Glowforge laser

Laser Cutting
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@AlanDavis Will document my trials and tribulations when I receive the laser.

@ymilord A fish pump style air assist is not very helpful but to blow the smoke out of the way. Not sure of the CFM/CFH of the exhaust and I am sure a lot of people will not vent the unit correctly. The laser will have to shine through something and it will need to be cleaned. Same with the camera system. This whole system seems to be too good to be true.
I find your comment of the cheap laser too much work to make it usable interesting since you are a X-Carve user but I do understand your point of view. Sometimes it is easier to just plug and play!

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@HalfNormal I’m looking forward to hearing what you think about the K40 & seeing what is entailed in getting it running. Would still love to pick up something like that while I wait for Glowforge reviews to come out to know if I will stick with it, but man…everything I read about the K40 makes it seem like a real project - and that’s if it even keeps working after a few weeks.

I wish someone made a small micro laser cutter like we’re starting to see with 3D printers. That’d be a prime temp solution for me.i

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Yeah, I’ll be very interested in seeing the real-life stuff for Glowforge. Everything works great in a lab or under controlled conditions. I want to know how it’s running two years of regular use later, in a regular shop. :smile:

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@MikePlummer I look at the K40 like the X-Carve. You are buying the “guts” and then making it your own. Most issues of the K40 come from the plug and play crowd. If you look at most of the people who are frustrated with the X-Carve, they are the ones who need to be a bit more persistent in learning what it takes to use and setup a CNC machine. It is not a Carvey. Right now the cost of the K40 is what it would cost for just the Laser tube, powersupply, mirrors and mechanics. Look at the cost of the J-Tech Laser. It is a great product, I own one, but it is close to the cost of the K40 and you still have to “tinker” to get it to work with the X-Carve.
I am sure you have seen some great ideas hit the skids when the users are unable to make the items perform like the infomercials. I see this with the Glowforge. Great Idea but it will cost them a fortune in support and when the customers want to return their “defective” unit, shipping ect will also eat their lunch. Is it sustainable? We shall see. Edward is still working at getting the bugs out of the S3 and he is an old pro at the game.
The bottom line is what do you want from a product? For me, I am cheap and love to tinker. I have limited time but like to use it to figure things out. Other people would love to just hit a button and make it work. There is room for everyone!

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That’s my point. I don’t want to buy product requires changing my GRBL configuration constantly, I won’t pay that much money for the machine with good advertisement still looks like Kitchen Appliance. I think you have good direction. Pay less, experience the result, turn around with minimum budget damage.

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@HalfNormal - Does the K40 use stepper motors? If so I assume it would be possible to replace whatever controller it has with an Arduino / Gshield. Then it can be controlled just like our X-Carve

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Just my $.02… I purchased a laser about 2 and a half years ago, I went with the FS Laser Brand, at that time they had a smaller hobby machine for 2500 and while it does not have some of the cool features the glowforge has, it has worked great for me… Then again it is not open source but the program they supply with it has been more than enough to fill my needs…

Just looked they are selling their 40 watt 20"x12" for $3500 it has a removable floor to do large objects…

I am in no way affiliated with this company just thought I would throw another option into the mix :smile:

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So… The fact I have a SO2 means that I don’t want something turn key? Okay. Interesting.

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GF marketing is brilliant, turn eager beaver buyers into shills by promising discounts in exchange for Glowforge name dropping on social media, etc.

Sounds like a pyramid scheme to me. You don’t have one, you.can’t attest to its functions or quality, only thing you have is a glossy website references and edited YouTube videos.

I’ve use an 80watt Full Spectrum 24 x 36 laser with adjustable z axis regularly, it has an industrial chiller and dedicated exhaust, untethered to the Internet machine, oh yeah and a dedicated room with a/c. Yet it manages to occasionally break still.

My point is…even if GF materializes and ships to you, you will need a place for it, a dedicated computer to run it (buy I got my MacBook… Yeah good luck using it during long jobs) and if it crashes during a job. The laser can start on fire you know. That is why they are all made from metal in metal enclosures. Where is that big red estop button on GF? The fumes from burning are strong, your whole apartment /dorm room will stick like camp fire. Hose out of the window? Yeah good luck with the neighbors complaints and in winter?

Anyways even at $2000 or whatever their low low get it now price is, what will you cut to make your money back? Party favors for Etsy? The market is saturated as is. Settlers of Katan boards? You only need 1.

My advice, save Dat money. Join a makerspace that has a dedicated laser, or use an online service to cut your stuff.

Don’t get me started on customer support, materials, hardware, shipping, or manufacturing. All that stuff is hard, GF s ability is yet to be seen in those departments.

If you must have one, just wait. They will be real cheap on ebay after people decide laser cutting is not their cup of tea. All this stuff just gets cheaper with time. It’s a real race to the bottom.

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I really wonder if the folks that are hatorade’in on the glowfroge actually like read what it could do and what’s required…

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Some people are gonna hate stuff others will be excited about. Saw the same thing when I was picking which CNC to buy, and you can find it with anything else too. Everyone on both sides has their reasons, and usually both are right in some way.

Ah…the magic of the internets.

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And we almost reach the GlowForge’s target. 51 Posts already. Keep advertising. :slight_smile:

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This is a forum and I was kind enough to take the time and write an opinion based on laser cutter experience, so take it how you will. I’m only asking questions here.

GF can write anything /claim anything, without actual production machines to verify their claims it’s all just hot-air. What they are Pre-Selling is vaporware.

But thanks for using a meme in your response, I had to look that up, atleast I know how to use Google.

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I know if I had the cash on hand I would purchase this in a heart beat! Looks like a great addition to the home shop/small business!

Here’s to hoping I can generate some income with my X-Carve to get one of these puppies!

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@allenmassey Yes it does have steppers and there are numerous variations of GRBL for it.

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While waiting for my cheap laser, I purchased a couple of items to make it a little better.

First I purchased a ramps 1.4 control board, arduino mega and LCD for $33.00 to make it useful with GRBL and my other programs.
Instructions found here; http://weistekengineering.com/?p=2406

And an air assist for $16.50

$1580.50 before I reach my glowforge goal!

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I was interested in this product. I sent some questions to the Glowforge people to get more information about the software for the product.

Their response was “You should buy one of our competitor’s products.”

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What questions did you ask? That is a very strange response.

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They claim the reason for using only web based software is so that they can provide a lot of “cool features” for the product.

I asked if they could elaborate on what “cool features” they had that couldn’t be done with stand alone software.

It’s a simple question, but their attitude towards the matter caused me to eliminate them as a potential vendor.

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They really should have a much better answer to that question. I have decided to wait for Inventables to offer a 40W laser upgrade to the X-Carve.

If someone could offer a 40W laser in a form factor that would fit in the standard spindle mount that would be a game changer.

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