What are some performance differences between the two filters? I pre-ordered in the fall of 2017 and received my Glowforge Pro, but am still waiting on the Air Filter which now, to my dismay and bitter disappointment, is supposedly set to arrive to me by August of 2019.
So, which filtration system is better? What am I losing/gaining in terms of air quality getting the compact filter instead of waiting for the original I ordered?
No one knows yet. (But I would expect similar performance. They will both work the same way.)
You may end up waiting regardless. There’s no facts to be found about how they are selecting people to be SO LUCKY as to receive a compact filter.
Assuming they both work the same in terms of air quality, I’d take the interim option Compact Filter any day anyway. To do maintenance on the Fancy Filter, you have to lift the Glowforge off the top of it, which seems like an enormous hassle.
It’s been 6 months. Is there another update? Any progress on the glowforge filter?
This is a “living” thread - in that they are updating the original post.
The latest update seems to have been Jan. 17th.
Thanks saw the compact filter thing. It just didn’t show the new date on my phone for some reason.
JLorder - I’m in the same boat. I would love to order one right now but it’s quite frustrating trying to find any info on this. A response from SOMEONE who works there would be nice.
I don’t know for sure of course, but I believe that they are ordering batches (called a production run) of filters to be manufactured for them, and as soon as they arrive, the people who signed up first on the list get the filters from the batch that comes in.
I’m guessing it takes about three to six weeks for a batch to come in…but there is no way to know how many they are ordering in each batch, or how many the company is capable of manufacturing at one time, so there is absolutely no way for them to tell individuals when they will get one until their names come up next on the list and they have a batch in hand.
This isn’t a situation where the filters are available in a store for people to walk up and purchase, they are being manufactured to Glowforge specs. It’s like buying a custom car or boat…it takes time to make them.
As a customer…the one thing you can do if you want one, is to get your name on the list early. The longer you wait, the more people wind up ahead of you. The ones who have them now signed up for them on the first day, and they had a small batch available. The next batch to get them will the ones who signed up in early days after the announcement.
And it’s still pretty likely that the Compact Filters will be in your hands before the Glowforge filters, even if you sign up now. So factor that into your decision making. 
Jules.
I do understand everything you are saying here. I also realize you are not an employee of the company and I don’t want you feel like I am venting my frustration toward you. You are obviously just trying to help. With that being said, the only list I’ve seen any reference to is the " Glowforge Compact Filter Exchange Form" link listed above. That’s great specifically for those who previously ordered the Glowforge Air Filter.
The question I have for the Glowforge folks is this, ***
If someone never ordered the Glowforge Compact Filter, is there different list to sign up on or will it be first-come-first-served?
Either answer is fine, I just want to know if there is a separate list for the rest of us?
Oh, I’m sorry…I didn’t understand. You can sign up on the same list…just include a comment somewhere about you needing to purchase it because you don’t have a filter currently on order. They will send you a PayPal invoice for it when they get ready to ship it. (That’s how I got one…I signed up to test them, but didn’t have a filter on order at the time. So I bought one for the testing.)
(And Dan hasn’t said otherwise, so it can’t hurt. ) 
If you want to wait though, they might set up something to offer them one day in the store after the Glowforge filters ship…Dan did say something about offering these as an alternative to the GF filter.
I just received my Compact Air Filter and it works great on removing fumes and dust. However, I am very surprised about the noise from it. I talked to support and measured sound levels and they said that 75 db was within the acceptable range. Still, it seems very loud. Has anyone found a way to mitigate the noise? Also, is there a way to install a pre-filter? I didn’t quite understand the discussion above on this point.
Since that filter has an adjustable fan speed, I think you’ll find that you can start out with the fan going at the very lowest speed possible…and it’s much quieter.
Turn the knob slowly at first…mine works great at a point about three quarters of the way between zero and the first notch. You can actually adjust that while a job is running too.
Wellllll, I waited and waited, but no cigar. So, I took my money out and thought I’d return as a paying customer with money in hand. Hopefully, GF would like to have some cash (decadent warmongering capitalist Americans, like me), so they’ll bump up production orders and make them available. I hope so anyway. Just want to know how to order. JM
Janet, it might help to share a picture of your setup. The most likely culprit is that the hose itself is rattling around - a short run with as few turns as possible is best. You can also bunch together extra hose length and tape it together to keep it shorter and tighter. I use mine in the home office and find the sound to be much less disruptive (quieter? lower pitch?) than my Glowforge used to be with the internal fan.
We don’t have any standalone units for sale yet, but we’ll let everyone here know when we do!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Please be aware that your fan grate at the back of the machine will still get a large amount of dust trapped in that honeycomb and is still necessary to clean it out regularly, while having the filter equipped.
Cough cough cough, that is all
(And now I know)
Negative aside, I should have had the common sense up to this point to check it. Guess I got all excited finally being able to laser indoors in Minne-snow-tah. This thing is freaking awesome!
I’ve been continuing to use my GF Compact Air Filter with my custom Pre-Filter. I had to go to a 3 setting, and decided to check my Pre-Filter. I have been cutting a bit of Baltic Birch as well as Walnut plywood (which has an MDF core).
It was pretty dusty, so I threw the Pre-Filter away and now I’m able to go back to a "high 2 " setting again without a significant odor. I am not sure if the Pre-Filter is making a ton of difference, but it does seem to help. Here is the one I am using. It is a 2 pack, for about $9 shipped from Amazon. I found them cheaper on clearance at my local Menards. I take them out and cut them down to size to fit and lay them right on top of the filter, side by side.
I would like to buy a Compact Filter now. How can I get my order in for the Compact Filter. I bought the GF one, but cancelled it to get my money out about a month ago. Please advise! John Morgan at jl.order@yahoo.com.
The first post in this thread contains a link to a form to fill out if you want to buy one. 