At long last, my GlowForge arrived yesterday…just in time for Christmas!
Set up was a breeze. I quickly demonstrated to my family what the long, two-year wait was all about. Within 30 minutes of unboxing, we watched as the Glowforge cut the Founders’ Ruler. Impressive! Ooohs and aaahs all around.
Then I decided to GO BIG—and test why I bought the GlowForge in the first place—to cut paper pop-up cards. I could not be more excited with the results. This is a game changer for me.
This is a pop-up Navity Scene I created in Adobe Illustrator a couple years ago. The card is produced from a single piece of paper. It used to take me over an hour to cut by hand. GlowForge cut the card in under 8 minutes!
I consulted “Beyond the Manual” for suggested settings for paper. Thank you @tomfinnigan for your suggestions. They were spot-on for the paper I was using. You can see the detail that was achieved and there was minimal charring on the edges. So very impressive. I’ve never used or seen a laser (in person) before in my life. I’m so relieved that it was so easy and excited about the possibilities.
My only concern is the air assist blows the paper bits all around. On my first attempt the bits landed on the paths to be cut. So, I modified the artwork—color coded the lines to control the sequence of cuts and scores. The first parts to be cut where near the front of the tray—where the bits exit when blown, then moved the cuts toward the back of the tray. If bits blew around, they generally landed on parts that were already cut. My second attempt worked. I hope GlowForge offers some future control on the air assist to dial it down on light-weight materials.
@randy1 Is there any chance you would be willing to share the .svg file for this? It would make an awesome centerpiece for our Christmas dinner. Thank you for your consideration in sharing.
If someone shares a print that they’ve made, please respect their sharing and do not ask for the source design or artwork. Designs take work and have value, and when you ask someone to give you that value for free, you undermine their work.
No worries just wanted to give a heads-up. It’s kind of hidden away in the FAQ (not sure if it’s also listed somewhere else). It’s a truly impressive design!
I’m glad you’ve brought this up. there have been multiple times where I wanted a design someone posted, but I aligned with Glowforge here and understood the time and effort behind these things. I wonder if soliciting to buy the design from them is okay to do on the forum.
At the very least, I think the majority of people here should have shops to sell their creations. I recently have been selling some stuff and it brings me a lot of joy to know that others own things that they would not have otherwise if I had never bought this laser.
Congrats on the process @randy1 and here’s hoping for success in your future store!
