Hello, friends! I got a fabulous Christmas present - THE email! The one that says our GlowForge is ready! We’re trying to decide whether we want to wait until the first-run production units are all out in the wild and GF has started the second run with appropriate adjustments - but we would love to have some sense of whether that would likely be a couple months or 6 months or another year. I know that we ordered our machine on the very last day, and possibly at the very last hour, of the crowd funding campaign (the one in October 2014). I don’t know if the first run just covers the orders from that campaign (in which case, I’d expect that the second run production would likely start shortly) - or, if other pre-orders are also covered in the first run. Can anyone help with this? @dan or whoever? Thanks friends!
They have been making adjustments as they go along. I think they have it pretty well shaken out at this point.
As somebody who has had a Basic now for 6 months I can tell you that the hardware is awesome. I’m still looking forward to getting my filter though sometime next year.
The software is lagging behind a bit but there have been many improvements over these last 6 months. We accept our machines knowing the software is in beta software and it proves that every now and again too.
You must have received extra patience for xmas along with the email 
I can’t tell you what to do but I haven’t regretted having mine. Good luck making your decision and congrats on getting the email.
Say yes. You won’t regret it
Second the above. I have a more beginning of the run pro, and other then some super minor cosmetic things(can’t really see then unless you go looking), thing runs like a dream.
I won’t stand here and say that 6-12 month versions from now might not be a tad better in some way, but really it’s runs great.
Hardware tweaks have been happening all along. If you’re waiting for a whole new release like a new iPhone yearly, then you could have a long wait while you see the rest of us actively making things. Dan has mentioned that he’s looking forward to stabilizing hardware changes and focusing on all the things that they can do with software. I believe him.
Thanks friends! I know you all love your GF - I’m sure I’ll love mine, too, regardless of whether I get it now or later. All I’m trying to figure out is when second run production is likely to start. I need to delay receipt of my GF for other reasons, anyway - I’m trying to figure out if the start of second run production might be a good coincident time. I’m not trying to suggest that the first run machines are bad. Just imagining that the second run machines will likely be a bit better - which is what Dan says in the email that allows you to choose to delay receipt until the second run starts. Please don’t reply to convince me to just take delivery regardless - I’d prefer to make my decision based on when the second run starts. Thanks, all!
Sounds like your decision is already made up as to what you need to do. 
As for 2nd run, I imagine it depends on a ton of variables, including international deliveries which we know very little about. But, maybe Dan will toss you a date. I wouldn’t bet my Glowforge on it though 
How are you defining ‘second run’? To basically repeat what has been said before, there has been continuous small improvements to the hardware over the six months that it has been in production. They might be up to the 6th run, depending on how you define it. There will be continuous small improvements over the next many months. There has never been any communication from GFHQ that there are going to be feature additions to the GF anytime soon (which makes sense since they don’t want to discourage people from ordering machines now).
I don’t want to define “second run” - it sounds like GF has some definition they’ve already set. I think it will be helpful for people to see what they specifically say regarding this - perhaps it has changed since you all have taken your delivery. “This is the first production run. Each production run we learn things and optimize: in some cases we switch to different suppliers for components; in some cases we use different techniques to build or assemble things. These changes are generally invisible to customers. If we find a way to make a major improvement in later production runs, we may, at our sole discretion, ask you to send your unit back so we can update it. If you would like to wait a little longer for a unit for any reason at all, just click here to delay your shipment.” So, they seem to definitely be in the first run. All I am trying to find out is when we might predict that the second run might start. If it’s close to, or not too far after, when I already plan to delay delivery, it makes the most sense to accommodate that. I’m asking because I predict that the changeover would be pretty soon. Again, I’m not saying that the first run machines are bad - I’m only trying to get an answer to my question. It’s not so helpful for the community to try to convince me that it’s worth it to get it now - I’m definitely able to make that decision, and I’ll make the best one if I can figure out how soon they expect to do whatever changes mean they start “second run” incorporating the optimized changes. I’ve already been patient for over 3 years, and I have to wait another couple months because I’m moving - so, adding another month, for example, wouldn’t be a big deal. Adding another 6 months would be. That’s all. I’m excited to get my machine, and I’d like to get the best balance of improvements and speedy delivery. Thanks for your help if you have any information about the expected timing of the second run!
If I had to guess, and I repeat this is only a guess, it would be when they start international shipments. Or when they start shipping air filters.
I doubt that anyone from Glowforge will provide any info.
Thanks for the reference. Based on what is described as a production run, I would say that they need to update the line ‘This is the first production run.’ My guess is that they haven’t updated that since they began shipping 6 months ago. Two easily remembered changes that have happened since they began shipping: 1) A switch of the tray from metallic colored to black, and 2) the addition to the pro of the bar that seals the pass-through slot. Following the logic laid out in that communication, each of these would qualify as a new production run. So there have already been multiple production runs by their logic. There have no doubt been production process improvements in the last six months that haven’t needed to be announced. Given what we know from dan’s posts in the forum, they would not announce the great majority of changes that have been made to production since they started, nor would they announce future ones. So that ‘first production run’ line at this point should probably be updated
Additionally: I did a search of the forum. There has never been mention of a ‘second production run’, or any new features to be added to the GF. In my memory there has never been mention of a version 2 GF. In fact, dan has stated that he’s happy with the feature set of the hardware as it currently exists, and sees only software changes for a good while. There has never been a mention of what they would have done differently in the current version. There has never been a hint of any changes anyone would notice coming in the future.
That being said… what hardware changes would everyone want? In our relatively amateur opinion, what would be nice to have?
I’ll start with ”thicker passthrough slots for pro” and “100w tube upgrade option” and higher clearances all around, essentially “make it have more z-distance available”.
Also “better ventilation connection site” and “simpler access to exhaust for cleaning”.
Interesting question. There have been a few previous topics on requested V2 GF features. Perhaps it would be best to resurrect one of those topics, or start a new topic with links to the previous topics to continue V2 features discussion.
I searched around prior to posting and couldn’t find any threads. If you have links, I’d like to see them…
Having been in automotive manufacturing for decades, it sounds to me that you are asking about a new “model year” design change. Traditionally that has been 5 to 7 years to allow for sales to pay for all of the equipment, etc. Though if sales kept steady could run longer.
With the GF, I’d expect to see a radical new design in a few years. (Perhaps with an adjustable bottom like an Epilog) though this is all speculation and likely @Dan would move on to another project and leave others to decide the future directions. (Things that make you go hmmmm)
Okay. So I’ve been grunging through the forum and although there has been comments here and there over the years, I have not found a topic dedicated to V2 in over a year - that is before even PRU’s went out. Now that they’ve been shipping, it’s probably time for someone to start a V2 hardware feature request topic.
I did find these V2 topic from over a year ago:
And this interesting speculation on the ‘expansion port’:
These are all really useful – thank you!
Unlike most crowd funded hardware, where they make one large run and then wait for orders to accumulate before a second run with changes to correct things learned in the first batch, Dan has stated (in reply to something I wrote) that they are doing continuous production at Flex and not batch production. It’s my opinion that the quote from Dan’s update is a little misleading. I think he was trying to say that they are learning how to better assemble the glowforges, reducing rework and failures in QA and generally making things go faster, each and every day. So rather than a set of fixes being implemented like in batch production, you’ll see continuous improvement and higher throughput on the line. Therefore, I don’t think there is a fixed second run of units and you should take delivery when it best suits your other priorities.
My understanding is that power is proportional to tube length, so there are physical limitations. I don’t know, but I suspect the extra 5w in a pro may be due to better optics.
Just speculation.