by mlmilleratmit on 9/24/15, 4:18 PM with 205 comments
by chromaton on 9/24/15, 5:50 PM
First, the main unique feature I see is the built in camera which apparently gives you a preview of cut/engraved finished part on your computer screen with the material as it's positioned inside the machine. This also (apparently, it's not clear), allows you to correct for misaligned material inside the machine. These are nice features, but it's perfectly possible to cut and engrave without them.
One big problem with operating this inside your home is the fumes. Now, they do mention that the base unit needs to be vented to the outside. What this means is that your neighbors (and you, if the wind is right) will have to smell the exhaust from this machine. It's not a nice smell if you're cutting acrylic. Though I personally got used to the scent of vaporized acrylic over time, your neighbors might not be so inclined.
So they also offer a $500 add-on ($1000 regular price) to filter the air so you can exhaust inside. The add on is smaller than the already small laser cutter. This is quite a feat and I would really like to know how they got it to work. You see, the fumes/smoke from a laser cutter can really clog up a particulate filter pretty quickly. Wood produces wood smoke, and acrylic vapor is quite sticky when it settles. So you have to have a powerful pump to draw the fumes through the filter. Then you need a good amount of activated charcoal to get rid of the smelly stuff.
If you look at the professional model air filters, they're $2000+ and you have to buy filters and media regularly.
Laser cutters get messy inside, so if you buy one, be prepared to clean it out regularly to keep the optical and mechanical components clean.
Problems with operation can START A FIRE, so be prepared to watch the machine 100% of the time while it's cutting.
by cptskippy on 9/24/15, 5:58 PM
by tomkinstinch on 9/24/15, 5:52 PM
Another benefit of metal enclosures is shielding the power supplies of these things. High-voltage laser power supplies are noisy, and when you PWM them, they can cause quite a bit of interference. Metal enclosures at least help to attenuate RF emissions.
The "macro camera" is a clever addition for closed-loop optical control (if it is being used for that). Reminds me of attaching an optical mouse sensor the the lens sled.
1. https://igcdn-photos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t51.28...
2. Make your own Carcassonne tiles! http://dev.tia.io/carcassonne_shading/
by 3dfan on 9/24/15, 5:16 PM
I would not like the interface to my own printer to be "In the Google cloud". Does that mean when the company goes out of business, the printer is bricked?
And right after, they admit that they plan adding paid services. Oh oh. How will thesed paid services be announced? I can imagine how. Whenever I want to print, this thing will bug me to pay for some fancy addon.
And privacy? Goes right out of the window. Everything I print would go through all kinds of hands. The manufacturer of this printer, Google, my carrier and who knows who.
And what about security? This is probably a full blown computer they want me to give access to my lan and internet connection. Who guarantees it gets security updates?
by mmastrac on 9/24/15, 5:00 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=292&v=0R3mMUsHFvU
"No, I have a laser!"
by bborud on 9/24/15, 6:25 PM
http://glowforge.com/our-new-advisor-jennifer-lawton/
If you have been following the whole Makerbot Industries (and then Stratasys) debacle, seeing the name of Jennifer Lawton might give you pause.
I think I'm going to sit this one out.
by dlowe-net on 9/24/15, 7:52 PM
For instance, when Steam was first released Valve promised that should the authentication servers go down, they would ensure that the games would stay functional without them. This was an important point that contributed to its success.
by SEJeff on 9/25/15, 2:38 AM
See: http://glowforge.com/gpl-licensed-open-source-firmware-for-g...
by Someone1234 on 9/24/15, 5:22 PM
I wonder how many of the projects shown were created using the "basic" ($2K) version and how many were produced using the pro ($4K) version?
I will say their early bird prices make these compelling for small business/etsy setups. However once they go to full price, I don't know if that will remain as true. It would take a LOT of wallets to break even at a $4K buy-in for the "basic" version.
PS - We live in an exciting world. Between 3D printers and these, you really can do more at home than ever before. And this type of technology is bringing tooling prices down massively even if you have it fabricated.
PPS - Looking at the material costs on their page, and looking at how much these items sell for on etsy right now ($39 inc. free postage), you'd have to sell over one hundred hardback skins for a Macbook Pro just to break even (and that's ignoring many of the hidden costs of running a business, like accountant, licensing, your salary, etc).
by blacksmith_tb on 9/24/15, 5:20 PM
by jps8 on 9/25/15, 8:21 PM
Can you expand on the benefits of the Pro model? The usefulness of the included air filter and pass through slots have been explained on your site, but the laser and cooling upgrade aren't really ever discussed.
5W more power doesn't seem like very much of an upgrade (12.5% more power for 60% more cost). What does the Pro model's upgraded laser and cooling specs mean in terms of "usefulness": cuttable material thickness, cutting times, duty cycle, etc?
Also, what's the expected life span of the charcoal filters, HEPA filters, laser tube, and any other consumables? Are replacements for these available only through Glowforge, or are they industry standard / Over The Counter parts?
by hamoid on 9/24/15, 5:33 PM
by uptown on 9/24/15, 5:49 PM
I've given those maps as gifts, and they're very nice quality. Is there any relationship between your companies? Are they using your laser cutter?
by knicholes on 9/24/15, 5:29 PM
by littletinman on 9/24/15, 5:41 PM
by tommoor on 9/24/15, 5:44 PM
by Cieplak on 9/24/15, 6:10 PM
by beefsack on 9/25/15, 2:15 AM
[1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1537608281/lazerblade-t...
by paulmd on 9/24/15, 8:25 PM
I'd really like to do stuff that involves stainless. What would be the cheapest option capable of doing some reasonable sheet stainess? My wallet is cringing at the mere concept, but maybe I could talk a local hackerspace into doing it or something.
I've been meaning to build a CNC mini-mill for a while. I think that seems like a more practical option for stuff that doesn't require intricate cuts. And definitely more affordable.
by mindo on 9/24/15, 7:10 PM
by ISL on 9/24/15, 5:20 PM
by newmotors on 9/25/15, 1:13 AM
by davidw on 9/24/15, 9:27 PM
by exodust on 10/2/15, 1:51 PM
Back in Feb in an interview with Shapiro in the NYT it was stated "desktop laser cutter that it plans to sell for around $2,000". No mention of this being a special 50% off price.
And in May this year on geekdad.com, Shapiro "wants the price to be under $2,500".
Now it emerges that this is actually the "50% off" price for 23 days only, and the actual full price will be $4000 for the basic model?
It begs the question: what happened between May and now that the price of the basic unit has doubled? What happened to the planned "$2000 laser printer"???
Or is the "50% off" just a lie to generate more initial sales, and later we'll see "new fantastic discount slashed from $4000 down to an unbelievable $2000"?
I see a lot of this sales tactic in online tech products. Permanent discount prices, there's always a "deal" happening. The RRP is some mythical price that is never actually reached.
by alexisnorman on 9/24/15, 7:33 PM
by Pxtl on 9/24/15, 7:26 PM
Also, the boardgame industry can prototype cards much better with this - printing out Catan-like hex-tiles and the like.
by Animats on 9/24/15, 6:26 PM
by thwd on 9/24/15, 7:21 PM
by g1n016399 on 9/28/15, 11:48 PM
by Timucin on 9/24/15, 10:11 PM
Also UK regulations says I need to be supervised to use a class 4 laser since I can point it to somewhere I shouldn't. I wonder if that's still valid for an enclosed product.
by mlmilleratmit on 9/24/15, 5:01 PM
by aidenn0 on 9/25/15, 2:43 AM
by diyseguy on 9/27/15, 6:38 PM
by blueflow on 9/24/15, 9:18 PM
"Never look into the laser with your remaining eye"
by mezh on 9/29/15, 6:35 AM
by thrownaway2424 on 9/24/15, 7:54 PM
by blhack on 9/24/15, 8:31 PM
by ZenoArrow on 9/24/15, 5:30 PM
by ape4 on 9/24/15, 11:03 PM
by llamataboot on 9/24/15, 7:42 PM
by pimlottc on 9/24/15, 7:39 PM
by cfontes on 9/24/15, 5:04 PM
by desireco42 on 9/25/15, 12:28 AM
by xrjn on 9/25/15, 1:34 AM
Next, to get the laser to cut properly also takes some tweaking. It's almost impossible to get a repeatable cut, since there are so many different factors that you need to take into play: the location of the item you're cutting on the bed, the temperature of the laser, the thickness and quality of your material, the accuracy of the auto-focus, and the settings themselves. If we look at the location for example, there is a huge difference between the top left corner - where the laser mirror is - and the bottom right corner. On one side your material will catch fire, on the other, it will only cut half way through. The material is also an important factor - if the material is even 0.2mm thicker on the top compared to the bottom (especially true for acrylic), then the laser will go through on one side, and won't go through on the other. For wood, tiny differences in it's quality can have a significant impact on the cut and especially on any engraving you do. With wood and similar, easily smudged materials, you also have this sort of 'caramelisation' after you cut and engrave - the degree of this effect depends on whether you used the right power or not (for which you also have to take into account the location, temperature, material quality,...). If you try to clean it off by hand or with a dry tissue, you will smudge it further and it will be difficult to remove. Instead, you have to painstakingly clean every piece you cut with an alcohol soaked cloth, which will remove most of these smudges - however it won't remove any burn marks. As per the burn marks, you get a lot more of them when you use a honeycomb bed compared to one which has a number of thin pieces of metal that stretch across with a few cm interval. The glowforge laser has this honeycomb bed, so expect your wood, cardboard and paper cutouts to have some of these burn marks if you don't pay very close attention to the power/speed of the cut. With plastic, getting a cleaner cut is a bit easier, but the fumes are horrendous. Also, if you don't cut through the whole thickness of the plastic the first time, and do another pass, the edges which you cut will have these 'micro-cracks' that dont' look very professional. Similarly, if you cut with too much power, your plastic edges will just melt and look quite bad. However, an advantage with plastic cutting is that you can clean it without too much difficulty, if you use sufficient alcohol you can get most burn marks away.
Engraving looks really nice when done with a laser cutting, but it does take some time until you figure out the correct settings for each material. I particularly love engraved plastic and wood, the result (especially from genuine, extruded plexiglass) is beautiful and vey professional. A local public figure has had a picture of him holding a laser-engraved logo that I made him as his profile picture. Personally, I made some laser cut business cards, and they have absolutely blown away a lot of people - one person even told me that he stuck it to his wall for inspiration. I've also worked on laser cut tags/tokens that I give out as a promotional gift to people, and then they can use it as a fidelity card when they order things through my startup. I'm still working on perfecting these tags, but they required a lot of testing (over 30 different attempts just to get the QR code to engrave in a readable way), and I still haven't been able to generate them through software (right now they have to be put into illustrator before exporting them to the laser cutter). Lastly, engraving paper will likely incredibly difficult. On their page they have a sheet of paper that they engraved - I want to know how many attempts it took them before they got it to work - especially since the paper gets very easily caramelised. Maybe they had to use a special coating or used yellow/blue painters tape?
Despite all of this, laser cutters are extremely cool. The one we have cost $4000, and people have done lots of amazing things with it. Nowadays, you can get a 40w laser from ebay or aliexpress for a few hundred dollars, but do expect to spend weeks figuring out how to use it. The Glowforge looks like a pretty cool idea, however I don't know if they'll be able to survive at this price point + with the technology being at the state it is today. Their software (minus the part where it's cloud based), looks really powerful and very useful.
by knieveltech on 9/24/15, 6:01 PM
by linkydinkandyou on 9/24/15, 6:50 PM
by macintux on 9/24/15, 6:30 PM
