Who else is planning on modifying their Glowforge after the warranty is up...?

Obligatory PSA for Basic Glowforges.

Cutting an opening in the case will bring your Class 1 laser up to class 4.

That is all. Have a nice day.

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True that. As it will be even when I open the box for the first time. :relaxed:

“Pro model is a CDRH Class IV Laser Device”

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Tinkermiester by birth.
originally excited by how I might expand it’s capability, The more I have learned about the engineering of the case, the less inclined I am to Alter it.
Depending on the focal range of the lens, a mirror to reflect 90 degrees or at an angle might be worth exploring.
If my production requirements (which is unlikely) exceeded the duty cycle of the machine, cooling might be something else to look at.

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Is that real? Regardless, something about that sound is AWESOME!

Correct.

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Not to be pedantic, but Class 4 means it is compliant with CDRH (etc) regulations. If you cut it open, it’s not class anything. I don’t recall if there’s a term for it.

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I don’t know the term, but, the definition of the term is: you get to keep both halves. :grin:

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Sometimes my version of modify ends up accidentally meaning “harvesting of parts”. I’ll probably modify my Glowforge AFTER it no longer serves a useful function OR I have a replacement that performs better.

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If only the focal range was that long…

Yes, would need an additional lens or a hacking of the focusing mechanism of the existing lens…

Completely agree, maybe glowforge 2.0 will come with a removable base. After mentioning it and then being informed by @dan that it will change the structural stability way more than I thought I am just hoping it’s coming in the next iteration.

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The race will be on to have the first unlicensed, unregulated GlowForge. Strap it on to your back Ghostbusters style!

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There’s ways around that :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I’ll probably add:

  • Additional cooling and venting (depending what the end design winds up looking like)
  • Dropped Z-bed
  • Rotary. Much harder, since it would depend significantly on the Glowforge cloud behavior, and there was a way to override the y-axis and connect the rotary to it.
  • Compressed air head
  • Overhead mirror or remote webcam so I can observe it from a distance instead of hovering around it all the time. Obviously a potential safety issue on my part, but for something like light marking or working on metal, doubtful it’s too risky.
  • Cut completion alarm
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A typical glass mirror won’t reflect the IR as a focused beam, so not a safety issue IMO. Unless I misunderstand what you are proposing.

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I presumed he was referring to not being right there in case of a flair up.

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Ah, of course. My bad.

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I’m not sure, just the way I took it.:no_mouth:

@printolaser @fan-of-glowforge Yep. I intended the comment for flare-ups… But not being able to see the actual beam in a mirror is something I hadn’t considered, either. Good point.

Maybe I missed something, but I haven’t seen any real screen caps or evidence of the GF interface showing a live-camera view, but maybe they’ll add that feature. Who knows.

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There have been momentary glimpses in the videos, but there may have been an evolution since then.