So during the campaign I ordered first a Basic, and then added on a Pro when I found more budget.
I got my Basic (Taterforge) back in June, and I’ve been loving it. Last Monday my Pro (Checkforge) came in, and this weekend I was able to get it set up.
I thought I’d share some of the differences between the June packaging and setup vs November. Here are two photos:
First is the Basic, from June. I saved all the packing material per their instructions, and I packed up the Basic to sell.
June:
- Box didn’t come with any handles. I don’t know if they got lost in shipping, or if this was early enough not to even have any. Also, the hand holes on the side of the box were towards the top of the box, meaning you’re lifting from the top, above the weight of the machine. It’s also a single, one-piece box.
- GF didn’t have any white foam inside holding things in place. Just the orange bits.
- Printer head came in the “accessories” box, with the crumb tray. It did not come with the orange “cheetoh” holding the lens in place, though it was in place just fine.
- There was a sheet of printed paper inside, telling me to go to app.glowforge.com to get started with setup.
November:
- Box had all four handles! Hand holds were towards the bottom of the box, so when you lift, you’re close to lifting from beneath. I’m not an engineer, but this seems more structurally sound. The box itself is 2-piece, with a sliding top “lid” over a bottom “box” for the machine itself. Again, this just feels more structurally sound.
- GF had nice white foam blocks holding everything in place, along with all the orange bits. This seems practically earthquake-proof.
- Printer head and power cord came embedded in a little pocket in the white foam inside the unit itself. The “window” on the side of the printer head was loose, a separate piece in the foam pocket. I imagine it probably vibrated out during shipping? It was undamaged and screwed right back into place, though. No worries.
- Instead of a black & white flyer with what I consider the “wrong” URL, there’s a nice two-color cut sheet on the escutcheon telling me to go to setup.glowforge.com
As far as differences between the machines, I didn’t see much. Pro has the passthrough, Basic does not. I don’t know if this is a Pro vs Basic thing, but the front door on the Basic is much harder to open. The Pro just opens smoothly. The lid feels a little smoother closing too. I can see a few hardware bits and bobs that seem different, but I don’t know in what way.
Overall, I’d say the shipping packaging has improved tremendously since they started shipping. This new system seems ready for those international shipments people are waiting on. I would fear for international shipping with the old box and packing. General polish and quality of packing is much better than June.
Congratulations to the whole team on how far you’ve come!
