Oh my gosh - we’ve got so much to share! Here’s just a short list of the good stuff you’re going to read below:
- One question, one word, one hundred dollars
- The Glowforge Gallery
- Canada launch means Pro is shipping, and…
- All existing and future Canadian customers get free warranty shipping, and…
- New Canadian buyers get free delivery until 6/30
- Get paid to teach people about Glowforge with Linkedin
- And so many improvements to the software you won’t even know where to begin:
- Improved camera accuracy
- Improved sensors
- Improved performance
So let’s get started!
One question, one word, one hundred dollars.
We’ve got one simple question so we can get to know you better. The answer is just one word. One lucky respondent will get one hundred dollars in Glowforge credit. How easy is that?
The Glowforge Gallery
We heard you loud and clear. The Glowforge Community Forum is good for many things, but it’s not a very good photo album.
Specifically, it’s a terrible way to browse the amazing work you and tens of thousands of other Glowforge creators like you have created.
We want to fix this. So we made something to highlight the creators like you that make our company possible, and the creations that they’ve built.
Our goal is to highlight your amazing photos, make it easy to browse between prints, showcase the creators responsible for each print, and make it easy to read and join the conversation in the forum. We hope this helps you gather ideas for your next creations, and share what you and others have made, too!
Fair warning: you may lose half an hour when you click the link. It’s kind of hard to stop after the first one….
Paid opportunity to teach about Glowforge with LinkedIn
Brian Jepson at LinkedIn Learning (aka Lynda.com) is looking for great video courses to help their members learn about laser cutting/engraving. If you’re comfortable making and editing videos that show professionals how laser cutting and engraving works, they’d like to work with you to create a video course you could offer to their members. If you’re interested, send a link to an example video you’ve made to linkedinlearning@glowforge.com and we’ll forward it to him. Your example can be anything that shows you teaching how to use something in video format, no more than five minutes long.
To get a feel for the production style they are looking for, have a look at these sample videos:
- Machining Processes (from Introduction to Mill and Lathe Operation)
- Removing the Plate (from Design for 3D Printing with SLA)
Canada Launch
Finally, all Canadian preorders have been notified for shipment, and all three models - Basic, Plus, and Pro - are available for delivery to Canada, our 43rd supported country!
Free Canadian Warranty Shipping
We know how long our friends up north had to wait, and we were able to use some of that time to find a better shipping solution. New and existing units that are still under warranty will now have free shipping to and from the US for in-warranty service.
Free Canadian Shipping on Purchases until 6/30
Last but not least, to celebrate our Canadian launch, new Plus and Pro unit purchases will have free shipping - a $350 value! - until 6/30. We do not expect this to continue after this month, so if you know anyone up north who’s thinking about taking the jump to Glowforge ownership, this is the very best time.
Production Updates
Beyond Canada, there’s no additional news on production status, so the existing threads still have the latest information:
So Many Software Improvements
We’ve been rolling out incredible improvements to your Glowforge, and you can use them right now.
Camera Recalibration
We’ve created a tool to fix Glowforge units where the print lands more than ¼” from the preview:
Camera Calibration (click to start)
Even if your Glowforge camera preview alignment is good, this might make it better. The calibration process will let you know if it was able to make any improvements, and will leave things alone if not. If you have any questions, this community support thread can help. We recommend giving it a try!
Set Focus
We’ve added a tool under the gear: “Set Focus”. To use it, click the gear, select “Set Focus”, then click on the material in the place where you plan to print. It precisely measures the height of the material, and uses it for two things:
- Focus. Set Focus replaces the step during printing where the software picks a spot and measures it to focus the laser beam, so you can control exactly where the focus point is.
- Preview. Objects get bigger the closer they are to the camera. Set Focus adjusts for this distance. It tends to make the preview more accurate near the spot you chose.
Number one is helpful in cases where your print is right near a cutout, and the autofocus during print might miss the material.
Number two is helpful when your material isn’t perfectly flat, you haven’t measured it, your crumb tray is warped, or your Glowforge isn’t on a flat surface. Personally, I use it all the time, since it makes for a much more accurate preview near the Set Focus point.
Focus Marker
Any time your Glowforge autofocuses, it will show a Focus Marker at the place where your Glowforge focused. The Focus Marker appears when you use the Set Focus option under the gear, or when your Glowforge autofocuses at the start of a print. It disappears when the focus changes, for example when you use Set Focus again, refresh the bed image, or when you open the lid. The camera alignment will be most accurate when your print is close to the Focus Marker. If the Focus Marker is not completely on the material you plan to print, your focus might be off.
Improved Sensors
- We’ve improved the way we handle accelerometers in the laser head. If there’s a bump, your machine may now cancel (during the focusing step) or pause (during the print). This could occur, for example, if there’s an obstruction in the bed or if the Glowforge unit is jostled.
- We’ve improved the sensors in the fans to make them more accurate and prevent false alarms.
- We’ve added extreme temperature sensing. We’ve activated additional temperature sensors in your Glowforge’s air intake, lid, head, and exhaust to measure the temperature all around the inside of your unit. These can pause the print if the temperature gets extremely high (much higher than temperatures you would ever find in a weather forecast) so you can check on it.
Improved Performance
- The files you upload are getting processed up to twice as fast! Once we receive your file (by clicking “Upload,” choosing “Add Artwork” or by dragging your design onto your Design Library or Workspace), we’ll get it processed and prepared for you much more quickly than before.
- The camera preview loads much faster! When we display the bed image, we run a series of calculations to adjust for the height of the material. Those used to take several seconds, but now they’ll happen instantly. You can see an example of this by switching back and forth between two materials with different heights, like medium and thick Draftboard, and watching how quickly the preview image updates.
Thanks so much for reading all the way through - we’ve got more great stuff in store soon!
As always, you can discuss this update in the forum post here.
Best,
–dan