Glowforge [the company] has said that they welcome discussion about all lasers, including competitors, here on the forums.
That openness is beneficial. It helps people who are new to lasers in general, the learning curve of this type of machine, expanding business to commercial levels… it keeps the whole forum healthy with fanboys, learners, experienced, happy, and frustrated individuals all respectfully discussing.
And I searched up this topic in this forum with the search terms of competitors. I want to know how they compare. I know Glowforge [the community] forum is a place where this discussion can happen. So for the offended folks who ask why bring it up here, well, because this is my trusted community where I don’t find many trolls of RTFM responses.
I have been a happy Glowforge [the machine] user since the preorder campaign. I have a Basic and a Pro. I’ve owned the pro for 13 months, and the original had to be replaced due to a hardware issue. The refurb just went belly-up and I’m probably going to replace it with another Glowforge.
At the same time, I have people asking for rotary, for bigger items than I can get through my pass-through.
And I’m frustrated that the answer to my “it won’t turn on” was “buy a refurbished unit.”
I’m still a Glowforge [the company] fan and I love my Glowforge [the machine] but I know that some of my Glowforge [the community] people can commiserate and recommend viable options for me beyond “respond in 30 days saying Yes! I want a refurbished Glowforge for $1650!”
So, @Docsis , please tell me something about your OMTECH 80-watt machine. I’m actually interested in a big machine rather than desktop. What do you love about it? What do you hate about it? Any reviews that you’d recommend reading? Any forums that are worth visiting? Where can I learn how it stacks up against other options?
My sister’s runs a business that has a Universal that they love and a Glowforge that I maintain and manage and she is about to buy a Trotec. I can’t afford a Universal or Trotec; but how does OMTECH stack against them?
Does anybody have insights that they want to share about other lasers, bigger or similar?
Let’s keep talking about this.