Well then, guess that answers that!
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Indeed. 
(Sorry, been looking for an excuse to use the guy with the monocle)
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I thought the Pro had better motors…
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Lots of speculation based on the fact that the Pro cuts 15% faster. But that was only because the Pro was more powerful and the cutting speed could be increased for the same result. Nothing ever said by the company about the motors.
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Found it. It appears It just mentions ‘linear systems’ and not motors. In that case, Im wondering what the differences are…
Continuing the discussion from Email update June 2017: Glowforge shipments underway, schedule update, and more:
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Yeah, or nicer belts with less flex.
@dan can you provide any insight into this? Doesnt have to be super specific, but would be cool to know which components in the Pro’s linear system you said were upgraded (in the june update which I quoted in the post above), since it appears its not the motors.
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I wish I got that. 
Maybe the Pro motors were rubbed with cheetah blood.
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Assuming cuts are done on full power we should be able to see how much the speed increases when doing a PG cut of the same object on a basic and a pro. On everything else it seems the pro is hobbled to basic power settings and so basic speeds.
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They’re the same motors. Other components are different… I don’t remember what offhand.
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And we are supposed to believe that you announced "we upgraded key components of the linear system of the Pro model. " but you don’t remember what those components are and can’t simply ask engineering or look at your BOMs.
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Come on, stop being so Palmer. Yep that’s a thing. Said he can’t remember off hand and you want him to wake Engineering up at midnight. Yeah you can play the game that it’s important for you to know because you don’t trust the specs. So?
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The top speed of a stepper motor is set by the supply voltage and the coil inductance. I wouldn’t count the PSU as key components of the linear system. The torque, and hence the acceleration, is set by the current and the efficiency of the motor. The current is under software control according to @scott.wiederhold.
If you don’t change the motor I can’t think of anything else in the linear system that would increase the top speed. A bigger pulley, but that would change the LPI and be an obvious visual difference. The belt has part numbers on so we could compare those, although I can’t see how that would affect the speed. The rails and wheels all look the same and don’t really affect speed.
So it looks to me that they haven’t actually upgraded anything and Dan has conveniently forgotten what key components have been upgraded.
I have paid a lot more for a pro partly because it has a better tube and optics. I am starting to doubt that is true. The only visual difference seems to be the slot and the Peltier cooling. Can anybody spot any other changes.
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The engineers ought to be woken up every now and then, for the good of the product.
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Has anybody actually seen the Peltier cooler in the pro (back left corner by the outlet fan)?
3C isn’t much difference, like 5W and 15% speed increase. I am wondering if these are all just a software switch in the cloud.
Would that be legal under US consumer law? I.e. advertise real hardware differences and fake them in software?
If it wasn’t in this thread, Tesla has already been proven to do this with their battery packs in the cars. To help people get away from a hurricane in Florida, they gave a push update to let all Tesla cars go the “extra capacity” distance. Don’t think they’ve seen any trouble. It’s all in how it’s worded and we’ve seen how closely Gf listens to their FNLs.
Yes.
Depends. If the promise is of a particular implementation then that has to be delivered but if the promise is of an effect then how that effect is achieved is irrelevant.
Tesla is the latest example of this. They sell 2 models of their S - one has increased range & duration to the tune of $9000 (IIRC). They even talk about the battery pack rating being different between the 2 models. But they can (and did last month in FL) flip a software switch and all of the low-end models got extended range & duration with improved battery capacity without any change to the underlying batter pack. They had software-limited the battery capacity (actually what would be delivered to the car) so they could use the same pack in all the cars. People were paying the 9 grand not for a bigger battery pack but improved software and they did not say that - just sold increased duration and amphours.
If GF said there’s a Peltier cooler in the Pro then there needs to be a Peltier cooler. If they can figure out how to get the same effect without needing the Peltier then they might use the alternate instead. Since they offer your money back up until you take delivery US law would likely say no harm, no foul.
If they just sell the effect (improved cooling) and they can do that all via software, the physical implementation is irrelevant to consumer laws - you’re getting the improved cooling you bought. You don’t get to dictate how they achieve it.
This is what the advert says:
Passthrough slot allows the use of material that’s up to 1/4″ (6.3mm) high, up to 20” (50.8cm) wide, and as long as desired
Passthrough software uses the camera to maintain alignment as long material is pushed through
Laser tube is upgraded from 40 watts to 45 watts
Higher quality optics provide for more beam power at the head
Faster cutting speeds
Upgraded solid state thermoelectric cooling
6 month additional warranty
Can anybody spot a difference in the tubes? It would be interesting to compare measurements of the outside diameter and pictures of the curly bit.
The windows, head mirror and lens are all the same. The only other optics are the first two mirrors that are fully enclosed in a metal box. Are they really any different?
The update said the Pro had upgraded key components of the motion system but it appears that the motors, pulleys, belts, wheels and rails are all the same so I am starting to smell a rat.