Where did everyone go?

Everything Else
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I am part of the original pre-order club, and I am still around. I generally check the forum once or twice a day, read anything new, and “like” a few posts as appropriate. Mostly, I only post if I have something useful or novel to contribute or if I have a finished project to share. A lot of the stuff I make kind of falls into the category of “touched by a Glowforge” more than “made on.” For example, I just posted elsewhere about a relief print I made. The printing plate was made in my Glowforge. I don’t always post that stuff here, and, the last time I estimated, I only post about 1 in 5 things I make anywhere.

Edit: I posted the new print, since people are complaining about things being slow here.

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Hi one and all. Still making fans, and without Goldfinger, I’d have to go back to the jeweler’s saw, and cut everything by hand.
Currently having the “lid camera wont take a picture” horror. Checked everything and it looks like a new cable… ~$19(OK) + $25 postage !!! :grimacing:
The support I’ve had here over the years has been truly appreciated, so I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet.
I wonder if the condensation under the lid was the real problem - hot and humid here :upside_down_face:
John

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I used to be such a huge advocate of Glowforge. Not so much anymore, but I do tend to check in here daily to see if there are any new projects posted. I rarely use my Glowforge, but fire it up occasionally for projects now and then. I do have a Mira 9 which is more capable, but the Glowforge is sometimes a quicker and more convenient option as it’s in my office. I appreciate the users here that stick around and keep this forum running. Honestly, I still subscribe to premium and never use it, and will probably discontinue that soon as well. I still try and post my big projects here while there are a few folks who may appreciate them.

I am excited, though, about the new Eufymake E1 and potentially use the Glowforge in conjunction with the new machine. So maybe that will re-energize my maker passion. It’s sad to see the decline in forum participation, but don’t see it ever getting revived.

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I am still here! I don’t post as much as I used to. I don’t use my Glowforge as much as I used to either, but I still try to visit the forums everyday. I don’t like the discord.

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25

I’m vaguely still around but since I had a hiccup from ~Jan to this June, clearly I’m not around as much as I was nor involved as much though I’ve never really been deeply involved. More the wallflower type here. Fortunate enough to have enough RL support and connections for my tech fixes. I admire the connections many have forged in here and have gleaned a lot of knowledge from many. Even do miss some of the interactions of quite a handful that have vanished, both early on and quite recently.

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I’m backing the eufymake e1 myself. Excited to print patterns on jewelry I’ll cut with my GF, and printing solid colors on wood vs painting.

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27

Been here since it was first launched, was one of the first crowd-funders. GF started my laser business and I have now moved onto an industrial laser. But I’m still come here every day. Don’t post much because where I am is now somewhere different.

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Some of us have just continued to stay busy with our GF and spend more time creating, only posting here very occasionally any more.

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29

I’d be curious to see what you’re up to with that larger laser. If you feel like it a little update would be welcome. :slight_smile:

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What do I do with an industrial laser?
I used to have two GF, a standard and a Pro. I now have a Omtech 100W, with a bed size of 100cm by 60cm.

I mostly make a lot of wooden kits of buildings, boxes, board game accessories and the like,

Actually, a lot of these could be made on the GF, because I size the final products down to 300 x 200mm sheets for ease of packing. Each sheet contains multiple cut-outs held on with 1mm sprues to be cut out by the buyer.

What I get from the omtech is speed. It’s somewhere between 6 and 8 times faster than my old GF Pro.

So, my typical job on the GF 4 sheets, cut into two smaller sheets, taking around 3-4 hours total.
On the Omtech, most jobs are less than 1 hour for the whole thing.

I do make some oversize products, for example clocks which are 30cm in diameter and some wall signs and house signs. In general though I avoid larger items because of the hassles of packaging and shipping them.

I’ve not tried to be a big business, I keep it on the smaller side, with a turnover of around $50,000 a year. My omtech, fully delivered was about the same price as a GF. In the four years, I’ve broken 1 tube (my fault) and had another fail (not sure why) for an additional cost of around $500 each. The laser is a massive beast by comparison to a GF, you need a proper workshop space, definitely not a home tool.

I would never have bought one without my experience with the GF. That taught me so much about lasering. The switch to the bigger machine was pretty straightforward because of the valuable learning. Maintenance effort is around the same as a GF, maybe a bit less.

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I need it to cool off a little. not wanting to suck the AC out of my upstairs.

I am making several plans of things to make though.

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32

I’m a member of the pre-order gang from September 2015. My participation here has waxed and waned over the past (almost!) 10 years, but I cannot abide the Discord channel and refuse to use it.

My original Basic finally released its magic smoke last year, and I happily upgraded to a Pro.

Unfortunately I recently underwent shoulder surgery and won’t be back to full mobility for at least another 4-6 months.:face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

Two-finger typing until then…:wink:

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It doesn’t matter what website or app I go on, almost every post has a personal attack of some sort under it in the comments. What were the big Glowforge groups on Facebook of the early 2020s are ghost towns now, tens of thousands of members on paper but little actual activity. I think something bigger than Glowforge has happened here, where online spaces where it’s safe to geek out on some niche interest are harder to come by. Some of that is the apps changing, some of it is the people changing.

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Do you think that applies here?

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I didn’t think it looked right when I typed it! :rofl:

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@evansd2 - This has to be one of the friendliest places on the internet. That’s all thanks to the people that take the time to make it that way,. People like you.

@eflyguy - people come and go. Early days everybody was excited about a new toy that took forever to get to us. The beta testers were awesome and helped keep the rest of us interested. We found ways to amuse ourselves whole waiting for scraps of information here and there. I think you’ve also had periods of active and passive participation too. It’s all good.

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One of the reasons I stay and try to read all the posts here is because this forum has been different. It is very rare that someone attacks others here with propaganda or false information, and most are courteous and helpful.

I cannot say the same for other forums I frequent. But this is the internet, even if it is “an island”, so it can happen.

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38

I agree! It is pretty friendly here.
And fun to see other projects!

And of course… to go down rabbit holes…

Time to Google Eufymake E1…

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39

Do it quick if you have $1700 (or more, really, it should be more!) in your pocket.

All or nothing. This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Sat, June 28 2025 9:57 AM EDT.

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40

do everything they say in your PT. several friend have had shoulder work done. they took pain killers before some of the sessions. they told me that if you stop, there is no restarting, so you have to stop when you get the movement you want to achieve.

good luck

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