Judging from this particular frame, I believe that’s one of the initial builds from this past spring from the first time that Tested visited them. The GF isn’t in an enclosure.
The video link I posted above included a “flashback” to the prototype where they cut out the lame circles, then four months later, visiting the office highlighting the fancy version they were getting ready to pre-sell and making the pretty cool votive candle holder.
I say it again not to cause any misunderstanding. If you go back to forum, you’ll see i said “I fall in love” . Machine is unquestionable, or maybe perfect. I said I like to buy machine as an individual, run it with individual software I owe. Please don’t think I’m negative. Fire thing was a Joke. Of course will be some fire, basicaly you’re burning material to cut.
I just purchased the Glowforge at 50% off and got a referral link:
It will give you $100 off your purchase (and mine). This offer will be finishing in 48 hrs if any of you are interested.
Cheers!
To bad its web based! I would love to get one but nothing web based. Who knows if a little down the road if you will have to pay a subscription or fee. I went with the Xcarve only because it was open source.
GlowForge has said that they will release it to be open source due to how many people have had the same feelings.
I’d bet they have a lot more people buy into it with that being open sourced!
They’ve said that since like the 2nd day of the pre-sale once they got slammed with that question from people, so I think the floodgates are open about as far as they’re going to get.
Just doesn’t seem to have gotten around, anyway… Man, wish I had the cash.
It’s in their FAQ and seems to get mentioned anytime someone dogs that part of it (including earlier in this thread), but a solution isn’t as buzzy to talk about as the cloud-only aspect is to bring up. 
Pretty sure it’s been mentioned in every video & article I’ve seen about it too - because that was the sticking point for me before I ordered too.
Although…saying the firmware is user flashable as an escape hatch in case something happens to GF on a company level is a pretty surface explanation of what the exact fix will be. Although at this point I’d rather have them working on the elements needed for delivery than to allocate resources towards an “in case of emergency, break glass” contingency plan.
Personally, I’d be tempted to leave it with “you can run this with an external G-Code sender too” and leave it there. They can compile and release all the cool bits later, but as long as the thing can still be used and isn’t just a hideously-expensive doorstop, I think people wouldn’t be worried.
I’m really looking forward to seeing it get out into the market, I really want to see the bar to entry on laser cutters start coming down!
Can I control the GLowforge with normal gcode? Can I use Vcarve with it?
Allen - regarding software, this is what their specs page says:
“Compatible with JPG, PNG, TIF, SVG, AI, DXF, PDF, and many more file formats
Drag-and-drop with live preview to position designs on the material
Catalog of premium, customizable, ready-to-print designs”
By the many other formats, I’ve seen them talk about Illustrator, Photoshop, Fusion 360, Inkscape, Sketchup, 123D Make and GIMP.
They make no secret about the fact that Glowforge doesn’t do g-code. Although I’m sure nobody will be shocked if someone figures out how to DIY that someday though.
Thanks, I am not real clear on how I would define the depth of cut for each vector using a tool like Inkscape.
It’s got 256 power levels of and will work off of greyscale like we do now. I’ve also read talk of user assignable colors to different speeds/power levels.
There’s some user-level discussion of cut vs engrave depth in the GF forum on their site. I think you should be able to view as a guest, but you wouldn’t be able to post. Using vector for engraving instead of raster - #3 by jrmize - Community Support - Glowforge Owners Forum
After reading some more about the Glowforge and the too many “unknowns” I bought a cheap 40 watt laser I mentioned in a previous post above.
Some of the more troubling issues I have with the Glowforge is it does not have proper air removal which is paramount to keeping the lenses clean and the noxious fumes away from the user, and it does not have air assist which improves cut depth, cut times and flare ups. The software appear to be only useful using pictures and not actual graphics. (this from personal observation and not stated fact from the manufacture ).
Most of all, the cost is 1/4th to 1/8th (depending on when you buy) the cost!
Can you share your experiences with us about 40 watt Laser you purchased. Good to know pros and cons.
I have the same concerns about the GlowForge, I had entered all the pre-purchase info but I could not bring myself to push the purchase button.
I think I would be much more comfortable with a DIY solution attached to the X-Carve. Now where do I find a good 40W laser that I can strap to the spindle mount?
This guy build a really nice system
@HalfNormal Hrmm on the Tech. Spec. Page and in the couple demo videos they have mentioned that it does have an air assist. As for the air removal you can either dump outside to a window via a 4" duct or use their filter system which the unit sits on top of. And that system has a couple HEPA filters and activated charcoal. The flying mirror setup is also categorized as ‘sealed’.
At any point. It all a matter of preference. I avoided the K40 style laser cutters due to amount of work and additional parts required to get it work correctly. (Motion controller and better optics)