Software common between pro and basic?

Community Support
1

I was wondering whether the pro and basic shared the same exact software or will the Basic not have certain perks because of the pass through slot. For example if I had a flat pattern bigger than the bed of the Basic but when using a sheet of leather I could fake having a pass through slot by doing a cut, lining up the next cut to what has been done and un ravel the next part of the sheet of leather and continue. Just wondering since I’m still on the fence to upgrade to the pro.

So do the two have exactly the same software?

2

I’ve seen elsewhere that what you’re suggesting about rolling the piece and unrolling inside the unit was mentioned as possible. @dan would be the best person to clarify, however.

The only software differences should be that the cloud knows you’re using a Basic rather than a Pro, so it won’t tell your Basic to try to cut at 45W, or too fast, etc. Since the Pro model was a late add–it wasn’t part of the original launch plan–the software should be identical.

3

Pro-only features (like passthrough) won’t be in basic.

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4

Is there a list of software features that aren’t in the Basic?

For example are any misalignment corrections in the Basic, like if the table is bumped or we pause the print will it correct itself?

5

I’m pretty sure every feature discussed publicly except pass-through alignment is in Basic.

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6

Thanks Dan for answering. Sorry I just get a little confused sometimes. I guess I’m still not sure what pass through alignment does vs the Basic alignment. Is the pass through alignment just real time rasterizing of what has been done using machine vision? Does this need constant internet? Vs the single image of the Basic which would rasterize what’s been cut or you manually place the layout file again to line the two up.

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I’m referring to the software that lets you cut something, move it through the passthrough, then cut some more of it, etc.

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8

Thanks Dan for the clarification

9

I recall mention that, which you couldn’t pass anything through, you could cut larger things on the Basic model like fabric/leather/paper by “unrolling” the material and moving the uncut portion into the cutting area. Is this no longer the case? Wouldn’t that require a similar function to the pass-through alignment?

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10

This is my question as well. Be it shuffling some leather by rolling, or flipping a thicker stock to cut from the front and back, both would require some kind of camera based re-alignment; which I would hope the basic will be capable of and not limited to a Pro only feature.

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11

Hey @dan ? Can we get a comment on this? =)

12

We haven’t finished the code for that yet. When we do, I’ll tell you how it works.

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But the basic model will have some sort of camera registration? Even if it’s not exactly the same as the version on the pro for the pass-through? Or at least that’s the plan?

14

Oh yes - at a minimum, 2-sided cutting.

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got my fingers crossed tightly for internal unrolling of fabric/leather/paper on basic. would be a huge timesaver for me.

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Being able to unroll inside the machine would be huge for me, too. We’re very excited about leatherworking with our Glowforge, but didn’t want to get the Pro due to the risks of having a class 4 laser in the house with curious little ones. Another vote for that feature on the Basic, please!

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17

I agree that the unrolling feature would be a major plus! Even if the basic doesn’t calculate when to stop for you to move the piece or segment down the larger print, I hope the software will allow a good enough level of manual alignment that we could at least stitch together separate prints that we segmented ourselves outside of the GF software.

18

Basic Forge application of the same “Continue print after advancing material” function: Wall Decals.

My wife is really into the idea of putting gargantuan stickers on the walls, instead of just painting nifty shapes on them. This has resulted in our dog having stickers on her tail almost every morning, and our stairs having the top half of an elaborate tree.

It looked great when first put up, but in practice has been horrible. Mostly due to the texturing in our wall paint job though.

So I could very well see people cutting large sticker sheets for wall decals. And a roll of that stuff would easily fit inside of a basic, with a potion in the middle of the cutting area unrolled for current cutting.

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19

Hello all.

Am I the one that think on the possibility of separated upgrade price for specific features on software? I mean: Right now I don’t need specific registration of material for pass-through, but maybe I will need it in some time. Will be impossible to upgrade @dan ?

off-topic: The basic machine will not have a front-“door” to let me put bigger parts inside?

Regards!

20

The Basic and Pro both have front flip-down doors to make it easy to remove material and the tray. Neither one is designed to operate with that door open.

We don’t have any plans for an upgrade, and since the plastics and frame are different, an upgrade is unlikely.