Can you show us some proof that thousands of GFs are being prepared for shipment?

That is some project! Pretty much exactly what I wanted to build. There are plenty of design challenges for an amateur like me. I have followed the progress of https://www.arcimoto.com/ They are building close to what I want but their design morphed into more of a motorcycle than I wanted. I guess I will live vicariously through you. :grinning: - Rich

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LOL Rich. Initially my design was more of a motorcycle, maybe more like bicycle construction, actually with a target weight of 250-300lbs… still 3 wheels but really barebones and crazy power/weight ratio. Then I ran across a good deal for much more motor than originally planned for, decided that would be too dangerous and needed more weight so now it’s morphed into a car LOL As the build has gone on, it’s received some niceties like adjustable air suspension, great stereo setup and LCD dashboard/gauges.

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lol @mpipes i used to live in kingman (we now live in oregon and plan on one day moving back to kingman)

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Well, when you eventually make the move, welcome back to warm temps and always blue skies! :slight_smile:

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picture of units on assembly line or pallet product would be good proof.

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They can’t do that. The units are being manufactured at Flex, which has confidentiality restrictions:

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+1 this. My father was a music teacher, and it’s striking how much harder it was for kids to learn on the horrible, cheap instruments that they have at first, and how much easier it was for kids to play on the better, but more expensive instruments that they ended up on when they showed that they were serious.

I think the Glowforge is like that. It looks to be very easy to use, and hopefully produces consistent output. While the really cheap laser cutters have horrible software and thus are extremely difficult to operate. Many people end up replacing the controller electronics completely, just to be able to make the device usable. That’s too much to ask a noob. I’d say that it’s better to start with a more expensive unit, with good software, and instructions written in coherent English, because they don’t have the experience required to hack around the problems with the cheap lasers. That can come later…

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And even some of the expensive laser cutters – at least those that are available at makerspaces and such – can have seriously unintuitive software chains. (Of course, makerspaces tend to get stuff that’s being cast off by professionals, so it’s outdated, but that’s still what people are going to see.)

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The Trotec software, JobControl, is pretty bad. And Trotec has the gall to charge hundreds of dollars for significant software updates/fixes (I’m pretty sure they do at least).

Not sure any of them are good :slight_smile: Just varying degrees of painful.

Although Epilog’s “print” drivers from design software is the best approach I’ve seen from a smooth workflow standpoint. But that does combine CAD & CAM into the same software as a result vs. specialized CAD and CAM applications.

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Yes, been musing about their Mini 18. I think the workflow is one I could live with. A fair bit more $$$, but might be the direction I head if I think I have to walk away from the Glowforge Pro train I’m on. See how things progress over the next while I guess.

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Initial reviews and early user feedback will be interesting to see - on both the GF and Muse.

Now, you are only hearing (limited) feedback from a small handful of users in the Beta and Pre-Production unit people. Shortly there will be the full 15,000 Glowforge units out in the wild and looking for help. One or two people on a help desk will probably find themselves pretty challenged by the masses.

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I would hope that they are spinning up on this as production spins up. No matter how user-friendly you make it there are going to be issues on this size of sales.

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Yes. but I was thinking more of feedback from a few members here that seem to have interests parallel to my own so far as GF is concerned. Muse and FSL are pretty much unknowns to me so getting good feedback on the Muse will be more difficult. That’s likely to keep me in the GF camp longer.

In fact, the more user-friendly you make things, the more of certain kinds of issues there are. :slight_smile: People have different expectations from things that are billed as easy to use.

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Indeed, I’m not worried about those of us that are here all the time. More worried about the hundreds that have never created an account for the forum. I hope for everyone’s sake that there are plenty of staff to help those that will need some hand holding.

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I did the “send info” button on the Muse because they don’t publish the pricing. The email I got back was specifically targeting how it was much better than the GF and where they disagreed with the GF design. I never mentioned GF in the request that the “send info” button created. I’m amazed they’re focused almost exclusively on the GF. When I went to marketing school it was always “never mention the competition because it only validates them”. I think the FSL email had more instances of “Glowforge” than “Muse” (and the grammar and spelling was not 100% correct - that drives me nuts!).

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More than anything, price has been the factor keeping me on the GF train from the get go. I had no thought of receiving my Glowforge for a good year when I bought in on October 2, 2015. The latest push down the road 7 more months and the prospect of that reality continuing has gotten me off my lazy butt to get out and re-evaluate some of the quality alternatives. I think I’m pretty close to being able to rationalize jumping ship and investing in the Epilog Mini 18 - 40 watt unit with the rotary attachment. Double the cost of my GF Pro, but only a 3 week lead time (which at this point is a “feature” that is creeping up the list at light speed).

It’s funny how you evaluate features and other product considerations, and how some of them can migrate to more prominent positions in the equation with the passage of time. As I desensitize myself to the price differential of the competitive products of quality, other features can become rationalization points for considerations you were softer on earlier in the evaluation process. As I look back, yes I’m liking the thought of 4" of Z height. I’m liking the thought of the rotary tool. Certainly liking the 20+ year track record. But now, having been handed the opportunity to reassess, my biggest like of what I am looking at is that it is a non cloud based solution. I know that the cloud is the place to be and I’m totally old school on that technology view, but I just like having one less thing to be dependent upon.

As most will know of me, I’m not know as the defender of the faith or one of the cool kids from the KoolAid crowd, I’m just a nuts and bolts pragmatist. The companies that make my toys hold no special place in my heart other than for the fact they make good gear. I think that Glowforge may well be one of those companies in time, but at this point, I fear I may well be only experiencing that from the sidelines.

I’ve found it a hard couple of weeks going back and forth on all this and I’m still not sure where I will land at the end of the day. . .

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For what it’s worth I hope you stick with it. I always enjoy your posts, even the ones I disagreed with on occasion :wink:.
However, Epilog makes a nice tool! It really depends on what your looking for and what you’re willing to pay. Personally, I wouldn’t let the cloud be the deciding factor. But, if Z height and rotary are important, I would say go for the epilog.

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