Interesting competitor to the GF that is a “3D Laser Cutter/Engraver”.
https://darklylabs.com/emblaser2/
Only a 5W Laser Diode but has a camera. They talk about 3D Engraving, Air-assist and a filtration system.
A basic system is US$2,495.
Filter System US$375.
Air Assist US$100 (Edit - Now included as standard).
Thoughts?
Material Ignition Alert
I asked about that for Glowforge a long time ago.
20"x12"x1.97"
Not bad at all.
A generally-similar feature-set, but with a considerably lower-powered laser. Probably good enough for many people, but it’s not for me. 
I think they have Glowforgia
Power is just too low for me.
At $2,495 it makes me happy I bought a pro during crowdfunding
Another pre-order…god knows how long it will take. Very similar layout to the glowforge webpage.
And as others have pointed out, too low power for the price.
You saw that too. The web page looks like they studied the GF page very carefully. For the price, compared to GF, it is a little high (even now). - Rich
Yes no more pre-orders for me too.
It says it can cut up to about a quarter inch (6mm) birch plywood. It also says “Cut through thicker materials by setting your laser to automatically lower with multiples passes.” Are these two things connected? Or can a 5w laser do that in a single pass? Or is a 5w diode laser just a whole different thing?
They use the open source project https://github.com/LaserWeb for control. So when they say, “An In-built camera shows a live view of the workspace allowing easy alignment of materials,” they mean you can pull up a webcam shot of the bed, I think. At least, that’s what it looks like in a video of the software.
Can be run over USB, so that might be important for some people when comparing to the Glowforge.
As far as 3d engraving, it seems they just mean you can raise and lower the laser. If I understand what our Glowforges are supposed to do, it’s a little different, right? It needs that super duper variable power supply as part of how it does 3d engraving?
Anyhow, seems like a nice upgrade for those with the Emblaser 1. For the price and power, I’m still happy with my decision.
they really have no excuse for taking too long; a laser like this is a bunch of low-cost (in comparison), off-the-shelf components. it all depends on how much they plan on customizing some software, i think.
5W sounds like much lower power - and to an extent, it is - but it’s also a diode laser, and this guy will be able to cut 1/4" ply, they say. still not what i’m looking for but not quite the one-sided fight it seems.
For a laser diode you need a high current low voltage supply with no overshoot. I think that is a lot easier than making a variable high voltage supply that also has to make the tube strike and cope with negative impedance.
Diode lasers are very different from CO2 because the wavelength is more than an order of magnitude less. If you look at what acrylic it can cut it can’t be transparent or blue. I also think the spot size is much smaller but Dan refuted this. I must get around to measuring my 1W diode laser.
That’s pretty nice.
yeah i have a 3W that i still have to power up. not sure what i want to do with it.
They’re not apples to apples comparable. A diode laser (usually blue) runs different wavelengths than a CO2 one does. So the power required to ablate material is different as well. A 5W diode laser is pretty good - you can see a lot of <1W diode lasers on the Chinese sites (Alibaba, Aliexpress). They can do some decent enough engraves but not so much cutting. When you get into the 5W range you’re into cutting territory.
The materials will change a bit between what’s doable in a diode laser vs a CO2 laser as there are things that are opaque to one but transparent to the other.
If you want to play, you can get a little 1W diode laser for under $100 now. You can do small things (they tend to have little beds) like business cards, pens, smartphones, etc.
They have a fixed focus range, so this is a different way of accomplishing motorized focus. Note it’s separate from autofocus, which means measuring the material and then adjusting the motorized focus based on that measurement.
I see. So what’s our focal range? Is it roughly 0"-.5" (I’m guessing there’s a minimum that’s actually >0).
Yes. We move only the lens, they move the laser + attached lens… same idea though.
Interesting to recently see the Emblaser 2 in action… A few observations:
Interesting competitor to a Glowforge Basic, yes lower power, but available in Australia for immediate delivery and no issues with warranty, shipping and tube replacement…
Interesting, got a link?
Where did you see it in action?
The Emblaser in produced by Darkly Labs in Melbourne, Australia.
The distributor in Australia is 3D Printing Systems, who mostly serve the education market.
http://3dprintingsystems.com/emblaser-2/
I met the Darkly Labs founder Dominic at the National Manufacturing Week exhibition at Sydney Olympic Park Showgrounds. 3D Systems had a stand there along with some other 3D printer companies.
https://www.nationalmanufacturingweek.com.au/
Other stands had Epilog, Trotec lasers etc also fibre and water bed cutters as large as your dining room!!! 
Interesting stuff, but most of it serious industrial manufacturing level. Worth registering for next year…
Dominic was a really nice guy, developing the product and the market for consumer/education level laser cutters. Only a small business with all manufacturing in Melbourne.