This weekend I made something, and I’m so excited I can’t “stand” it.
While you groan at my terrible pun, let me tell you how this came to be.
My wife is a classically-trained artist. She loves to paint, and has introduced the whole family to it - even me, although I was the one who nearly failed out of art class. She saw some cool portable easel/bookstands online that sit on a tabletop and fold flat. Then she texted me, “hey hon, we should print this!”
You can probably guess where this went.
I wanted to set up the design in Fusion 360, but needed a refresher on the software. After turning to Google, I made an amazing discovery: some of the best results for Fusion 360 tutorials were links to the Glowforge Forum.
This led me down a rabbit hole into the Unofficial Guide to All Things Glowforge (aka, the forum’s Tutorials page). I found everything I needed: a webinar hosted by Jason, a member of the Fusion 360 team; an intro to building a box; a guide to using the plugin I needed; and even a video on how to make a design that will work with a laser. All created by Glowforge owners for Glowforge owners.
Then the magic happened: 1 sheet of Proofgrade plywood, 8 minutes of printing, and the collective wisdom of the Glowforge Community. My wife used her new easel for the first time on our dining room table last night.
The magical thing about creating is that there’s always more to learn. With over 100,000 Glowforge owners like yourself that’s quite a lot of knowledge to go around.
With that, here are a few tidbits of my own:
TL;DR:
- A better way to find what you’re looking for in the Proofgrade shop and Glowforge Catalog
- Glowforge is on the road for an education & technology conference!
- Press play on Glowforge TV on demand with Bailey and Nick
- Housekeeping on how we configure Community Forum emails
Amazing search!
We’ve made improvements to the shop to help you better find what you’re looking for, whether it’s the perfect Catalog design for any occasion or the exact material to print on.
Don’t believe us? Try searching for:
- an incredible weekend project you’ll proudly display,
- all designs created by June’s featured designer,
- or any medium thickness material that’s currently up to 50% off!
We’ve made two main improvements:
- Search is better. You’ll now find more, and more relevant results for your searches.
- Filters to help narrow your search: For both the Proofgrade shop and the Glowforge Design Catalog, you can now use filters to narrow down your search and find exactly what you’re looking for.
For example, in the Proofgrade shop, you can now filter materials by available sizes, thicknesses, colors, and more.
In the Glowforge Catalog, you can now filter designs by skill level, print time, license, and more.
Check it out and see for yourself!
Watch us print with Glowforge ON DEMAND!
Every week, longtime Glowfolks Bailey & Nick take Glowforge for a spin through all sorts of materials, projects, and prints– and you can join! The episodes are chock full of tips, tricks, & ideas to help make your creations that much more amazing. The past few weeks they’ve printed on food, made a felt pennant flag, and even experimented with EVA foam.
Tune in on Tuesdays at 11am, sign up to be reminded about the next stream, or check out all the past episodes at Glowforge TV - Watch how to's. tutorials, and more | Glowforge.
Glowforge at Technology Education Conference
The team is on the road! Just like old times - there was a huge line at our booth for teachers to have a chance to print something amazing themselves. The
More than 3600 schools use their Glowforge printers in education, and we set out to meet as many of them as we can. Miss us at the show? No problem! Get free educator resources here, and sign up to be notified next time the team is traveling!
Forum Email Update
We’ve found a configuration problem with our forum: about 2% of Glowforge owners aren’t getting community forum notifications at the right address. Shortly, we’ll fix it by updating their Forum email addresses to match their glowforge.com login. If you’re one of the small number of owners affected, we’ll email you more details before the change happens.
…
I’ve been in love with lasers for 8 years and can’t wait to discover the next new thing I’ll want to learn how to make. That’s the joy of creating.
That, and getting the entire print to fit exactly on one sheet of Proofgrade!
Thank you for being part of this community of like-minded creators. I’d love to hear about what you learned to make recently.
– dan
PS: You can discuss this forum update here!