[double snort!]
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Actually, none of the above. My approach is to do a laser engrave on untreated metals that can be color matched, then acrylic-filled. I’ve seen direct laser engraving on treated metals for years. They have always looked crude and cheesy to me. I want something much slicker. Plus, I want to be able to engrave on multi-depth surfaces…so the auto focus is really important to me.
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Uh, you should read the FAQ. The Glowforge CO2 laser won’t engrave ANY metal to a significant amount. You need a fiber laser, which is completely different and significantly more expensive.
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@Sam exactly my thoughts. @dan Make sure everyone gets some sleep, stops smacking their heads on desks and is (most importantly) still excited to knock this out of the park. 99% of us are still rooting for all of you!
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That is because he just got it and just started using it. Dan was simply emailing everyone to let them know. People do have busy lives and are not glued to the GF forums…
So you want to engrave un-coated metals?
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You can’t compare silhouette/cricut with glowforge. The freebies they send you cost them nothing or very little. When you get free designs from their design stores, the artists who made those designs aren’t getting compensated. In essence, those companies could give you 5 million dollars worth of designs and not be out a penny to do it. So, while a $50 gift card to the store from them might seem generous, it isn’t costing them anymore than the physical gift card (except hosting fees, I mean, but they would be hosting the site all the same with or without you). We don’t know how glowforges catalogue will work; a 10% discount might actually be way more generous on their part than any freebie you’re getting with a cutting machine.
You also shouldn’t get too excited about limited access to their software. The machines are chained to that software. It would be like buying a car, and the manufacturer offering you a great deal on six months free steering wheel use. You could do without, I suppose, and still drive your car, but you shouldn’t have to. Glowforge is giving you unlimited free access to their software. That’s way better than 6 months…
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That very well could be. My credit card has long been paid off…but I do know that interest EARNING rates have been in the tank for a very long time. (at least where I live). Ex-banker, here…
And I agree about the bonuses…they didn’t HAVE to give us one darned thing (except a finished product). I think it’s downright ungracious for people to react to their gesture of apology in the ways they are appearing on this forum.
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HERE is PERFECT SOLUTION. You keep $500 bucks of my money to hold my place in line and refund the balance. Then when you’re ready to ship, you can ask me for the balance. I would rather have my money in my pocket than you throw some stupid bone of $150 in materials that cost you probably $75 bucks. It’s like you’re wrapping a pile of shit in pretty paper and slapping a bow on it. It’s still a pile of shit. How on earth is everyone ok with this? What are you going to say in December when it gets pushed back again? Well, I’ve waited this long… It’s like staying in a partnership with someone who is robbing you but they smile a lot and they have a great personality. You still getting robbed.
I’m headed to Navada to look and probably buy this machine: http://www.fslaser.com/Products/View/0
They can deliver by early May. This may, like in 10 days. this year.
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[edit] btw, these were $6 and are now selling on ebay for between $20-50
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I’m in a similar boat… The “freebie” items aren’t going to help me with the metal engraving that I plan on using my GF for 99% of the time. I’d rather have a $200 credit towards the purchase price or an upgrade, but not be locked into either.
As for the refund - I’m on the fence of cancelling and getting a laser NOW instead of waiting another 9-12 months (assuming there are further issues with the power supply). I was mistakenly under the impression (as most of us were on the original wording) that we would have pre-order units by December of LAST year, not THIS year.
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I plan to engrave raw or anodized metals with mine… or possibly both… cut on CNC, engrave, anodize, then engrave again to truly get a 3D effect.
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See my post below. 40-45W CO2 lasers can’t engrave metal.
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You can’t engrave raw metals. You can etch with thermark or similar, but that’s all.
I like that idea, except I am likely to disperse it in other directions in the interm!
I have to disagree with your perception of getting robbed. There has always been the option for a complete refund, and the materials offer stacks up to cost the company a couple of million. They didn’t have to do that.
From that perspective the banks holding all of our money indefinitely for 2% interest would qualify In my opinion. 
That looks like a cool machine! Especially with the rotating attachment and the removable floor!
Thanks for the link!
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I’ve typed out and deleted a number of responses enumerating how it would help me and my partner, my plans, financial issues that this borks, housing necessities I’ve invested in in preparation, and a list of other hopes and dreams on timelines. In the end, I always delete these responses, realizing that there’s nothing I can do to change the way things are.
It’s been rough to find out about this delay. The report only a few months ago was that you were on track for a June ship date. In my experience ship dates don’t slip in such a stepwise fashion, so looking back on the previous emails with their optimistic release dates, I now feel like the optimistic previous emails were suspect.
I am grateful that you all are courteous enough to allow us to get our investments back all the way until the product is shipped, but damn does this sting.
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Full Spectrum makes some great laser cutters. A person can’t go wrong with that. Another I’ve looked at was the Trotec lasers line.
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Joe, my comment is a bit more global than this materials discussion.
Less than 24 hours ago, I got a notice saying that my unit would be delayed by months. I’m of different minds on this. In a sense, I sympathize with GF. It isn’t easy to create something this innovative and bring it to market. At the same time, I’m a businessman and I need to get my unit so I can experiment with it. Just as GF pushes the limits with its machine, I need that machine to push and test the limits of what I do.
My comment is more about the large numbers of people on this site who readily go beyond simple sympathy for GF. Some are rather aggressive, dismissive of complaints, and irrationally defensive of GF…even to the extent of mob-like intimidation. I really hate this sort of shill-ism and sycophantic worship. In the end, this is a a business…not a movement…not a religion.
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Thanks - that’s not the impression I had from the FAQ. Either way, it’ll be a while before I can test what I can do with this unit (if I decide to stay in line).
That video I first saw on the day the launched the pre-order campaign and the positive props from some maker sites I respect made me think that they weren’t too far from production. It looked like a complete unit as to hardware and the software was ready to go. So I assumed for the first couple months that I just might get my unit by December. I didn’t join the forum till mid October and then it gradually dawned on me that there were miles to go before delivery. When I realized that they had only a few employees and were recruiting, but not at a breakneck pace, I was a bit mystified. Then I thought March. Then I hoped for May, then June. I am curious as to how the owners would go about the launch differently in hindsight. Some type of development road map might have been put out to make it easier to note for the potential purchaser just where they were in the development process. I can’t exactly pin down the time when I convinced myself that there would be a great product and it would be worth the wait to have a 1/2 price discount. I do appreciate that customers would have different values and reaction to the premiums offered to offset the sting of the delay. And I especially feel for the folks who have done business planning around an earlier delivery date. That stinks.
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