Major things produced in less time than a Glowforge

So, I was thinking the other day… somehow Ford managed to take the Ford GT from a drawing to a car that people already own… in less time than Glowforge can bring a Glowforge to market. The most advanced super car in the world… took less time to get in peoples hands than Glowforge. How is that even possible?

What other ridiculously complex things have been developed and launched in less time than the Glowforge?

I’m not sure that’s accurate…

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Could be a close race :slight_smile:

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That’s fair. The NSX is right up there too - but it took a lot longer to design and produce.

The Ford GT is among the most technologically advanced super cars in the world - if not the most. It’s tough to measure though and every company likes to say theirs is the best.

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Because the entire infrastructure was already in place. The GF has built theirs from scratch. (I’ve been in manufacturing for almost 3 decades now and it can be time consuming starting up a new product line in an EXISTING plant. ) (though my experience is mostly in automotive and recently in firearms) All delays aside, my hat is off to @dan and the support team.

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It might turn out that I get my Model 3 before my Glowforge… And Tesla is RENOWNED for missing production targets. Is Glowforge the new Tesla in that regard?

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You’re talking about the second generation Ford GT? The one that is made almost entirely by Saleen?
The upgrade to the “first” generation that took 5 years from announcement to roll-out, and then had all sorts of issues? Which was itself a call-back to the original GT40 race car Ford had made in the 60s?

Beginning in December 2016, Ford plans to build the GT at a rate of one car per day in this new, low-volume assembly facility at Multimatic in Markham, Ontario [19]until October 2020. 2017 and 2018 model year vehicles will be reserved for selected GT buyers, 2019 vehicles for buyers passed over in the initial selection process, and 2020 vehicles for new customers. (wikipedia)

^that Ford GT?

Don’t get me wrong… Great job to the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team for pulling off the win at LeMans 50 years after the GT40 won there… but don’t know how well the comparison works in terms of “production time”, or “time to get in people’s hands”.

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Comparison is also hard because Ford has other products that can allows them to sink money into R&D. Additionally, they have a known process for what it takes to build a car.

Glowforge is new, young, and not as agile/nimble. I hope in 5-10 years they have a great product line of many different types and changes the face of the in industry, but right now, we have one that they are trying to get 100% right.

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Naw. Glowforge “soon” is much shorter than Tesla “soon” :blush:

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Wonder how many Mustangs got sold because of the GT LeMans win? And how many people think that the Ford Mustang GT = Ford GT.
Ford is quite aware of the old saying: “Win On Sunday, Sell On Monday”.
…Although they had sold 87,258 mustangs as of september last year, but they were only at 62,196 at the end of september this year.

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No kidding! But, I have to say that the delays for Tesla also made for a great product.

So, patience is frustrating, but having a quality product takes time. Part of me is happy that they are doing it right, another part is wanting “NOW NOW NOW”, but the truly self disciplined look at it this way; what leads to a better investment of my thousands? The immediate gratification, or the patience delivery of what was expected for those thousands?

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Just for some perspective from a different angle, I backed this thing in May 2016 and am still waiting for it to ship, and it’s just a board with a couple of poles sticking out of it. :joy:

I’ve been playing “which will I get first?” (Our day one Pro order GF arrived yesterday tho.)

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Apparently there are not enough gamers in this forum. Blizzards “Soon” far surpasses either GF or Tesla. :smiley:

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Left 4 Dead 3 if you prefer Valve?

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… Half-Life 3… :mic drop:
Thought of a better one. Duke Nukem Forever. 15 years in development before it was released.

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I was never a big Duke Nukem fan. My friends pre-ordered the game at game stop in 2000-2001. He still had the pre-order and original receipt when it came out in 2011.

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Hmmmm…Ford, a major company with billions in assets, a staff population that would rival a not so inconsiderable city, their own factories around the world, and a business that has been in existence for about 100 years…vs GF . Hmmm…that’s a tough one…

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