Proofgrade and QRC code

Thanks Dan. I know we will be able to use our own material, suitably vetted and appropriate for the Glowforge.

It works great once that button starts flashing. Flawless procedure every time. I do not have one error or mistake during printing.

The team is working hard. I know from this end!

13 Likes

It may be easier to use pre-saved settings, but imagine if DIY QR codes could be shared amongst GF users. Those who wish to test settings could do so, but sharing the codes for other widely available materials could allow 10,000 users to share data instead of 10,000 users doing their own independent testing for every material combo.

Guess we dont really need the QR code to share the data, that’s what the internet is for. :slight_smile: but it could be nifty.

5 Likes

You could do something with a phone app that would make this sing. Have QR codes that share settings, open your mobile app, select add new material settings, scan QR code, done.

2 Likes

If I had to guess you have Glowforge because Glowforge, probably A is a material identifier, then likely A thickness for the K and the remainder is probably a unique batch code they can use if formulations or suppliers change down the road. But that’s just a me making wild guesses based on how I’d do it.

1 Like

Unfortunately this would be very frustrating for customers and result in a lot of damaged material and incomplete cuts, since material settings are very different from material vendor to vendor. People would reasonably conclude that Glowforge material detection doesn’t work and Glowforge units are unreliable.

This is the same reason that we will not make Proofgrade presets available to non-Proofgrade materials; it will lead to poor results, and we will be responsible for it.

As noted, it’s “Glowforge”, then a unique identifier. Right now they’re generated in batches so they’re sequential, but in the future they will be essentially serial numbers. This allows us to track the material from the factory all the way through to your Glowforge, so besides helping our logistics, in the future we can do things like update Proofgrade defaults (for example if we update the 3D engraving algorithm), or warn you if your material has been recalled.

We don’t encode the settings, since they may change.

18 Likes

I’m not going to assume I know what this means. It could mean that the settings used for Proofgrade materials are not visible to the user? If so, it’s not the end of the world, just an inconvenience. We wouldn’t be able to use Proofgrade settings as a starting point. I never ask Dan these type of clarifying questions simply because my knowing isn’t going to get me a GF faster. One of the early folks will provide the info eventually.

2 Likes

Right. It’s not like they’re particularly secret, but if we say “this is the Proofgrade plywood setting” then people are going to get confused and expect it to work with their plywood. So the manual settings path is designed to be as simple as possible, but quite different than the Proofgrade path. (Or at least it will be; @tony has a bunch of improvements planned).

Of course, like anything with the software, this might change once we get feedback from all of you with your Glowforge deliveries!

9 Likes

One thing you guys could do would be to pop up a warning box if someone is using proofgrade settings and no QR is detected.

“youre using settings for a material that was not auto-detected. be aware this might not produce expected results. use at your own risk. blah blah etc”

While the settings might not be exact, they can definitely be useful for similar materials, like if we got stuff from inventables.

Im just guessing here, but the materials for proofgrade are probably going to be very similar, if not the same as their stock.

5 Likes

So when we are running our machine with proofgrade we will have no idea what power and speed it is using?

I might have to add some instrumentation to mine.

3 Likes

Like I said, not a secret - would take a ruler and a stopwatch to figure it out. And I expect people will exchange information on typical ranges for materials in the forum. But a) they’re likely to be big ranges, rather than the single number that’s perfect for Proofgrade, and b) there’s a world of difference when we provide it, because it carries the implied endorsement of our company.

12 Likes

So is Glowforge going to get a TM or SM for the Proofgrade material labeling to help bring clarity and distinction with GF :glowforge:, which then separates laserable materials being marketed on laser product source sites (Instructables, LaserBits, Rowmark - to name just a few)?

True that those type of sites provide materials with proven real world lasering, but for Glowforge marketing “Glowforge Proofgrade ™” materials, do you believe that it can be trademarked?

Does the understanding, that Proofgrade provides automatic power and speed settings with the extended warranty coverage (if the materials damage the GF :glowforge:), give a clear reason to use Proofgrade over lasering materials from other suppliers?

How can those who are supporters of Glowforge and the consumables from Glowforge, present those benefits with others making sure that we communicate accurately (from Glowforge’s position) and minimized the debating of the minuscule details/preferences?

1 Like

Apparently they have already put the Trademark symbol on Proofgrade.

3 Likes

Proofgrade is a Glowforge trademark, so that we can make it clear which materials we have tested and can stand behind. But many other materials are laser compatible and will work, as you said.

Which material is right for you will be a personal decision, and will no doubt come down to miniscule details and preferences. :wink:

9 Likes

Well I would like to know what power I am using to know how much life I am taking from the tube. Also if I find the edges are charred too much I might want to override the settings to go faster or use less power, etc. And what if my tube is old and weak and I need to up the power to compensate?

4 Likes

If you’re using Proofgrade settings, you’re delegating that to our software. If you want manual control with Proofgrade material for the reasons you described, you’re welcome to find the settings that work best for you, as manual mode is still available.

But perhaps that’s a good reason for us to share the Proofgrade settings - if you want to experiment on Proofgrade material and want to use them as a jumping-off point. Will give that some thought.

20 Likes

Presets would be great!

5 Likes

They’re not likely to be of much value. Even the settings I save job-to-job in my notebook are almost never the same twice. Different suppliers for the same material often end up with wildly different material characteristics when it comes to power/speed settings. Even within a single supplier, different lots have different characteristics. I buy almost all of my materials from the same 4 or 5 folks and the stuff always requires some amount of tweaking. You can’t use some one else’s settings for a material with confidence - it might provide a starting point but certainly won’t be definitive. You’ll amass your own starting points with your first projects with any material - that’s why you’ll want to make some calibration files. :slight_smile:

5 Likes

Does the Glowforge have any way of measuring tube output power? Once there are many out in the field for some time they are all going to have different powers depending on use. For the proofgrade settings to work across machines don’t you need to compensate for that?

2 Likes

Will the GF keep tabs on this kind of data at all, since everything will be pushed to the cloud? It might be a good place to dial in settings. Like if you find a majority of users are slowing down the default speed for maple, or whatever.

6 Likes

Exactly what we’re thinking about.

5 Likes