Is the print head considered to be a consumable?

Can I haz upgrade? :smiling_imp:

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You know, if I could alleviate the need to buy something like a Cricut® Cutter by slapping a simple knife head on my forge to cut vinyl stickers since I can’t laser them, I’d be a pretty happy guy down the road. That, or making ink drawings by holding an actual pen/pencil type tip …

3D extrusion is a little less interesting to me in a forge, just due to the height limitations of the bed.

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I laughed out loud at this, I just thought you should know that.

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Glad to bring some comic relief, especially right now. I’ll be hanging around longer but I can’t say I’m not disappointed… :cry:

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The head contains an incredible amount of complexity in it - it would break my little electrical engineer heart if it was a consumable.

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Is the small fan at the top of the head that can be seen here: Pre-Release Glowforge: delivery, unboxing, setup, first prints! :glowforge: the air assist? It seems too small but as the head plugs in I can’t see any other source of air.

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Hadn’t thought of the plotter/vinyl cutter option. That feature is starting to make sense to me.

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That would be so amazing. I have considered picking a cutter up once I finish paying off the Glowforge but space is already an issue in my craft room.

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there are parts of the head that will need to be clean such as the lens and at some point the lens may need to be replaced. you are creating dust and smoke as you engrave. and the laser puts energy that takes the form of heat and that passes through the glass lens they can be marred by the beam and heat may cause fractures in the lens having it removable makes it easier to do things like clean and or replace the lens . my Large laser at work has a removable head, as at least once a week we clean it completely.

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That makes a certain amount of sense – even if it’s not a consumable, we would all be happier cleaning the heading without being head and shoulders deep inside the machine. (Although I do wonder a little about the repeatability of head position after removal and replacement. You might lose a few mils that way.)

Doesnt on my Epilog at work.

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Nope! You can’t see the air assist in those pictures, it rides below the gantry.

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This?

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That!

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Ah okay. From what I remember from Makerfaire it was small grey 40mm fan of some sort?

This looks like some sort of espionage research photo. awesome

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Shhhh!

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I think it needs more red arrows, grainy close-ups, and Illuminati insignia.

But it’s a great start!

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I took it off and put it back on a few times as I was doing the setup pics. Turned on and off power in between as protocol. It re-seats itself very easily and is firmly stuck in place and yet can be extracted easily. The head reoriented itself as required.

It may be opalescent because the lenses are an amazingly unique hue, but it definitely won’t obsolesce in the “Hidden Persuaders” way. As a piece of machinery, it looks way sturdier and tight than anything I’ve encountered. I recently took apart a 2D laser printer and had a gander at the spinning reflector and the lenses and laser unit. I understand that the G forces of a moving Glowforge print head are quite different from a stationary HP Laserjet 5000N, but my HP is still humming after fifteen years and I’ve not done anything with it.

That is not an engineer’s assessment, but an observation of someone who has been taking apart gizmos with motors and lights since since I was 5. It just feels like it’s in for the long haul.

And if there is damage, it can be serviced easily enough.

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