I have confirmed with Support that this is not a flaw. I’ve also confirmed that, aside from my unit, others’ units show the same bowing. Not a “problem,” apparently, but a “feature.” 
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The new handles seem to be a fail. Has anybody received one with all four still in place?
There is still not enough tape in my opinion. It needs to loop all the way around and stick to itself to be strong enough. Just taping the seam with very little overlap at the ends has no strength at all.
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Yup my basic lid doesn’t create a completely flush transition between the sides and the lid.
My lid isn’t flush, either, but it does seem equally so on all points, so I assumed that was how it was engineered. My left corner sticks a little bit upon closing, so I have to push it down a little more to get it “shut,” which I’m not thrilled about, but otherwise, it works like a charm now.
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I had 3 of 4 still in place…with this new info, guess that was pretty good.
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Thank you for the detailed review. This is helpful.
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The lid on this PR is like that also, but the seal is a rubber skirt along the edge below the flange so it’s not relying on the lid to seat on the flange.
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I’ve often wondered how Apple would have designed the packaging for a 70# laser this size. The small stuff is easy, but you know they would still figure out a killer way to package something big, too.
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I still have the box for my big LED Apple Display. It’s got a lot of empty space for safety, and the inserts are pretty well engineered.
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Mine arrived at work like that too…it ended up all ok in the end. I also had to wait for help to carry the beast of a box…and my arms barely made it around to each of the handles.
When I first powered it up, the laser sled was making some jerky noises and not moving anywhere…I gave it a roll back and forth and it happily calibrated itself after that. Not sure if that was a result of arriving on its side.
but yay laser cutting!
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my G5 tower came in a box with 3"-thick formed styrofoam inserts. There was zero empty/negative space inside. I’ve been using that box to move that tower ever since. It’s in there now, actually, in case I need to pull it out for some reason.
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Just look at the packaging for their largest products: iMacs. I worked at Apple during the “packaging renaissance” (which started the unboxing vids), but let me tell you a big secret on Apple-style packaging: IT’S BLOODY EXPENSIVE. They are also designed so the cost is spread out across [potentially] millions of units. I’m not sure how many Glowforge units are going to be made, but large-scale “perfect” packaging in that style in low production volumes… you may as well tack on $100 or more for the box and molded parts. There’s a happy medium to be found. Clearly, the weak link is the fragility combined with “I can throw this in the truck, right?” shipping.
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That’s crazy - but it shows.
GF has always had an uphill packaging battle due to size & weight, and that inherently a 2-person move that probably rarely ever gets 2 people. Sometimes I think being a packaging designer would be interesting - but not with the GF. LOL
Yes, my box handles were intact.
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I put a yard stick across the top of the lid and the side panels to see what was drooping, and I can confirm that it’s the side pices thay have a slight bow to them. It still gets a good seal and doesn’t affect it in any way, so I’m happy.
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Are both the lid and the side pieces glass? It is odd to get glass that is bowed when there is no weight on it.
The way the lid is attached to the metal plating in the back applies pressure to the plastic case causing slight deformation and pressure on the side glass panels. It takes quite a bit of rigidity to hold that heavy glass lid.
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Thanks for letting us know! That’s a variation that we’ve been seeing on these first machines - it won’t affect operation in any way.
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Indeed. Significantly more.
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