API (again sorry, but the last post got closed)

I do appreciate that my request for an API was forwarded on, but I figured that would not go far, based on others responses.

So I decided to look into it a little myself, to find the API probably already exists.
If you look at the HTML when you are on app.glowforge.com, one of the defined sites in the top of the body of javascript is : window.gf_cumulus_url = ‘https://api.glowforge.com/functions’;
further, they used a content API https://www.contentful.com/developers/docs/references/content-delivery-api/ to create the page.

So, I’m not even asking them to develop anything new, just to expose the read-only data to those of us nerdy enough to use it.

If I could deliver these two features, it seems like there could be incentive for glowforge:
1.) The countdown clock to mount above the glowforge
2.) The hours count of use on this particular glowforge, originally it was said that the unit should be serviced after 3000 hours of use. Has anyone had theirs serviced? All we could do now, it guess after 3000 jobs are run. (Which is not an accurate count)

re: Watching the glowforge like a hawk, vs leaving the room -> Obviously for CYA reasons, we all assume that every glowforge owner watches attentively every job they do. Not relying on a nest networked smoke detector to alert them. I’m sure those people stay in the kitchen if anything is in the oven or on the stove too. To those of us who might cook, laser, and heaven forbid go out to the woodshop all at the same time, we have to rely on monitoring systems that are in place.

I’ve done over 660 projects on my glowforge, but some of those did upwards of 100 or so pieces each (shot glasses, bottle openers, ornaments and cutting boards) I sure wish I knew how many hours were on this laser cutter. I love the glowforge, and do appreciate the safety concerns.

I will look and see if I can get info out of contenful.com, but it would be easier if one of the glowforge programmers documented how end users could access it.

-T

p.s. I’m curious if everyone watching their glowforge diligently also has on ear protection, as the decibel level of my glowforge is 78 dBA, the CDC says that noise over 70 dBA for prolonged periods can cause hearing loss.

1 Like

Most of us had to get the Quite fans , I even went as far as putting the fan on the outside of the house.

I have the wyze camera on the glowforge at all times works like a dream and you can set the wyze up for alerts .

The hours on the laser would be good and Imagine they have it in the support land.
I also recommend the Switch Bot to be able to work quickly as that works really well to push the button on the Glowforge .

1 Like

Yeah, inline fans are game-changers for sure and I could easily sit near my GF without ear protection. As it is though, I have to watch my GF remotely with a camera too.

2 Likes

Several of us have been asking for this since day 1. If you really want to build something, you’re probably going to have to reverse engineer it.

Huge +1 here.

I arrived to this thread searching for a way to build " The countdown clock to mount above the glowforge". I was hoping there was a simple “Job API” that would expose the elapsed time/estimated remaining time, etc.

I don’t mind reverse engineering the UI to expose this for myself, but I imagine that might be something Glowforge would try and put a stop to.

Edit: It looks like when you’re logged in, this page has the information I’m after! https://app.glowforge.com/api/users/machines

Not sure if there is an API auth key solution here or if you’d have to use your cookie for auth.

Also not sure if this is allowed to talk about here? I’m used to a lot of DIY communities where this kind of talk is allowed for personal use as long as we’re not trying to break things/impact users/etc.

1 Like

That may be somewhat unexplored territory. In the early days, most of the forum were tinkerers and had a lot of discussion and speculation on how things worked, mainly for the troubleshooting purposes. There’s a pretty hard line at discussing anything that could conceivably be construed as enabling unsanctioned access to so-called intellectual property. But doing something with the endpoint that tells you the status of your machines doesn’t seem like it could lead down that path. And there is an existence proof for at least one serious long-term unofficial add-on (Glowforge Material Manager Chrome Extension) discussion that didn’t get banned.

Personally, if I were building such a thing, I might announce it here (well, not here in Problems & Support) but move any serious discussion elsewhere, especially for stuff like auth that might be more sensitive than just a silly hack.

5 Likes

Thank you so much for providing all of this great feedback. I appreciate the time you spent reviewing the items you inquired about.

So, I’m not even asking them to develop anything new, just to expose the read-only data to those of us nerdy enough to use it.

We have not announced anything like this, but I’ll make sure it gets back to my team.

Watching the glowforge like a hawk, vs leaving the room → Obviously for CYA reasons, we all assume that every glowforge owner watches attentively every job they do. Not relying on a nest networked smoke detector to alert them. I’m sure those people stay in the kitchen if anything is in the oven or on the stove too. To those of us who might cook, laser, and heaven forbid go out to the woodshop all at the same time, we have to rely on monitoring systems that are in place.

We do not advise leaving your Glowforge unattended while printing. You can find more information inside of your manual, particularly the information we outline on page 5:

Keep watch during operation
● Never leave the Glowforge unit unattended while operating – either when it’s paused and ready
to print (with the button flashing) or while it’s actually printing (with the button on). Always stay
within sight and look inside frequently.
● A small, candle-like flame where the laser beam strikes the material is normal. This flame
should move with the laser and should not remain lit when the laser has moved past.

I hope this information helps. I’d like to keep this thread open so that community discussion can continue, so I’ll be moving this over to “Beyond the Manual”. If you run into any trouble utilizing your Glowforge, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at support@glowforge.com

4 Likes

@MarcM thank you for replying!

Is it possible for Glowforge to provide guidance on what is/isn’t allowed with regards to accessing the API endpoint I mentioned above to programatically check the job status of our printer?

Given the investment cost in the machine, I’d like to make sure any “tinkering” I do on my own account isn’t going to result in me waking up to a ban or being unable to use my machine due to a violation of your ToS.

Many thanks!

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.