Does anyone know if Glowforge will accept STL files for 3 D printing? If not, what are you using for 3D printing?
Glowforge is not a 3D printer. It does not accept STL files, but instead SVG, PDF, and raster image formats like JPG, PNG…
You can engrave into the surface of some materials, for that you need a shaded bitmap/raster image, and use the ‘vary power’ engrave setting to proportionately ablate material.
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Ok Thank you. I guess the only way to create the raised edge on an item would be to reverse engrave it on a lower power similar. I was looking to do some projects with varying depths and hoping to convert files to 3 d but that won’t work. Thank you for your help.
Search the forum for heightmaps.
Basically you want to use 3d engraving, convert your image to greyscale, and the darker the area the deeper the engrave.
There’s a lot to read on the forum, what you’re asking for is possible, either by engraving (one process, very analog) or by using stacked layer construction (faster and more repeatable).
Dig deep, all this info and more is in here.
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It will work fine, if you convert your STL into a raster/bitmap depth image, like a shaded topographic map. Lighter areas are engraved less, so (for example) you can leave the rim of an item (I have been making engraved coins) untouched by making that white.
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There’s a tutorial here:
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This started life as an STL. 
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Yeah. There are plenty of programs that will slice a 3D object in to layers and spit each layer out as a separate object/file. Popular way to make 3D objects by cutting each layer from corrugated cardboard. Only time I ever did it, I cut each layer by hand. Laser cutter almost makes it too easy.
The effect is awesome. I’d give you a hand, but you already have one. Nice hand. 
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How did you make this? I’ve been looking everywhere to see how to make something like this and everywhere I read or see, they suggest the autodesk slicer. But they don’t have that program anymore and my free trial already ended.
As stated in the post immediately above yours, there are plenty of slicer programs out there. Fusion has one, it will export directly to PDF which you can load into the GF or edit in your SVG app.
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Which one is that one? Because the Fusion one I have read everyone is talking about has been discontinued or something. Either that, or the company changed the name but I couldn’t find it. Instead, the website says they don’t offer that slicing software anymore. That’s why I asked. But I’ll continue looking. Thank you!
This is a great online program. It slices well for the Glowforge. You can enter in material thickness and orient part as needed. Choose the laser option. The creator of this keeps improving it a lot. You can install it locally too. I use it for 3D printing, CNC work, making SVGs of flat 3D parts. Very versatile.
Click on the gears setup icon and choose laser for the machine. Let me know if you get stuck.
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Interesting. It is still advertised on their product page, but the d/l link is dead.
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Slicr for Fusion was deprecated/discontinued last year because Autodesk added a slicing feature into Fusion directly.
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Older (free) versions still available here: Slicer for Fusion 360 | Fusion 360 | Autodesk Knowledge Network
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Another software that does this is LuBan3D. It does some other things extremely well also. I think it does a better job at repairing and simplifying 3D models than MeshMixer.
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Thank you for this! I downloaded it and have been playing around with the software. Just out of curiosity, does anybody here sell their sliced stl file version? I’m just trying to see what other ways I can make money with my glowforge before even putting stuff out there. Right now, I’m just learning and seeing what I can and cannot do. Thanks again.