There’s a difference between performance and tube life…a distinction I also missed at first. 
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And the manual that states it does affect the life of the machine, which I presume is mainly the tube as a few degrees won’t affect the mechanics or the electronics much.
This brings me back to my original point. While it’s great that the machine can (probably) run at normal human temperatures, I would really like to know exactly what that “performance” difference is. If that means it’s just slower, whatever. If that means the items I’m printing are going to be poorer quality, I need to know now so I can cancel my order.
So far according to GF it’s just slower (net time) because there’s potential for more cooldown periods.
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There is certainly a difference. I didn’t miss it. That’s why I said “possibly.” So, to me, there’s ambiguity in all of this that requires clarification. Nobody should be forced to guess “Well maybe it means there will be a performance hit, but not affect the life of the tube. Or maybe it will affect the life of the tube, which will affect performance. Or maybe… or maybe…”
The manual says :“To prolong the life of your Glowforge unit and to reduce the risk of fire or mechanical failure, do not put the Glowforge unit where it could experience:● Extreme temperature or humidity” and then defines usage below 60F or above 75F /81F as extreme.
So that unambiguously says the life will be longer if you operate it inside that small range, which requires heating in the winter and AC in the summer in even a temperate climate.
Right. The manual from the company says that. Then the CEO of the same company says “Ambient temperature doesn’t affect tube life.” Neither of those statements alone are ambiguous. However, when reconciled…
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Yep, can’t both be true. And the manual was changed to V2.1 only recently. And the update mentions 72C, so who knows?
Very late to be specifying these things. It should have been long before production started.
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TBH, I don’t even care for myself. I keep my house at relatively the same temperature year-round (+/- 10 degrees F). And although I still want to know what’s correct, I worry about my fellow owners who may fluctuate far more than I.
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+/-10F isn’t within the spec for the basic. There is only a 15F range, 60 - 75.
True enough. I stay 57ºF - 77ºF. I only drop to 57ºF when we’re not home in the winter. And in the summer, the rest of the house might get warmer, but I’ve come to habitually turn on the A/C in the Glowroom at the same time I turn on the 'forge.
So much for integral cooling if you need an AC unit.
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Well, like I was saying earlier… I did need it. The day after I got my amber alert I bought one. That was weeks ago, though. Since then, of course, Glowforge has made advances in that area. As I said, it’s become habitual, but it’s quite likely I can break that habit and only use it in more-extreme circumstances.
I’ve just recently broken my habit of turning my AC down another degree or two before heading upstairs to use the Glowforge. Since the update I don’t recall getting a temperature warning even once.
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Entirely my fault since I wrote that text in the manual. It’ll be fixed in a manual revision soon.
If the machine gets too hot, it will pause to cool. That’s the only difference.
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That’s very good to know, thank you.
Based on your feedback, we’ve updated the manual.
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