Before the latest update Your Glowforge is getting faster , we had a chart that worked somewhat OK converting GlowForge’s imaginary speed units to mm/s for larger engraving images.
Does anyone knows where we are at, now? Dan mentioned that the new speed values are non-linear in the update announcement.
Dan, if you see this post, would it be possible to provide us with a “constant speed” equivalency chart? Your car comparison was pretty on point comparing effective speed on larger and smaller samples. But could you please provide the “average” speed values in engineering units for a considerably large engrave (like a 10"x10" square)? For example, the constant speed obtained after accelerating and before decelerating? Thank you in advance!
Nonlinear would likely mean what it says. However, one could make several experimental engraves, record the data, and graph it as would be most interesting to you, and then post it for others to learn from. They have always maintained the specifics confidential so they will not be publishing them, but what can be discovered by anyone would not be restricted by them.
I understand it. But they have provided a speed equivalency chart in the past. Regardless, tracking speeds in a chart is a way of doing it, but highly time consuming, especially depending on how non-linear the new speeds are. Throwing this time burden in us due to an change they made does not seem the only way out to me.
Doing a lot of 4"x4" coasters recently using the standard SD engraving It did not matter if it was a solid engraved rectangle or a Hilbert curve the engraving time was ~20 min or if the coaster was a circle it was less but not so much as to be a difference. Likewise, even a complicated cut took so much less time than the 20-minute engrave so as to be irrelevant.
As I am designing for the catalog I cannot get exotic with the techniques, but when I was, I made a 0,5x3" stick for each different source of wood with a standard set of cuts and engraves that would give a feel for that material. Then I would save the stack of results for referral the next time I used that material
You can also hit the start button on any design, record the time taken, and then cancel the cut. You don’t have to actually wait out a 3-hour engrave to know it will take 3 hours.
they have provided a speed equivalency chart in the past
I’m not sure that Glowforge ever provided anything like that, I know that there were some people that experimented to try to figure it out but I’m not sure Glowforge ever really put out an official speed chart. I’d like to see it if you have it handy.
In this update, according to everything they’ve told us, is that the speed hasn’t been changed but the acceleration has. So the actual speed as the laser goes past is simply reached more quickly and slowed down more quickly at the end of the row. So your engraves will get faster not because the laser is moving more quickly on each row but because turning around at the end of each row is more aggressive.