I do not have a Chinese laser or one of the US brands. I have had a Glowforge pre-release for six months. You will spend only a fraction of your time dealing with setting up your prints. It just works. If you learn how to craft a well-defined design, it will just work. My PRU is a workhorse. I just started a 2 hour cutting job and have no doubts that it would finish or screw up. Last week I did four three hour engraving jobs that used the whole bed interspersed with twenty minute cutting jobs. Perfect, every single one of the memorial tokens.
I love the fact that I can jump from one device to another and not have to worry about loading software and updating it. This is one of the top reasons I got a Glowforge, that it is cloud based. Not for every use case, but it is a robust solution. The only maintenance I have had to have on the Glowforge is cleaning the windows along the beam path (two of them) and cleaning the lens, and cleaning the lid camera. I do clean the tube and glass lid, but that is really cosmetic. I do have to clean a wire screen I have on my vent hose. I cleaned the exhaust port after the first three months. I did give the bed a bath once, but doubt if Iāll do that again. Not really needed for me.
One thing you will have is the Glowforge community forum. This is as good as it gets with assistance and fellowship on a common task. Design ideas, inspiration, free designs, design software help. Funny, amazing, brilliant, inspired, dedicated, international, experienced, friendly, challenging, did I mention brilliant? You can post a well-formed question at any time of the day and someone will get to it fairly soon.
The Glowforge has self-contained cooling and air assist. It has one plug and an exhaust hose. Thatās all you need. I just got a new car that has three months of free wifi. I could stick it in the trunk and take it to where I had a power hookup. Laser camping! Stick the vent out the side and get to it.
One question I have for you. You are a hobbyist and not necessarily looking at mass quantities of production. What materials and object are you interested in? Sometimes that determines what is best. The bed size is a real limitation. The Pro with the pass through will help, but it will only do 1/4" materials, even though a pro could cut thicker stuff. Iām finding with the latest upgrade to addressable bed, Iām much happier with the size. Really if you are wanting to do bigger stuff, a CNC might be more efficient. Engraving a full bed-sized bitmap takes a long time with anything but a very expensive laser. Cutting bigger stuff might be better with a router.
I am biased, but I do like my Glowforge.