So. From box to cut was 22 mins. No calibration. No adjustments. Nothing. Also the outside temp when I got the unit was 38F. So no warm up time. Add to network (which is dead simple) import a file and off to the races. Super impressive. Seriously.
Here a couple things I was able to do in-between events.
Very well done. I like the contrasting engravings on the “Made on A Glowforge”. Pretty fine detail. What did you think of the acrylic? I haven’t done much engraving on it and from the looks of the wings and the body, there is some nice detail. Love the tree ornament, and the cutouts seem to multiply but they are so cute and precise. Enjoy the fun!
Everything done so far has been under the gun. As in ‘Okay everyone is preoccupied let me run upstairs real quick…’
My wife so far loves it. Super easy to use and quick turn around. There has been a couple weird issues software wise, but damn. The hardware is rock solid. With that being said- I have noticed some differences from what I have from the makerfaire units. Which is cool to see.
At any rate, once the holidays die down abit and the family heads back home. I’ll hit the ground running with this stuff.
Amazing production time. I work daily with an industrial laser to engrave on firearms and it is such a pain. The ease of use was the primary reason I bought in on the idea. With everyone’s postings here I am seriously JONESING! Thanks for the update, though I am soo jealous! Ha
We have a couple different type of machines. CNC’s, 3D Printers, Vinyl cutter, wide format printers etc…
My wife only touches the Vinyl cutter and the wide format printer. The CNC and 3D Printers are kinda complex. Mostly in the CAD to CAM (Or slicer) part of it. i.e. ‘Okay, I have a inlay- I need to use this endmill and this DOC and the feedrate needs to be this. Oh wait, it’s a duplexed op. So I need to set a origin. And mock up a hold down. Export the gcode to the machine. Load the piece, make sure it’s square. Load the touch probe and touch off the part. Switch to the endmill you need. Set G54. Then jog the machine around the perimeter of the op to make sure you don’t destroy any of the clamps/soft jaws. Then hit cycle start.’ Yeah. No. When I told her and demo this. I got the, ‘Uh huh. Okay-’ look.
3D printers are not as complex, but they have their nuances. (I’ve added things like mini differential IR probe, sensors for the filament (extrusion width sensor and filament detection). But no one likes to see a big pile of filament roman noodles sitting on the bed. No matter how many times I’ve shown her it works fine. That first failure dicates how you feel about it. No matter how many times someone proves ‘it’s fine’
As for the Glowforge. Its pretty much WYSIWYG. Load file (Vector and/or Raster) Load material. Pick a cut/score/engrave/raster. And click ‘Print’. And she was able to do this without any instructions from me. And when she did the happy dance after her first op. I was sold.
As for the things I was unsure about- Works as advertised. As for the registering something that was made on something else and having the glowforge do something too. I am working on a part to machine out to test this and having some valid data to report back with. You can’t just say ‘It don’t work’ without having substantial data to back it up. And something valid to assist on helping it work.
