Discussion of the September 2017 update (OLD)

I hear you. Nobody believes that I actually bought a laser-cutter two years ago. By now I’m used to be maken fun of.
But like you, I’m also a not US backer, so for us nothing changed with this update. We can still get it next week, half november or never… I’m a fourth day backer so it would have been great if I lived in the US. My greatest worry is that Trump does something (more) stupid that makes it impossible to ship the unit, before they start shipping.

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Same problem and thoughts here… but i’m a 30th day baker. I hope to receive my GF before next year.
It’s a bit frustrating read so few news for international users.

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Thank you so much for the update… Can’t wait for the email.

Nearly 2 years since I bought mine, so I figured I might as well make my first comment ever. :smile:

Now that we are getting closer, is there a place we can see what proof grade materials are available, and what the costs are?

Is there a recommended list software for creating your designs to work with the Glowforge? Reading the forum for a long time now, I have saved a list of software everyone is using, but I don’t know the software well enough yet to know which works better than others.

Will the air filters be shipped out all at once, or will it be a phased approach for the shipment of them?

Is there any chance the air filters will be ready early? (I know that’s a crazy question)

Living near Miami, I’m likely one of the further US based customers you have. If I keep the Glowforge in my garage until I have the air filter, will humidity affect it?

Since I can’t see the catalog yet, how many designs are in it, and do you have a rough idea on how many designs will be in it by the end of the year?

Is there a good place to find the maximum thickness that the Glowforge will cut through on a single pass? I read that 1/4" acrylic could be cut through, but does that mean 1/4 wood can be too, or does different material have different thickness ability?

Is a Glowforge owner conference going to be scheduled for 2018? :slight_smile:

Jared

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Currently only those who have gotten their Golden Email can answer the costs from the store.

One owner had condensation issues, but that was with it being in an A/C controlled home.

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I live in a very wet area too, and the humidity is going to be an issue with the materials. If your ply is warping badly, you’re going to have a lot of trouble cutting through it neatly with one pass, so the normal settings they provide for Proofgrade might or might not work. And warping isn’t covered under warranty. If you are aware of that, you can compensate for it with different settings or a second pass. I believe the official range for humidity is under 70%. (We never see that here either, but I’m using the unit inside with Central A/C so it hasn’t had as much trouble.)

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Never say never, but as I read more about the clauses in the existing trade agreements, the less worried I get. Nothing significant can happen for several years (5), and by then there could be an entire regime change.

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I think software choice is entirely a personal preference, depending on your needs and skill levels. I don’t imagine that one is necessarily better than another, for the same reason. All of them listed…the list that you saved…will work just great with the Glowforge. I would just choose one or maybe two and begin to learn how to use them. The more practice you can get in, the better everything will be for you when you finally get your Glowforge.

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That’s a reasonable hope. I hope that as well.

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I am also VERY excited about making my own Catan board, but I will wait for the official Glowforge version (instead of that PDF, which I’ve also seen). The ports on that PDF has a 2:1 trade, when the actual game is 3:1 #YesI’mANerd :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

That being said, if the licensing falls through, I’m using this one and making my own port pieces!

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I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to find my Dashboard. (I have received my GF, by the way). Am I just going blind? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

(Edit) On a related note, is there an easy way to see how much store credit I have?

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Andy, https://app.glowforge.com is, I think, what you’re looking for.

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You might consider finding an airtight storage container for your materials, and keep some silica gel desiccant in there.

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I probably should. I’ve got a gallon can of silica beads - i use it to store an embarrassing amount of 3D Printer filament in buckets, but I’ve resisted having huge Rubbermaid containers in the office. I’m just about out of room in here. :crazy_face:

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I’ve had my GF for about a month and can answer some of your questions. I know you can find more in-depth answers thru a search, but this might give you a start.

on software, I’ve been a Corel Draw user for years, so that’s my go-to. There is a pretty steep learning curve, but I think that’s the norm for all hi-power illustration software. In general, one of the educational versions will work with about 95% of the full version capability with MUCH less cost. I also use Inkscape occasionally. It seems to have about the same capabilities as Corel, but is slightly less friendly to use. On the other hand, it is free. Of course, Adobe Illustrator is the gold standard,but the cost is much higher. Another advantage of both Illustrator and Inkscape is that the GF folks seem to “support” those two packages, not so much Corel. Again, all of these are pretty powerful programs and you will need to spend time learning how to use. Good news is that there are many tutorials out there.

I don’t understand why you have to have your GF before accessing the store. Everything is still beta, so prices may change, but I’ve found the proofgrade articles to be reasonable. If you have specific material questions, I can provide, but here are a few. What GF calls “draftboard” (a poor name choice for those of us old enough to remember such) is $4 for 1/8" and $6 for 1/4". Plywood starts at $11 for 1/8" up to $20 for 3/16". These are walnut, cherry and maple - prefinished 12"x20". Acrylic - ~$3 for 5"x10" to $16 for 12"x20, varies according to color. leather $9 for small/thin to $24 for 12"x20" “thick” (about 1/8"). Hardwood is $5-$7 for 6"x12" pieces, veneer is from $11 to $16 for 12"x20" sheet, depending on species. veneer is self-stick and pre-finished. Personally, I use a lot of the draftboard and some of the plywood. For everything else, it seems non-proofgrade works pretty well, especially if I use paper application tape for front/back protection.

As far as GF environment, I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, so probably match your climate. I think you have to plan on having the GF in a climate-controlled living area. With central a/c, I can maintain a low 70s temp and 55% humidity, otherwise I’d have to wait until late November to reach the temperature norms and I don’t think I’d ever meet the humidity requirements in an uncontrolled environment.

There are about 50 designs in the shop. The prices range from around $1 up to $15 for one-time use. They also offer unlimited (personal) use of these same items with prices from around $5 up to $50. There are a couple of free items. I guess the jury is still out on the design store, but I didn’t really find anything special, or at least nothing more interesting than I can find on various sites like Instructables, Thingiverse, scrollwork sites, etc. Hopefully, if and when individuals begin adding designs, it will become more useful. As it is right now, I might download one or two just as a novelty/test. I wish they would include some GF “test” patterns. I know there are various ones out in the wild, but it might be nice to have “standard” tests so that results could be described/discussed among GF users and support.

Good luck on finding out anything about the filters. That was one of the main reasons I purchased a GF, but after finding a good location and exhausting it outside, it no longer seems that important. It will be interesting to see if they start shipping the filters before all the GFs are shipped.

just my observations so far

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There are several of us (@smcgathyfay is probably the leading expert) here who are Corel people first. But, like left-handers living in a right-handed world, we’re adaptable and tend to be able to use one or more of the others as well :wink:

I use CD X8 as my primary tool. AI for the Redsail (it likes their DXFs better) and Inkscape to teach Laser Ops & Design classes. They all do just about the same things - just in different ways. They play feature-frog with each release. If one comes out with something cool then the others will have it in their next release too.

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I like the try it and buy it concept, maybe the buy forever can be an upgrade for the ones who have already paid 1x for the same design. Or better yet having the option to download the design and tweak if the user wanted to.
I LOVE the shipping now by date idea, it gives us all something tangible to look at and see progress.
I’m excited… Day 1, Sept 24th Pro buyer

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I run both my lasers and my vinyl cutter straight off Corel Draw…I have an old copy of Adobe CS that I can use to translate the inkscape svgs that get posted…(Corel doesn’t like them)
Stick with one since as @jamesdhatch says…they can produce similar outcomes.

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I run my K40 off CorelDraw (but my X8 version not the cheesy pirated version 12 they included with the machine :slight_smile: )

I haven’t seen any issues with reading the SVGs that people post here though - you’re running X8 too right?

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