In my case, the major change will be lifting and closing an actual lid 
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So no endstops.
Doesnāt sound like something the end user triggers.
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One of my lasers has a red dot but not the otherā¦thankfully the one that doesnt is the one I use to cut Mylar so dont need to line amything, just stick in the 12"x24" sheet and hit go and it cuts from the file that is set up in Corelā¦it does have rulers though so its still possible to manually line up things
No off switch for the āRed Dotā?
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It comes on when the lid is open so you adjust your material but turns off when you close the lid
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Wait, what?! No lid on your laser?
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So, for most of the optical alignment systems we use at work, we donāt use hard stops. We use fiducials, either on the parts or on the fixture. Including the LPKF laser system for prototyping circuit boards. We are able to get extremely tight tolerances using this method. So my guess is they have fiducials that they use for homing.
Iām hoping we can add fiducials on to fixtures that the Glowforge can recognize. That way we can have high precision, repeatable results.
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It homes by vision from what I remember him saying. When the logo on the laser head is in the correct location it knows itās homed. Unless they decide to change this
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Yup, no lid, and a shop vac that I magnet to the honeycomb (when there is room for it) as my sole ventilation.
It is SUPER OSHA compliant, let me tell you
As a concession to the fact students would be around when I use it, I did put up some plexiglass along the side of the table where you can very easily lean over and cross the path between first and second mirrorā¦
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living on the edgeā¦???
The Glowforge software doesnāt recognize shapes and auto-align to them, so the easiest solution in this case would either be to drag the design into place in the preview, or create a circle of the proper size on top of the artwork, turn off the engrave step, cut out the circle in scrap, then turn off the circle & turn on the engrave, put it in & run the engrave. Sounds a bit complicated but we do it & just adds a few minutes to the process.
Oh wait, what @jacobturner said.
And to think I was worried about your acrylic lid.
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Please, no titanium tests, @jacobturner.
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With CNC stuff the goal is usually to āfindā the part before starting the spindle. If the part (or stock) is clamped down securely, you just need to ātellā the machine exactly where the part is by āfindingā sides/features of the part. This us usually done by touching the part with a measuring device of some kind (there are many types of āedge finderā).
I attempted to paint a word picture, but I think it got convoluted and I deleted it. Hereās a video picture that I think is conciseā¦
With a part like that sprocket youād also want to either locate a second point on the part and adjust your engrave appropriately or āclockā it in the vise/chuck. Clocking is when you rotate something so that itās oriented exactly how you want it to be. Rotating a beverage can so the opening lines up with your mouth would be an every-day example of āclockingā something.
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Iāve got some surprises for Random Llama supporters coming this weekend! 
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Since I am not able to escape my duties as a bridesmaid this weekend. I will wear this T-shirt and be with you guys in spirit! LOL
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Itās ok, my surprise is 100% digital so everyone can share int he fun! 
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You da best!
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