They actually droop under load more, as they heat up and stretch (they actually worry about a windy day under heavy load that since the loops are longer the fields can start interacting). My father worked on engineering “real” high-tension transmission lines (768kv to ground) which would stretch massive amounts under full load.
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There’s people that find a certain amount of pride in getting the Chinese machines to actually work and you’re dumb to spend more, and then the ones that can afford the $15-20k units feel like anything less is crap. And the vocal people are just trolling and no facts will be good enough for them.
I figure it’s easiest just to sit back while they whine and hope that GF will prove them wrong once they hit our doorsteps.
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Nice to get to the original use of the words. Thanks so much for the lesson. It much more sense now as to how the usage survives.
That sounds a lot like on-line comments regarding DIY, hobby turnkey, and professional CNC equipment in machining fora around the web. There must be some sort of fundamental truth involved here.
@kim1032 , I joined after the link was put up here and must concur with your observation.
The web has created a degree of anonymity where people feel safe in acting like jerks without repercussion, and on that forum experts when they aren’t and a sounding board for elitists who think you are unworthy because you either A. Bought or didn’t buy a 25k do it all system, or B. Bought, or didn’t buy a cheap Chinese laser and mod it, waste money on it and calibrate it before every use.
Every true expert in their field that I have known, and I’ve known a few, enjoy and encourage others in joining their field and help willingly. That’s just an easy litmus test to weed out the wannabes who think they know more than they really do.
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I understand where the skeptics are coming from, and don’t fault them a bit for waiting until we’ve shipped to decide. Early adopters like us get the fun stuff first, but as the proud backer of 115 Kickstarters (!) I can attest that we early adopters have also been known to receive the short end of the stick from time to time. This won’t be one of those times, but they don’t know that. Glowforge is going to get you all something wonderful. We’ll get them something wonderful too, later, if they want it… they just will have to do without for a while. 
I also don’t fault them for asking us to “show our work” and reveal our sources, designs, and so on. If I was skeptical of someone but really wanted to believe, I’d ask too. For practical competitive reasons, we won’t answer those questions, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
There are a few questions in here that I can answer though, which I’ll do my best to do here:
- The Basic model is water-cooled and has radiators that shed excess heat. The Pro model uses that, plus a second thermoelectric cooler and radiator.
- There’s no agreed upon standard for expressing filter life - at least, we haven’t found any of the other laser filter manufacturers’ answers to this question. (If they have, please do point me to where so we can compare!). We’ve said that we expect to have replacement cartridges available for <$250.
- We will sell and ship tubes guaranteed against DOA. They are user replaceable.
- The lens is protected by purge air, easy to clean, and easy to replace. When you get yours you’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how easy, in fact, it’s a pretty cool mechanism.
- Ditto the two windows that protect the mirrors, the output coupler, and the back side of the lens.
–dan
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Excellent
Thanks for the additional (or repeated) info. It’s good to see this every once in a while.
That group is a pretty phenomenal resource. My facebook feed is now flooded with all things laser.
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yes, other than the occasional glowforge bashing by a few members theres a lot of good stuff in there. It also makes you see how much troubleshooting and maintenance you have to do on the other lasers that are out there. i cant wait til people start getting glowforges to see how the dynamic of the group changes.
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@dan,
This is a big question for me. I purchased the Pro and am wondering how long it can run at full power before needing to take a break. I’m sure things like ambient temperature come into play but I want to make sure it is going to fit my needs. If it wasn’t a closed system then I wouldn’t be so concerned. But with no additional cooling add-on in sight, I would like to know how long it can run please.
The last info we received was many months ago. They had little info on real H/W at that point. The plan seemed to be a Pro that would operate almost continuously at 70 degree room temp. The Basic would have to stop frequently to cool down on long jobs. But they might have better info now.
danStaff Oct '15
Oddly the deciding factor here would be air conditioning. If he’s running in an 80 degree garage, the Basic is going to need to stop frequently to cool down. It will likely be frustrating and slow. The Pro model would be able to run for a much longer period before needing to cool off, if at all.
If you’re at 70 degrees or lower, the Pro will be faster, but the difference will be less stark.
Note that this is back of the envelope right now; we’re still early in our thermal testing - just trying to give you our best sense of where they come in.
Thanks @rpegg,
This is why I’m looking for an update. Our last information to base it off of was so long ago and this was before the new tube or power supply were even available.
I really want to make sure I’m not going to be throwing ice packs in there like some people do with the 40w Chinese ones.
I feel that we are far enough along that this information should be available and on the FAQ.
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@dan mentioned yesterday that the basic will run continuously for an hour at ambient of 70 degrees. Only difference he mentioned for pro was that it would cut 20% faster than the basic and run longer, no real soecifics
Thanks,
I found that now. I wonder why I didn’t see that thread in my new or unread list
I always default to “latest” and that gets everything up. I’m obsessive about keeping up and making sure there are no bold topics almost every day to keep the list of catch up small.
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So does the basic come with a “water pail chiller” or other basic pump circulator? Has that been announced? I don’t expect it to be a full-on A/C chiller, just wondering if the in/outlet lines will be there.
Totally self contained sealed pump and reservoir inside the Glowforge. The Basic uses passive cooling by pumping a fluid through an aluminum block. Nothing external. In the case of the pro there is an additional active Peltier cooling system inside the unit.
Here are my thoughts concerning run time. I am fortunate to own two Universal laser systems at $15k a piece. Any long running projects such as large engraving pieces I will still do on those since they are rated for that.
I am getting the Glowforge Pro for smaller quick projects at events such as christsmas ornaments, name tags, customer drawn items using the trace feature etc. I will probably also have a lot of blank shapes cut on the bigger machines that I can then put in the Glowforge for personalization on the spot. I dont see using the Glowforge for a full time laser simply because of its time heating constraints and the longevity of the filter…
I may be wrong and it may be more durable that I expect but Ive seen the ideas of what some people are hoping it can acheive and worry they may become disappointed that it cant compare to a full industrial sized more expensive laser system.
I hope, honestly to be proven wrong …what say you @dan ?
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Hmmmm. I have a feeling that I’m going to be buying some tubing, in-line connectors, and possibly even making a few holes in my GF case…