How much time to see at least a beta version?

[rpegg]

The first Beta unit has been delivered. See the following links:

Beta - So this happened (Day One)

There are a few things about Seattle that make it tough to live here. It rains. A lot. The cost of living is high, housing is through the roof, and there is this strange social phenomenon they call the “Seattle Freeze”. On the other hand… Glowforge! Last evening @Tony showed up at my door with a beta unit. [image] After we got the unit talking to my wifi I cut my first parts! (⅛” clear blue acrylic, very pretty in real life!) [image] Not very inspired I am afraid, but I wanted to make a s…

Beta day - one (Acrylic Dividers)

So today was a mix of frustration and triumph. Like any new tool I have a learning curve to climb, so I headed uphill. It should surprise no one that my first (real) project was a set of dividers. [image] I grabbed a copy of the OnShape file that @Hirudin created and then realized I needed some good way to get it turned into an svg for the Glowforge. In hunting around I discovered an amazing add in for OnShape called Kiri:Moto ( https://grid.space ). The app is designed to do slicing for FDM …

Beta day - two (Corrugated Cardboard)

Sadly I have only a short note to post from yesterday. Work (AKA real work) was busy and my all important Glowforge progress was frustrated by too many interruptions from pesky clients. I am working on an idea for a toy, but the design is not quite there yet. I was doing all my prototyping with corrugated cardboard and did learn some interesting things about lasering the material. Magnets are your friends, and the steel grid is great! Since the cardboard has a natural warp along the corrugatio…

Beta day - three (Acrylic Boxes and iPhone Tripod)

I set the previous project aside for a while and decided to spend some time working with acrylic. The first thing I made was a one inch cube box with a hinge and a clasp. [image] The first prototype just had the hinge, and was made in a very attractive blue plastic that is almost impossible to photograph well (at least with my primitive gear). [image] This was pretty successful, although I forgot to make the top shorter than the bottom. I then made a second version in a cool looking matte…