“I can neither conform nor deny” (to use the old Glomar response) this but thought it would be a conversation-starter given previous ponderings about “what’s next” from the Mother Ship…
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Interesing. Maybe that’s why the Basic is discontinued.
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From the amber shield, I’d guess a diode laser. Which would mean significantly reduced cutting power and no clear or white acrylic.
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Seems like that would certainly help Glowforge expand the base.
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Diode lasers won’t cut clear or white acrylic? How come? I know nothing about diode lasers, so not sure why those two colors would be different than other colors?
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It’s interesting, given the existing market reach of GF, which is predominantly Academic. I don’t see the standalone potential in it as a ‘hobbiest’ machine. That’s just the PR materials we see, all the effort behind the scenes is likely put toward pushing it to the installed base, which is schools. With an upgraded interface, to work along with cad, I could see a market case for doing it, mabey. I’d have to see the math, and they’re not going to show me. 
So we’ll see.
I mean, it would be interesting to see it marketed with something like a cricut at the retail level. But it’s all cross market at that point. Cricut, (etal) I’m sure has reached market saturation. And the main hurtle I see for any kind of collaborative effort is that the existing GF interface. It’s just going to mesh well with anything else. I CAN see adding ‘print to GF’ to something like an existing Cricut interface. And obviously GF, with PG materials, could easily offload that network burden, or License it directly.
Either way, they could send me one and I’d give them an honest opinion about it. But I’m sure they already have people for that. 
That’s my understanding. I haven’t used a diode laser personally, but all the info I’ve seen says no clear or white acrylic. Something to do with the wavelength.
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Well that wouldn’t work for me then. I do most of my acrylic on clear.
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I wish I was Marty McFly and go back to the future to see what happens.
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Here is a video.
i’m not sure where you get that the GF market is predominantly academic. sure, they make a strong push into that market, but i would say from what i’ve seen, their market is predominantly maker hobbyists. and inside of that, more “beginner” hobbyists than hardcore makers.
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If this thing is real I am sure the company did their homework and it’s the right niche to pursue… But I am disappointed their next machine isn’t for people who want to take the next step forward.
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Admittedly, it’s just my guess based on subscriptions supporting the company, not product sales. The video makes sense, including the listing of ‘eco-acrylic’. I know just as much about materials science as I do the company financials , but I’d be willing to bet you could throw a little MatSci at this and make good progress. Probably even on the major downside of the tech, stench and fumes. Also makes sense mentioning an App to run it. Ya, good call.
I’m more optimistic than I might sound. If they can leapfrog with some tech for speed and consistency, a better interface, and some materials science, it could be pretty cool.
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This looks AI generated.
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Indeed, you have a keen eye! But some of those are intriguing, you must admit.
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I own all 8 of those machines. XD
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This one is fantastic:
A desktop laser cutter indeed! Place the material on your desktop and watch** the magic happen.
(**Once or twice.)
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Now I understand why AI people have such mangled hands.
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fingers crossed for a fiber laser that is small and well priced
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