Glowforge shipping date, beta releases, and bonus materials

[slackk1994]

I was just curious because technically on the website it still says Pre-Order. So I just figured that it still counted?

[dan_berry]

You’re not the first person to notice that.
It’s been pointed out to Glowforge, and they’ve changed some of the archaic wording on their website, but they may be choosing to continue calling it “pre-order” until such point that all the existing backlog of orders have been fulfilled.

[slackk1994]

Well at least I don’t feel like I’m alone. I just wish I can get the bundle too.

[kennethclapp]

Hey, it never hurts to ask, the worst thing is they say, “No.” Even then, you still get to keep your birthday and your favorite color

[PFI-Guy]

I want to say that @dan commented that once they finalized the price and the discounted pricing was discontinued, that ended the bonus materials.

Looking for that announcement. It was either in Feb or March.

[slackk1994]

I checked the update and it never said that it’s for certain time frame, and no where in the comments could I find anything about that. If you found it, can you point it to me?

[jbv]

So in this post @dan says:

@dan

This email was sent to all pre-order backers on 4/19/2016, and is copied here for discussion and future reference.
(…)
Due to schedule delays, we plan to ship your Glowforge by December 2016 (for orders placed during the 30 day pre-order campaign) or March 2017 (for orders placed subsequently) instead of our original date of 2016. New orders will ship after yours.

I read this in two ways, either that everyone who ordered during the “30 day pre-order campaign” would get the gifts, or that everyone who had ordered before 4/19/2016 would get the gifts.

He also said,

@dan

I also understand if you can’t wait any longer. We’ll cancel your order, reverse the payment, and give your place in line to someone else.

We’d rather have you as a happy customer some time in the future than an unhappy customer right now.

But before you do, please read carefully so that you’re not disappointed later:
(…)
You’ll miss out on the $200 of materials and catalog designs that you have received for being a pre-order customer.

which leads me to believe that those gifts would not be offered to new orders or to any canceled/re-orders.

[slackk1994]

Oh. I see, sorry I didn’t see that I was lightly reading everything. Oh well. I’m still happy and excited! Sorry for the somewhat stupid questions. I’m new to this forum as I just ordered my Glowforge!

[Jules]

Fantastic! You’re going to love it - I’ve had the opportunity to test one of the pre-release units for a few months…it’s a great little tool!

[rpegg]

Nothing stupid. Welcome. It’ll be a while before your Glowforge ships but the good news is that production has finally begun and by the time you get yours any remaining S/W bugs will be history.

[rand]

Welcome to a remarkable community of amazingly helpful and enthusiastic folks!

[slackk1994]

Thanks for making me feel welcome. If I read the latest update correctly and if we stay on schedule my Glowforge should ship by the end of august? am I correct or am I wrong again?

[rpegg]

Possibly. The current Glowforge website information says " If you order today, it will be scheduled for shipment in 2 months." We’ve been told up to the end of August for late pre-orders. Maybe they are running faster than we thought. Or maybe it will be 2 months before they fully understand when yours will ship. I try not to pretend to understand vague wording.

[PFI-Guy]

@jbv found the info I was looking for.

To help you out, what part of the country are you in? There are several of us “noisy” GlowForgers who would like to point you to any local resources.

If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, we have many links that are 2 day free shipping that are for tools, materials (not Proofgrade ) and other supporting goodies!

[slackk1994]

Thanks for helping me out. I live in Illinois and I am too an Amazon Prime member. I never thought of looking there for materials or tools/accessories. Do you have any recommendations for anything?

[lorna]

Where are these wondrous magical links of which you speak? Please do share!

[jason.fuller0]

Welcome to the Glowfamily. We are all looking forward to seeing our units soon. As any of the incentives, that’s well above my pay grade.

[Tom_A]

@slackk1994

Thanks for making me feel welcome.

Frankly, I’m just thrilled to have a new avatar to look at!

[scatterbrains]

Not Amazon, but here’s some info that you and @slackk1994 might enjoy perusing.

Link Repository - collection of links

Good day folks, I have put together a link collection from the forums. Over Christmas I mined the forums as best I could and with the help and suggestions from a good many Regulars(@polarbrainfreeze, @jacobturner, @marmak3261, name a few), the following link has been formed. It is still a work in progress, so suggestions, comments, concerns, and a better way to post this, is appreciated. This is community driven, so please don’t get angry at Glowforge for anything. Please add links to it as…

[PFI-Guy]

Here are some examples:

Great way to locate others near you (voluntary and incomplete)
Glowforge Map

Glowforge Map

Hey GlowForgers, I started a Google map so GlowForge supporters can share where they are and see where others are too! Edit: I started the map and included my referral link. I would really appreciate if the person who keeps editing my link would stop doing that. I added myself to get the ball rolling. Regards, MakerBlock

@dan

dx.com is a good place to go for unaccountably cheap rare earth magnets.

The Industry Leading Domain Broker - Media Options

@bwente

Hopefully polyester will cut as well. I picked some polyester felt on amazon.

Free Vector art

Free Vector art

http://www.vectorart.com has some nice free vector art.

@Jamie

I have some tips bookmarked (well one version anyway).

Instructables - 10 laser tricks

10 Tips and Tricks for Laser Engraving and Cutting

10 Tips and Tricks for Laser Engraving and Cutting

@smcgathyfay

I use acrylic cement

https://www.amazon.com/Weld-Acrylic-Adhesive-Applicator-Bottle/dp/B0096TWKCW

Adhesives decision chart

Adhesives decision chart

Here’s an adhesives chart that might be of value. http://i1.wp.com/makezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/adhesive_chart_big.png

@dan_berry

When you think about it, $7.95 a month isn’t all that bad of a price compared to the $295… you’re paying less if you get under 3 years use from it. It’s one of the few that works well with color bitmaps.

If you have simpler needs, you can give the potrace freeware a try. It’s not quite as user friendly, and doesn’t exactly do colors (but it does know about them and has pre-processing to deal with them)… but it seems to produce some good results if you’re comfortable experimenting with that sort of thing.

edit: You can use a web-based (but settings incomplete) interface to it at http://www.vectorization.org/ or try http://www.autotracer.org/ for color images.

Vector Magic tracing program

Vector Magic tracing program

I’ve done quite a bit of hobby graphic work and thought I’d share one of my favorite little programs called Vector Magic. If you aren’t familiar with working with vectors/graphic programs, it’s a good time to learn before getting your Glowforge! This program is a little gem and maybe someone can find it useful Vector Magic is available for online conversion or you can download the program. I use both Corel and Adobe and Vector Magic typically does a better job with tracing and…

Online PDF box generator with symmetric notches – makeabox.io
Online PDF box generator with symmetric notches – makeabox.io

Ceramic Industrial Magnets
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018ITTFDM

Materials:

Premium Baltic Birch Plywood
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016H589HC

Gluing:
Insta-Cure (Super Glue)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NI4JWI

Measuring Tools:

Stainless Steel Digital Caliper
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HP0LE2U

DBPOWER 30X 60X Illuminated Jeweler’s Eye
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K0BGNNC

Digital Angle Finder Smart Tool Set
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EMUDZEG

For Weeding:

Dentist Tool Kit Bundle
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01997ANH4

Gorilla Tape
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CSS8UE

Cleaning:

Plastic Razor Scrapper
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HTELYP4

Isopropyl Alcohol
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B5JT8C

MORE Adds:

Safety Laser Glasses (For Class 4 Environments):

Downgrade from Pro to Basic?

I have these: And these: The Redsail is Class 4 and the K40 should be since there are no interlocks preventing its use with the lid up BTW, they’re both 6 ODs which means they attenuate the laser transmission by a factor of 1million (.0001%).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HJMS4A

New Protective Goggles for Co2 Laser 10600nm 10.6um Safty Glasses-absorption...

Fire Extinguisher

@henryhbk

What type of fire extinguisher did you use?

Whatever this was… (The shop manager had pointed it out before we started “just in case”)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001229JCU

Masking Materials

@takitus

3 of these:

Lost Redirection

LaserBits got bought out. Here is the current link:
http://www.johnsonplastics.com/glassguard-12-x-100yd-paper-mask-for-laser-engraving

Acrylic Tools

@smcgathyfay

I score and break my acrylic all the time…its not bad once you get the hang of it…
I use one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LJP4RE

Paints

@cynd11

Anyway, besides the fact that engraving on acrylic is really awesome, I thought folks might be interested in a different material for color infill.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JL4HV6
http://www.hobbylobby.com/Beads-Jewelry/Mixed-Media-Jewelry/Embellishments/Weathered-Copper-Vintaj-Patina-Kit/p/105950

Powder Coating/Toner Use

@smcgathyfay

Wait!! Stop the presses!!

Seems having a thick layer is promising. Now I understand why it was mentioned to squeegee on the color.
Check it out

First of all, pouring out toner is messy…lol

@smcgathyfay

Looks like this product has been used., and is a bit cheaper…
http://www.eastwood.com/hotcoat-powder-coating/powders.html

handverker: laser cured powder coat on acrylic

@Hirudin

I ordered a roll of blue polyester tape from Prismatic Powders (along with a variety of colors of powder) and it came in today. Unlike the Eastwood stuff, this stuff is only rated up to 400ºF. Meh, whatever… So, I put some on an aluminum thing I made.

https://www.prismaticpowders.com/colors/SE-126/HIGH-HEAT-TAPE-3-INCH/

@Hirudin

The tape is pretty easy to apply. It also doesn’t need to cure for multiple hours