I think that Glowforge is going to eventually provide a place where we can create kerf adjustments for whatever material we have to use.
But I don’t know that that functionality is going to be available out of the gate.
Further, if you are using the parametric design correctly in Fusion 360, you only have to create the file once, and then you can either use a kerf adjustment or not, by changing one number, once. Which is exactly the same thing that you will have to do if Glowforge creates an adjustment slot for us to use in their software. So it’s easy enough to create the parametric model, just save a copy of it with zero in the kerf-adjustment slot, and then use it when you buy proofgrade. Not a whole lot of additional work.
What I am saying, not implying, is that several people, yourself included, might be confusing parts of the design process with what the laser file creation software is going to provide for us at first. It’s not going to be able to perform all of the bells and whistles up front. They might add some of those functions later, but my understanding was, that if it is available in other freely available software (eg: Fusion 360, 123D Make, Inkscape, etc.) they are not going to try to re-invent the wheel for the crowdfunding release.
The only things I’m sure they will be including immediately will be an auto-trace function, variable depth engraving, an automatic adjustment for material thickness with correct focus so that the laser always cuts through the material that we plop down, and the need for no kerf adjustments on their proofgrade material.
And that’s actually quite a lot.
If we want to do vector design, the rest is on us.
Think about it and decide if it’s still what you want. It’s going to be a while before we see some of the goodies, and that might be a deal-breaker for you.