Just curious if anyone is aware of the 3D Printed version of the blue print head handle on the Glowforge? Seems a simple part with a little foam on the mirror but I lack the design skills to whip one up. has anyone come across a 3D printed version to act as a replacement in the event of a failed part? Glowforge hasn’t had theirs in stock for a while and it seems like a pretty simple part but if its consistently unavailable it does no one any good.
Anyhow if anyone knows of a file I would be very grateful.
The mirror itself is the most likely failure point. What would you use for the mirror? It’s a first surface mirror and usually laser mirrors have a special coating, nickel, gold, etc. depending on quality (not aluminum). The thickness of the backing material would also be critical.
It has a flat shoulder that specifies the location by the front, so if the diameter is correct the rest will be ok. I do recall that it is copper as that reflects best by a long shot I read in their materials somewhere.
Their mirror isn’t proprietary, you can get dozes of them from a Chinese supplier with identical specs. It’s held on with a foam washer which can also be made or purchased overseas.
The only part that is proprietary and not purchasable at this moment is that plastic piece.
This isn’t for me, my laser head and that piece are in perfect working order however, browsing around their spare parts and noticing all the out of stock parts is a bit of a worry.
Besides even if the mirror was proprietary, you can’t get that ether as it’s sold as a whole unit along with the plastic handle.
There’s nothing special about that piece, it’s meant to keep the mirror aligned with a bit of pressure from the magnetic cover. As long as your tolerances are ok and your dimensions are correct it should work perfectly. The problem I have seen before is people inserting the plastic piece backwards, this can ether damage the mirror or shoot past and melt that plastic piece. 9 time out of 10 your ruining the mirror but I have seen more then a few people just melt the plastic handle.