to see the filter running too.
High Tech Anti-Sun Device
Top left corner is their ultra high tech attempt at blocking out that unexpected sun. Like who would have thought the sun would be out mid day? So rude of it.
I thought I had more photos but I seemed to have been too distracted listening. One nice photo I thought I took was the warped plastic around the case, the misaligned metal trim, and the LED lights falling off because the hot glue was giving out.

Feel free to comment and I'll answer what I can. I bet I thought of a lot more at the time and just cant think of it right now but your questions will probably bring it back. I assume /u/eva_k and the glowforge team will be spotted on here commenting too. Look forward to hearing their responses to this. Also check comments below, I ran out of space and will be posting more down there.

END NOTE: EVERYTHING I SAID IS ABOUT THE PRODUCTS THEY HAD ON DISPLAY THIS WEEKEND(9/26) AND IS IN NO WAY A GUARANTEE OF WHAT DECEMBER'S LAUNCH WILL LOOK LIKE. I HAVE ALMOST NO PROOF TO BACK UP MOST OF WHAT I SAID AND IS JUST MY OBSERVATIONS AND OPINIONS.
I JUST CAME ACROSS A COUPLE POSTS CONFIRMING A FEW THINGS I SAID AND THAT I FEEL ARE IMPORTANT TO ANY READER.

1. The ugly duckling pro model i referred to with the hollow air filter was in fact just an empty shell. I found a reddit post confirming that. Maybe should have been a bit clearer when the guy was selling me on it at the show but at the same time I understand why they didn't.
2. They were doing etching on Sunday. They have a quick video from some guy who does reviews. Conveniently that guy also put photos comparing his Glowforge to Epliog samples. I know where my money would be if I had enough. https://twitter.com/DesignMakeTeach/status/648592889652596736

Also quick shout out to Full Spectrum. They really got shafted at the Maker Fair. They were the booth sharing a wall with Glowforge and definitely got a bit overlooked. They didn't really have any machines running so it wasn't that impressive but the guy they had working it was great to talk with. I can't remember his name but his business cards in my car, he was head of sales. That guy knew everything from lasers to 3d printers and talking with him was laid back. Chatted about everything from their new SLS to Printrbots and other companies. Will be in touch with him soon for getting a machine.

 

[mercuryapollo]

I pre-ordered one as well. Looking forward to it.

 

[Triton]

I pre-ordered one as well. Looking forward to it.

Yeah it's gonna be pretty sweet I think. I was at the Makers Faire this past weekend, and that guys "review" that WolfofBees linked is full of it.
But I digress.

 

[nick daring]

I'm hoping these are good as they sound! Could become an amazing tool for all kinds of artists and builders.

 

[clonesix]

this definitely looks fun, except for that "Cloud" thing.

My two questions are 1) If I have a paper model print out, but not the file, will this cut the lines and dash the fold lines? Does that make sense? I have .jpg scans of the paper pattern for an endoskeleton parts that I would like laser cut. Will this machine cut the outlines without converting files etc?

2) can it do a bevel cut, as in cutting EVA foam armor? Can I adjust the angle of the cut so that pieces glue together well?

 

[xl97]

The posts/comments made by @TheWolfofBees couldnt have been said better.

I'll mirror a few things as well:


* Cloud - pass. (I dont want nor need anyone to be the guardian of my files/work. Internet down, or they close up shop? then what?
* It looks like the total 'height' of material that can be used is 1.5 (if you dont use the 'tray').. most things will probably need a tray/honeycomb table (especially for venting)


I actually have a 5th gen FSL Laser Cutter.. "I" dig it.. but its a hobby machine and requires some DIY and at that price point it lacks certain things laser cutters that cost 2/3x as much have.

I'm not clear what is meant by the 'pass through software' comment here..

but the FSL driver/controller board can also be printed to from ANY SOFTWARE that prints. (Photoshop, Illustrator, MS Word, Notepad..etc)

By the way if you are cutting things.. air filter/ventilation is mandatory.


quote:

The camera system from what I understand is the technical advancement to a rotary system. Technically, you shouldn't need a rotary system.

Wait... what?

How can any type of camera system replace a rotary attachment? Do they camera have a chuck on it? rollers? How will a camera system physically MOVE a round/cylindrical objects so it can be etched/printed on all sides/all the way around it?

(and you thought the reddit review was 'full of it'?) haha

 

[mercuryapollo]

Yeah it's gonna be pretty sweet I think. I was at the Makers Faire this past weekend, and that guys "review" that WolfofBees linked is full of it.
But I digress.

I saw it at Maker Faire as well. I went to the Faire with the wild idea that it would be awesome to see a well priced laser cutter and after spending time at the booth, that is what i found. The video that's on "Tested" was also helpful. If anyone is considering buying they should check it out.

 

[Watson]

1) I don't see how it could without specific vector info from the file provided

2) No it cannot bevel edges

this definitely looks fun, except for that "Cloud" thing.

My two questions are 1) If I have a paper model print out, but not the file, will this cut the lines and dash the fold lines? Does that make sense? I have .jpg scans of the paper pattern for an endoskeleton parts that I would like laser cut. Will this machine cut the outlines without converting files etc?

2) can it do a bevel cut, as in cutting EVA foam armor? Can I adjust the angle of the cut so that pieces glue together well?

 

[Triton]

I saw it at Maker Faire as well. I went to the Faire with the wild idea that it would be awesome to see a well priced laser cutter and after spending time at the booth, that is what i found. The video that's on "Tested" was also helpful. If anyone is considering buying they should check it out.

A lot of people on the internet ( and in this thread unfortunately ) trying to take a dump on something they simply know nothing about...it's a shame. /shrug

- - - Updated - - -

1) I don't see how it could without specific vector info from the file provided

2) No it cannot bevel edges

1) Because that's what this device does. It creates the line work based off any drawing you put into the device.

2) Correct, it does not do angle cuts. ( That may or may not change, haven't heard anything about that however )