But the tube was not dead. There are many points and steps that make up the process. Like “how long does it take to change a flat tire?” the first thought is a couple of minutes, but from stop to driving off, everything from digging stuff out, finding everything, getting the jack working, and afterward putting everything back, actually changing the tire is the least of it.
So it is when there is an unknown failure in a complex mechanism. If you can see a crack in the tube with the water dripping out you can know it is at least “also the tube” but in most cases even when it is something you can repair at home it takes a lot of figuring to narrow down the cause.
So far the company has not offered up a replacement tube which is supposedly a custom size. The disassembly process to get to the tube is quite extensive. Should you be able to physically replace the tube there is no easy way to align the mirrors. In most lasers a laser pulse could be sent to determine where the beam is hitting the final mirror. No such ability exists without the company enabling that function. I guess you might be able to cover the head window with a masking, send a brief low power dot as a project. But the GF still needs to go through all of it’s homing, and calibrations each time you turn it on. The whole process would be messy. Tube replacement is one area where I’m not at all happy with the company’s truth telling. They originally claimed the tube would be user replaceable, but the design has so many things to stop that from occurring. That would have been clear to anyone long before the first prototype was put to paper.
Ok, well, at least in your case it wasn’t just a flat tire, but something else.
But, however, the tube will die (i.e. will have no power to cut anymore) , eventually. And at that moment, I will not be happy paying for an overprice tube + labour+shipping. I won’t be happy at all … thanks God that is in the far away future.
I see, then are locks in place to make it difficult for the user to do it.
As I wrote, for an equivalent laser cutter (made in US, similar quality and size) it costs me less than $180 and 1 hour to change the tube. Not because I’m good at it, but because the machine was designed to make it easy for the user.
Almost a joke. From that 2015 thread when asking Dan about user replacing the tube; “Yes! We have some really slick engineering from Mark to make that possible without much fuss.” And then they turned around and made tube access as difficult as possible.
I don’t have any complaints about my GF laser. It has done what I needed at what was initially a reasonably low cost.
But I have always had significant eye rolling with the “truthiness” of their operation. From 18 months of implying production was imminent, the obviously unworkable design of the initial filter, supposedly easily replaceable tube, true warranty costs for International purchases. I tend to parse statements from for profit entities for what it is not saying. When they said the lawyers were stopping them from providing a drop in tube replacement kit it was already obvious that the capability had long been designed away and that technically, yes the lawyers didn’t like the idea. So let’s just blame it on the FNLs.
I “used up” my first tube. Power had gradually diminished and I was no longer able to cut through 1/4" materials consistently, even after slowing down significantly from PG settings. I had replaced all of the optics in the machine – lens, mirror, both windows, and the air assist fan to no effect. Glowforge charged me the tube replacement cost ($499) and I swapped machines.
I’ve had my machine for exactly 8 weeks only, so I don’t have all the context of ppl like you that founded the starts of the company (but I’ve founded a few others, so I know how the objectives/promises change over time).
For what I’ve so experienced so far, my conclusion is similar: great laser cutter, great community, great employees behind technical support, but I don’t feel the same about the “corporation”. Not a fan of their “corporate values”.
Not against of them making good profit, God forbids me! (:-)), but there are different ways of getting my money, and their ways seems on the tricky/deceiving side to me.
The really old-fashioned ones lasted very much longer. It all depends on the design choices made. My understanding was that the Glowforge lasers were not pushed as hard as others, trading longer life for less power, which trading for higher power was why the filament light bulbs also lost longevity over time. I suspect that decision is being made about LED room lights as well.
Yup, that is the regular sign that you need a new tube. Just like when you star having faded prints in a regular printer, and you have to swap ink cartridges.
With my Hobby Gen5 it costs $179 an takes less than a couple of hours. No need to pay for shipment. Not sure what the price is for the Muse, but the procedure is similarly simple.
Om the bright side, getting a “new refurbished” Glowforge for about $700 (assuming shipping is around $200 and no extra charge for labor) with a 90 day warranty, sounds like a good deal. It is just that I don’t like being forced into a deal. That are not good business practices.
You know, given the option I may opt for skipping one tube and then refurbishing in the next one, then having a “new refurbished” printer every ~4 years.
I guess you mean shipping the entire machine with the tube. Do they charge $500 total? No shipping no extra labor?
Well, in my company, we don’t like to lose money, and we never give it away. It is a bad business practice to do it. Since glowforge ppl are smart, I would assume they do not base their regular cash flow from consumables being a cash bleed.
A 40w laser retail cost is $179 in Amazon (as posted in previous link, and yes, I use those), so, maybe less than $100 to produce - I bet less than $50, but lets say $100. Shipping a box like this a logistic company (specialized freight) is about $250 continental US, but if you have a corporate agreement, it is way lower. But stay with this price. Then, costs are around $350, which renders a profit of $150, a 42% gain. Not bad.
$499 total including shipping the entire machine both ways. Shipping is done by FedEx, not a freight carrier. Especially during the fall/winter when holiday surcharges are in effect, it can cost almost $300 to ship a Glowforge across the country at commercial rates. That means shipping alone adds up to more than the $499. The reason it’s $499 is that’s the price they promised in a Q&A in 2015 or 2016, and they’ve continued to honor it despite cost increases.
That’s the kind of corporate values they have. They put customers over profits on a daily basis. There’s a hundred stories here and on social media of people that any reasonable person would conclude damaged their machine through user error, or the machine likely isn’t even damaged at all, and Glowforge throws away $$$$ mailing them new machines at no cost anyway because they’d rather provide good service than nickel and dime people. The current backlog in response time for the support team is not how it’s always been.