Proofgrade sold out - comparable products?

Thank you very much, I will check them out!

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I’ve been frustrated too. Some transparency would be nice. I too have many designs built just for PG plywoods. It would take significant work to get them reconfigured for other materials. My Etsy shop is on vacation mode and will probably have to stay that way for a while until we get more PG in stock or I get the time to reconfigure my designs.

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be careful cause i just now was told being that i used non proof grade material that glowforge will not warranty my machine. Sounds fair right? spend 6k on a device that you can only use their materials to cut and engrave. So i have a 6k paper weight

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Sorry, but that is incorrect. You can use any materials that are laser compatible. The warranty applies to damage to the machine from cutting non-laser compatible products which can damage the machine. (Vinyl, PVC…that sort of thing.)

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In my opinion glowforge over simplifies their communication and it is often taken to mean exactly what you have stated. However, dan has said in the past that if the issue is not caused by material, regardless of origin, their warranty is valid. This is also my personal, non-professional, understanding of US case law as regards warranties.

To be clear, if you use non-proofgrade material and that material damages your machine you are responsible. The most common example of this would be a chlorine containing material like PVC.

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I hope this is the case but the issue i had was an amber light they asked for pics, i gave them pics and their conclusion was the use of non proof grade materials and unfortunately isn’t covered under warranty. And offered to take a look at it but that will cost $200. I’m sorry but if i cant actually talk to someone about an issue instead of an insanely long email thread its hard to have that trust factor there after you spend over 7k and speaking with an autoresponder

What kind of materials were you using?

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same as proof grade birch, baltic, cherry etc all 1/8 and 1/4 inch

No vinyl? Ever? No flexible plastic faux leather? No plastics besides acrylic? (Using something that contains PVC once in the machine is enough to corrode the machine, although the result can happen much later, and yeah, that will void the warranty. )

They must have seen something from your logs that looked suspicious. That’s something you will need to work out with them.

In order to have the machine checked over thoroughly for damage, you probably ought to go ahead and send it in. Whether you pay for the shipping to have it checked over or not, they need to check it.

Sorry …hate bearing bad news. :frowning:

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totally agree with you however i only use comparable material to what glowforge offers for one cause its easily accessible and a ton of other users have use non proof grade materials before and haven’t had a an issue you know. Guess i’ll figure this one out and look into other laser options. i 100% believe that my issue is either software related or maybe a bad sensor somewhere cause i use both proof and non proof material and has nothing to do with non proof grade material solely damaging my glowforge as its just the amber light issue. IDK

I’ve heard of an amber light, but I don’t recall what it indicates or its possible causes. I’m sorry this happened to you. How long have you had the glowforge?

Only 4 months

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Oh, that sucks.

Tell me about it 6k paper weight

Well, hardly a paperweight - you’re just unwilling to send it in for them to verify or disprove whatever it is they’re seeing in the logs that make them think you did something to void your warranty. If you’re absolutely sure you didn’t do anything wrong, then let them confirm that and give you a warranty replacement!

FYI - Formaldehyde is found in all wood…the Glowforge woods aren’t formaldehyde-free, they simply lack added formaldehyde in the form of preservatives or adhesives.
(Background: I’m an air quality scientist and my main professional focus is related to wood burning activities)

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Betcha didn’t think your first interaction with this forum would be work related! :smiley:

Thanks for the info

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My understanding is most plywood uses urea- or phenol-formaldehyde. I wonder what the Proofgrade material uses, and for bonding draftboard, come to think of it…

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Plan on it not unwilling at all. 100% sure no warranty is void more frustrated that’s it’s only 4 months old and you can speak to anyone at support at all it’s all through email. Sorry but if I paid 6k for something I want to talk to someone and get answers not wait 24-48hours for a response

Correct. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act resolved this in 1975. It specifically prohibits tie-in sales of consumables & parts as a condition of warranty coverage unless their use is proven to be responsible for the damage. So Baltic Birch would not cause a warranty issue. PVC would.

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