Why is the Glowforge called a printer

[marmak3261]

It’s a good question. It’s complicated. There are worse names for things. But I can’t think of any that have caused as much grief as this.

"3D Laser Printer" Naming

Continuing the discussion from Is pre release units production units: In an effort to not hijack another topic, here’s a new one. With the announcement of the changeable head, does that help anyone with calling the product a “3D Laser Printer?” Maybe “3D, Laser, Printer?” To be honest, it didn’t really bother me too much to begin with. It just felt awkward because it was different than I was used to.

A true 3D laser printer. Glowforge just lost rights to that made up name

It depends how you define “print” or “printer.” It could be that neither is correct. I know that this has been discussed ad nauseam on this forum, but the definition of print in the OED is quite loose. The nearest I could find would be “to make (a mark or indentation) by pressing on a surface or in a soft substance.” Maybe you are right. Glowforge is both a cutter and engraver, but the name “3D Printer” is also obscure. A better description could be either “3D Builder” or possibly “3D plas…

Accurate pocketing?

Will GlowForge be able to cut a pocket into the surface of a material to an accurate depth? How smooth would the bottom of the pocket be?

I think we might owe Dan an apology

@dan has received a lot of flak over calling the a 3d laser printer but with the new engraving algorithms and what @mpipes has done with them so quickly maybe we were wrong? When someone cuts a fan with the I’ll definitely be calling it a 3d laser printer.