It’s so amazing to see more and more of you get your Glowforge units delivered, up, and running! Let’s get right to the updates:
Production
Most weeks I get to spend some time with our team at the factory at Flex in Milpitas, CA. When I’m there I chat with the factory manager, review the latest increases in build speed and improvements in quality, and sign off on new investments to improve our speed and quality of production. The trip always ends with the same conversation: the vice president of the facility and I sit down over a cup of coffee and he says, “OK: let’s talk about October.” (the latest schedule is here - no changes since our last update). Even as we’re delivering to customers daily, everyone is pushing as hard as they can to avoid any customers being left behind on our “finish by” dates.
This month has been exciting on the line - almost every week was a record production week, as we keep increasing our output rate. We expect to keep increasing our manufacturing speed, which means a steady stream of new assembly staff and constant process improvements to maintain and improve our quality.
There was a question in the forum earlier about test patterns we use. While it’s being phased out, you can see one of the classic test patterns here. Showing it off is one of the Flex technicians who makes your Glowforge - she’s also a regular forum reader and I let her know she’d be appearing in the next update (Hi V!)
If that looks familiar - yes, it’s the Founder Ruler engraving. 
Glowforge Pro
Pro manufacturing is ramping up as well, and we soon expect our Pro shipments to exceed our Basic shipments.
Glowforge Pro Laser Safety Training
The Glowforge Pro, unlike the Basic, requires training before you can use it in a workplace in the United States. This usually costs more than $1,000; we’re providing training materials, developed by Glowforge in conjunction with Pat Harris of Kentek Laser Safety University, free of charge.
Glowforge Pro Recommendations
In the training materials, Pat Harris makes two recommendations that are different from what we’ve advised previously:
- Safety glasses, warning signs, and lights are not required when using Proofgrade materials.
- You can operate your Glowforge Pro in public with the Pro Shields installed.
The Pro Shields will be sent to all Pro owners, free of charge, later this year when they’re ready. We’ll even work on getting a Pro unit to Makerfaire NYC!
Software
Our entire team has been cranking away at improvements both big and small, most of which are due to the incredible feedback we get on a daily basis from all of you. You can read the nitty-gritty every Monday, when we publish a new post on Latest Improvements.
Here are a few highlights from the past month:
-
For those of you who like to share, we gave you the much-requested ability to invite friends to use your Glowforge printer with their own Glowforge app account.
-
Thanks to the soaring summer temperatures, we got tons of feedback about operating Glowforge units in the heat. We improved heat management so your Glowforge can operate better in high temperatures.
-
We’ve added new Proofgrade materials, including Basswood, Poplar, and Red Oak.
-
We’re adding the ability to copy and paste directly into the Glowforge app to make uploads easier.
More shipments each day
It’s exciting to us to see customers who’ve waited so long finally get to try their very own Glowforge. At the same time, we’re not going to rest until each and every one of you has yours. Thank you so much for your support up to this point - I can’t wait to get everyone their Glowforge.
Discussion of this announcement is here: