@dan, I just need to add my voice to the chorus of worried international customers here. Shipping the unit back to the US every two years is simply not an option, so it is of the utmost importance for us that some solution is found. Otherwise I need to cancel my order before it ships, as I simply cannot justify the costs.
Like many others, I’m happy taking on the replacement myself with full knowledge and acceptance that any resulting issues are my own responsibility, but I need to know that will be an option. These are not Chinese laser cutters with off-the-shelf parts; I expect the Glowforge laser tube to be a unique design that we can only source from your company.
Furthermore, many of the mentioned options are still an issue for those of us living (or planning to live) in areas without a lot of Glowfolk; travelling repairmen and local repair centres only make sense if there is a critical mass of customers in the area, and I’m pretty sure there won’t be in my case.
Can we please get some more clarity on this soon? It really is a deal-breaker, I’m afraid
@dan Will Glowforge as an company work on minimizing the tube replacement turnaround time and cost for international buyers. Will there for example be an EU service station we can ship to? Right now, although I know Glowforges intentions are good, I don’t like how Glowforge is doing it’s business.
I assume there’ll be product updates and improvements ongoing. Why not offer an upgrade path, where you send a new device, and we ship back what will become a “certified pre-owned” for you to replace the tube and resell to those who can’t buy the latest greatest at full price? This way the early adopters can get new equipment, and glowforges become more afffordable for those willing to buy an older gen 1?
Most of this update was very good news. I am very excited about getting a Glowforge. However, the tube replacement issue will require me to re-evaluate the total cost of ownership.
I was excited to learn about the Glowforge in 2015 both because of the ease-of-use promises as well as the value proposition compared to other lasers on the market. With the current plan, the value proposition has changed although I’ll need to make some calculations to determine how much it has changed. The more I know about the current status of the tube replacement plans at the time Glowforges are ready to ship, the better able I’ll be to evaluate the value proposition and determine whether to keep my order.
Regional repair depots or traveling technicians seem to be a better solution where there will be enough Glowforges in the region. I would also consider participating in a certification program for owners to replace their own tubes or even being part of a regional team to assist those who are not comfortable doing it themselves.
Pretty much amazed with this last updated. Quite shocked actually…
tube replacement is a no go
international orders ship last
small chance we’ll even hit september based on the “water drop in the sea” wording of “to meet our schedule of shipping all units in July/August”. There was much parsing of the “between May and July” target over the last couple of weeks.
That flag on @bdm sucked, btw He didnt shoot any offending words, not even sense of humor or irony in his words. He pointed out A FACT for int’l makers! pretty amazed lack of “community” im sensing here…
So how does this affect overseas users? It would seem ludicrous and ridiculously expensive to ship a unit half way around the world to replace the tube!
It doesn’t only affect international customers. It must be a major feature loss for domestic customers as well. I think tubes usually gradually fade, rather than fail, so a user could order a new one and have no down time rather than having to wait for two way shipping. Also it means one has to store the large packaging in perpetuity.
I still haven’t seen an explanation of how Proofgrade settings will handle tube fade.
You’re talking about my thoughts. As a mechanical engineer I will not send the Glowforge for a tube change to overseas (the costs are insane and the time for the Change much longer than i would be able accept!). In my opinion, technically experienced people must be able to Change the tube by themselves!
For me it would be no Problem if the Change of the Tube takes it’s time and isn’t easy to handle, but in my opinion, it must be possible for technical educated People to Change the Tube.
@Dan throwing the tube news in at the end like it’s no big deal was disappointing. This whole liability thing I can understand but that’s why you have waivers and certification classes.
Shipping my unit off to one central location for tube replacement isn’t going to be ok. What if it gets damaged during shipping after the warranty is up?
What if the turn around time is 3 weeks and I have to shut down for a month due to shipping!
No, either have a tech come out and do it or offer a certification class for me so I can quickly service everyone’s machine in my state/area.
I’ll echo other people’s comments. You need to have local support for tube replacement.
I have two suggestions for this.
1: have field service engineers. It can be a firm you hire out or internal. This will be beneficial because if someone has other issues, a field service engineer can go out and check it out before they ship it back. Also, you can have service contracts. After the warranty is up, you could charge $X per year for full coverage on the Glowforge, including yearly PM (preventative maintenance) and tube replacement as needed.
And/Or
2: This is what everyone above has been suggesting. Have training available for people to be certified in tube replacement. Then sell replacement kits only to them. With this method, people could actually form a business around servicing Glowforge, especially in none US countries.
FYI, I’d also throw my hat in to help out in the Northeast, specifically NE. @mad_macs, we can share, right?
That being said, @ian, if I get certified, I’ll gladly change your laser tube free of charge. All I ask is a place to stay and a tour of Malta.
Hey @bdm, let me be the first to say you can always cancel!
I think your post was flagged without reason. Different things are important to different people, and I agree that having $1k+ tube repair is pretty much a deal breaker.
He didnt shoot any offending words, not even sense of humor or irony in his words. He pointed out A FACT for int’l makers! 