Discussion of:
I really enjoying hearing about how the past year has gone for everyone at Glowforge. We’ve all done lots of reading about stuff that our entire community has dealt with during a very strange and difficult time…and though it’s far from over, there is finally a tiny light emanting from that long dark tunnel. Sort of like our favorite laser beam making it’s way back to the world. Thank you for all you’ve done to make our year better.
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Thank you and the entire team for all the assistance and new features provided. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, God Bless you all…
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Locked down with a glowforge at my disposal helped me retain my sanity.
Thank you team for all the hard work! I wish you all a healthy holiday season!
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Thank you so much to your entire team Merry Christmas and Hoping for a better New Year for all
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Thank you for taking the time to address the entire community! As a new Plus owner as of 1 day ago, I am excited to start using my machine and start making things. I really only want to mention to your team that as a Glowforge owner and joining all the forums, there seems to be a few issues with your ability to provide spare parts for the machines. I have no idea on how many machines you have sold, but coming from a sales and service background, I do know that good service and parts availability is very important. I look forward to working with your company to make many new projects!
Thank you for this forum!
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Welcome @swmisher! You’re going to have so much fun with your Plus 
Regarding the parts issue - somewhere buried in one of the updates they’ve mentioned that the pandemic is wreaking havoc on their supply lines and they’ve had a bad batch of carriage plate wheels. Again, due to pandemic, they haven’t been able to work directly with the part manufacturer as they normally would.
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Thanks for the reply, but if they are having a in the supply chain, they wouldn’t be able to keep building machines as fast as they are. So they are more concerned building machines than having spare parts for the ones they already sold!
Don’t get me wrong here. My machine is only 2 days old and I have only cut a few things and I am not really complaining here. I think the machine is quite nice.
I am sure things will settle down and materials & parts will become available. I just hope it will be sooner than later. Nobody wants to spend $2,500-$6,000 for a machine and not be able to replace parts that are simple to install without having to send the machine back. That I am sure Glowforge doesn’t want to happen either.
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Although you said you aren’t complaining, you kind of are starting off in a grumpy way. If your machine can be fixed with spare parts, you don’t have to send the machine in for repairs so that really isn’t a point to make. Yes, it is nice to have parts available because things break. However, you are on day 2 of ownership and already are criticizing Glowforge for how they manage their business saying they are more concerned with building machines than having spare parts, as if that was an either or business decision.
Please don’t be contaminated by the interactions you had last week with a rather disgruntled user and his experience. Your machine is under warranty. The warranty will be honored. There is no reason for you to expect difficulties unless you have that predisposition. I suggest you choose to be excited to use your Glowforge rather than harp on issues you are not currently being impacted by.
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I really am excited to have a machine and I am sorry it is sounded like it did. I am simply one of those people who tries to plan ahead and have parts on hand. If I could, I would have two cnc machines instead of one and two Glowforge’s. That’s just me. The person you are referring to has not impacted me in any way. That guy sounded like he hates everything and everyone. I assure you, I will not be like him!!
Sorry I ruffled and feathers here, it truly was not my intent.
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No worries. Most of us here are genuinely interested in being helpful and providing constructive criticism. As someone that sold cars for 45 years, you mentioned that people complained about parts not being available. You know this is a very young company and that they are experiencing a problem well known and long known in all industries.
I sincerely hope you don’t need spare parts soon, but would encourage you to get on the list to be alerted when spare parts become available.
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Thanks! I actually had a issue when I first set it up and sent a email to support. About a half hour later I figured it out myself. They did get back to me last night and I told them I had resolved it myself. At that time I asked about spare parts that were not listed in the parts section. Just waiting for them to respond.
Have a great day!!
I wonder if metal wheels would work.
does anybody have accurate dimensions?
might be something that could be rapidly produced on a cnc lathe.
I appreciate the information about the customer support team.
I started to worry about this. It’s good to hear the team is a pillar of focus. I know the season is adding to their workload, and the job cannot be easy.
Maybe you could add a column to the community forum that shows GF support is working on the issue. Just to help us GF owners understand where we are in the process. That would be a biggie for us.
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Black lid cables back in stock.
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Support will get to you, but I have found this forum to be the best accessory for my laser, besides, it’s populated with a lot of knowledgeable friendly people.
The combined spectrum of experience here spans everything from coding to coronary surgery.
There are things that only company support can handle, but for other things, throw it on the table here and watch what happens! 
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I’m glad 2020 was a good year in spite of everything going on in the world. But, it’s been 4 years since I ordered the Glowforge and the filter unit. I received the Glowforge two years ago but still have not received the filter unit. I can’t use the machine without it.
During that time I changed the email address for my business and probably, because of this, did not get product updates. They say it’s coming. We’ll see. I’d really like to try using it.
Dave you will want to send an email to support@glowforge.com and explain your situation…the filter design was modified a little over a year ago, and they changed the design to one that is free standing. (Not underneath the machine.)
But those have been out for a while…let them know you are still waiting on one and whether you still want it or not.
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As @jules noted it’s been out for awhile now. But you’ll be doing yourself a favor if you find a way to not need it and vent directly outside instead. The filter element can fill up in only a few days of cutting something like MDF (aka Draftboard) and then set you back $250 for a replacement cartridge. It’s really not suited for use on a regular basis.
Mine is in its box in the basement. I’ll use it for when I bring my GF somewhere for demos or Makerfaire or something (not this year though). Other than that I’m glad I bit the bullet early on, took my machine when it was available and found a way to vent it outside.
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This^^!
There have been some creative solutions to venting.