I want to know difference of cooling system in technically

Hi, I use basic.

My friend asked me the difference of cooling system between Pro and Plus.
I searched product page. but I couldn’t find any technical information about the difference of cooling system.

Is there anybody who can explain this?

The basic and plus utilize the same passive cooling. Essentially, coolant flows through the system and uses the ambient air flowing through the system to remove heat.

The Pro uses a thermoelectric (TEC), also called a Peltier cooler, to actively remove heat, allowing for use in higher ambient temps.

6 Likes

The simple version is to imagine a fan vs an air conditioner. Both move air around, but the latter actually cools the air, too.

In the case of the Glowforge a liquid is pumped through the laser tube to keep it from overheating. The liquid is constantly recirculated by a pump to move the heated liquid away from the tube. If the surrounding air is cool enough the liquid will have a chance to cool down before it goes past the tube again, ready to soak up more heat. But if the room is warm then the liquid won’t cool fast enough to do its job.

In Pro units a Peltier cooler removes additional heat from the liquid, allowing the Glowforge to function at (slightly) higher ambient temperatures. (See the linked Wikipedia article for a description of how that works.)

4 Likes

The Basic and Plus models have to be operated in a temperature range between 65 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit. (18.3 -23.9°C) The Pro models can be run up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. (27.2° C)

2 Likes

Exactly this, a Peltier device isn’t the best for heat removal but it adds a few more degrees to the operating temperature. It’s definitely not the level of additional cooling you would get from an external water cooler or such.

We only have a Pro unit, however it would be interesting to see how a Plus or Basic compares since we still need a full size window unit to allow the machine operate for ~80% of the year. At this point we just keep the room temperature in the low 70s, so a Plus or Basic would probably have sufficed.

1 Like

Except for the speed and passthrough :upside_down_face:

Like I mentioned, probably would have sufficed! I would have galdly accepted a lower speed if the machine worked in higher ambient temperatures :slight_smile:

Not necessarily. The water temp plays a bigger role in operating time than ambient air temp because it’s a closed loop with a small reservoir. If it’s temp increases above the lasers operating temp, it will shut down or be damaged. Having had others in the past, my perfect device would be the glowforge with an option to add additional external cooling and a removable bed so I don’t have to worry about a slot, I just slide material under.

Totally missed the point, slower speed isn’t how i intended for them to make it cooler. If they instead spent less of motors or whatever X features required so that they could have included a real cooling solution I’d be much happier.

:man_shrugging:t2:

I’m in a fiberglass box, with a window open for venting, and another window open for the dog to stick his head out of to watch the rabbits he wants to “play with”, and zero cool downs with my Pro, running 11-12 min jobs one after another.

4 Likes

I don’t understand your point. Would my posting of a similar weather map and showing that my Glowforge is currently cooling down mean anything, not really. It is what it is.

There are many people on these forums, myself included, that frequently run into cooldowns.

Good luck.

Exactly. It is what it is. Wishing for an external cooling solution, or complaining about the lack of one doesn’t do much? If you really wanted, you could plumb one up.

No one took delivery of this without having the operating limits published. Those of us who actually pre-ordered did so without them being published, but didn’t take delivery until after they were, meaning if those operational limits didn’t work for us, we could cancel.

4 Likes

I know, which is why I wasn’t complaining about it.

I literally stated that External Cooler > Peltier device + Fan > Fan alone. It was meant to provide a comparison of different options that people may be aware of, you know, as a point of reference to answer the origin post.

This forum loves to rush to conclusions for some reason. :man_shrugging:

Welcome to the internet.

1 Like

I know right. Just imagine if they let anyone register for an account. :grimacing:

We’d have even more people saying how easy everything is, and that it should only take a day to do that.

1 Like

Darn! I keep my AC here in Arizona at 82. Still runs almost constantly but to drop it I will need to turn down my thermostat. Or get a room AC ( which might be cheaper). Just go mine yesterday and working on putting it up. Can’t wait!!!

5 Likes

This topic was automatically closed 32 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.