Cartridge Replacement Cost

When I first got my Air Filter I was very impressed. It meant my staff and I could safely work in the Studio while the Glowforge was cutting. However, I received my filter mid September and it’s already full. I ONLY cut acrylic. At this rate I’ll be buying a new cartridge every 2 months. This is ridiculous!

To the powers above at Glowforge…you need to come up with a better solution; an economical option for your customers. For those of us who purchased the ‘Pro’ and use it on a daily basis to make a living the current cartridge is not feasible.

If anyone has found a replacement cartridge elsewhere would you mind sharing the details. There must be other manufacturers with similar products.

I appreciate your time…stay well!

Physics is physics. If you filter particles, the reality is the filtration medium is going to fill up. There’s really no way around that.

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There are definitely other manufacturers of laser filters with cheaper replacement cartridges, but the up-front cost of the filter is generally 3-5x the cost of this one…

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… and the charcoal for chemical filtration gets saturated as well.
I understand your frustration and tend to agree that the nature and expense of the filter is not made clear enough in the advertisement.
Many people don’t have any experience with the principles of filtration, and there is a huge difference in the cartridge life depending on the materials that are used.
Ideally, the primary method would be exterior venting, the filter is best suited to temporary installations like a maker faire or classroom demo.

Too bad there isn’t a window at your disposal. The reversible modification to a window pane would be paid for with the cost of a filter cartridge.

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There are a lot of factors that go into the lifespan of your cartridge. Some of those include how often you print, the designs you print, cutting versus engraving, and whether you follow the directions in the user manual for proper operation. For that reason, it is difficult to predict how long a filter cartridge will last.

To estimate, we tested Proofgrade materials with a standard Glowforge test print. It is 11 minutes long (the average duration of a Glowforge print, and is a mix of cutting engraving that reflects typical usage). If used only for cutting, cartridge life may be roughly half as long. If used only for engraving, it may be more than twice as long.

Note that we have only tested, and can only recommend Proofgrade materials. Materials from other sources may work just as well, but some materials may clog the cartridge almost immediately. For example, MDF products (including Proofgrade Draftboard) will dramatically lower your filter cartridge life.

Material - Medium Proofgrade Acrylic (1/8")
Test prints before cartridge change – 702

Material - Thick Proofgrade Acrylic (1/4")
Test prints before cartridge change – 702

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