First Impressions of a Pro Owner

[johnbrooker]

I’m away from my Glowfinger at the moment, but when I return it will be an ex-desktop fan that will be installed in the vent.

[the_frutigers]

I agree.
I just got my GF and noticed the fan stopped and still had some items smoking. My first thought was to add an inline fan or the GF fan should stay in for a few minutes longer.

[JimSocks]

I just ordered an in-line fan from Amazon, it’ll be here tomorrow. $18 so that’s not bad- plus I snagged a 20 sq ft veneer sample pack and a little hobby T-square which should be handy.

I’ll email them about it then. It would be cool if the lid set flush- as I worry a bit of my smoke issue might be due to it not.

[JimSocks]

Here’s the fan I got:

iPower 4 Inch 100 CFM Booster Fan Inline Duct Vent Blower for HVAC Exhaust and Intake 5.5’ Grounded Power Cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CQBFOTS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XyZCAbK3N9NMX

[shop]

@JimSocks

Another question: anyone else’s lid glass sit a bit proud of the surrounding glass? Mine sits about half the glass’s thickness proud, so I’m just wondering if that’s normal

@JimSocks

Proofgrade settings routinely don’t cut through the material, making me have to really work at popping the peices out without breaking them or splintering adjacent wood areas. Just a little more oomph on those settings would be good I think…

two things to do that may help with one or both of these things.

1. make sure your GF is leveled. if your surface isn’t perfectly level, it can cause the doors to not close perfectly. i used a shim under one or more of the feet and suddenly my lid closed flush.

2. make sure your materials are secured flat on the crumb tray. any warp at all can change whether the PG cuts make it through on PG settings. many of us use magnets to secure the material as flat as possible.

[AhnoldZ]

IIRC the GF fan moves 200 CFM. So you need a booster fan that does at least that. Here’s a discussion that goes into more detail about fan requirements:

https://community.glowforge.com/t/let-s-talk-about-fans/10850?source_topic_id=18809

[n6mon]

@JimSocks, Compared to the cheap K-40 that I had, the is a speed demon!

Projects that used to take 3-4 hours on the K-40 are less than an hour on the .

[jbpa]

@UrJac

I always recommend a second, in-line vent booster fan

If anyone goes this route, just keep in mind that the booster fan itself can introduce leaks that need to be taped up.

[jbpa]

@JimSocks

Holy cow is it slower than I am used to.

Are you sure that you are using the appropriate LPI for your projects? I have no experience with other lasers, but I’ve seen people report that speed is slower without realizing that the default LPI on the GF is higher than what their other lasers use.

[benkeller3]

So if i read this correctly what I hear you saying even the physical head travel speed would be the same …the vertical lpi could be half the travel distance so the total time could doubled…

[PrintToLaser]

Both machines I have used and all the pictures I have seen have a bow in the lid highest in the center between front and back.
With an unrestricted exhaust there is a negative pressure inside the machine, so every crack in the case and lid are sucking air in. In the case of an exhaust restriction smoke can be pushed out of the cracks.

It took me a couple of months to nail it, but I finally sealed all of the leaks in my 30’ exhaust run and it is odorless now.
I used standard 4" vent pipe, and had to use silicone to seal all the connections, edge seams and especially the elbows which leak badly.
I would recommend a screw type hose clamp and that aluminum tape for the vent connection to the machine. Also, installing the booster as close to the end of the run as possible is best because everything downstream of the booster is under pressure. If it is at the end every potential leak is pulling air in instead of blowing smoke out.

Regarding the speed, the mass of the head is much more than just a mirror and lens like many commercial machines that fly around. I think there is a limit to how fast you can yank that head around. That’s just my speculation.

[jbpa]

@PrintToLaser

I have seen have a bow in the lid highest in the center between front and back.

I thought the bow was on the sides, not the lid itself. I haven’t taken a straight edge to mine though.

[jbpa]

@benkeller3

the vertical lpi could be half the travel distance so the total time could doubled

If you’re using too high of an LPI, you’re drastically increasing your print time. There are other posts that go into discussions around LPI for different materials, but it seems that one of the things that we should all consider in our projects is whether or not very high LPI is truly required. For instance, there are cases where increased LPI could decrease clarity in engraves because too much material gets burned away.

[PrintToLaser]

You are right, I just checked. I guess I assumed the lid was tempered with a slight camber for structure.

[jbpa]

@PrintToLaser

You are right

Wow. There’s a first time for everything
Now if only my wife would say that to me…

[rpratt]

Thanks for the recommendation @JimSocks. I ordered one. I also find that cracking the side door (Glowforge is in the mudroom for now), allows for extra intake air. Think about what happens with a vacuum when you put your hand over the end. Exhaust fans work best when they have someplace to pull from.

[UrJac]

@jbpa

If anyone goes this route, just keep in mind that the booster fan itself can introduce leaks that need to be taped up.

Very True. Good point. Every single seam needs to be attended to. I was really happy with the aluminum tape I used for this. I’d never used it before this and it does a great job.

[JimSocks]

Hmm. If my fan is a lower CFM, will that be a bad thing? I think the one I ordered doesn’t measure up to those numbers…

I’ll double check my machine levelness when I get home tonight to see if that’s the issue with the lid. That would be awesome if that’s all it is, though I’ve already checked that once and thought it was spot-on.

The speed issue that caught me off-guard has everything to do with the head movement speed. I’ve been operating on Epilog Helix machines for years, and as mentioned above, those carriages only contain a mirror, lens, and air assist tube basically. The laser head on those machines easily moves 4x faster from side to side- at relatively lightning speed compared to the GF.

While LPI might shorten times if lowered, it’s really the head movement speed that really took me by surprise.

I agree- the GF head is much bulkier and only held by magnets, so there is surely some physics limitations there when it comes to how fast you can whip it back and forth. All I’m saying is, it was a complete surprise to me how slow that limitation turned out to be. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about the possibility it would be different than what I am used to until the moment I saw it move.

[jamesdhatch]

@JimSocks

The speed issue that caught me off-guard has everything to do with the head movement speed. I’ve been operating on Epilog Helix machines for years, and as mentioned above, those carriages only contain a mirror, lens, and air assist tube basically. The laser head on those machines easily moves 4x faster from side to side- at relatively lightning speed compared to the GF.

Yeah, it surprised me when I got the PRU in the spring. Not an issue if you’re coming from a cheap chinese laser (K40 type) but larger robust ones like the Redsail or Epilogs, etc are much faster. The ipm speeds of the GF vs the 1000mm/sec of other machines is enormous. But I have less re-work and the workflow is smoother so that helps the total time to project completion. It is still net slower though and that has to be factored into any production planning.

[jbpa]

Isn’t the Epilog Helix also over double the price of the GF Pro (even with the newer pricing)?