Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter • Hacker News Board

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#81

Post by bborud » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #77

bborud wrote: post #68

I was very interested until I saw this blog post: http://glowforge.com/our-new-advisor-jennifer-lawton/ If you have been following the whole Makerbot Industries (and then Stratasys) debacle, seeing the name of Jennifer Lawton might give you pause. I think I'm going to sit this one out.

> If you have been following the whole Makerbot Industries (and then Stratasys) debacle, seeing the name of Jennifer Lawton might give you pause. For those of us who haven't been, can you give a TL;DR version of why this is significant?

The TL;DR is that she was part of creating a toxic environment within the company, shipped a product they knew was defective (Makerbot fifth generation), misled the shareholders (of Stratasys) and ultimately cost Stratasys hundreds of millions.

For the slightly longer version the class action lawsuit conatins a lot more detail: http://www.adafruit.com/pdfs/makerbot/classaction.pdf

You can also check out Glassdoor reviews: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Makerbot-Reviews-E480203.ht...

I can confirm that the Makerbot 5gen is a defective product. We have one at the office gathering dust after trying to make it work for a few months. It is beyond hope.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#82

Post by knieveltech » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 6:56 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #76

knieveltech wrote: post #51

Aaaaand we're done here.

Please don't post unsubstantive comments. That, combined with snark about new work, is something we try to avoid on HN. Of course, there's a legit point about cloud-connected products here too and you're welcome to comment about that substantively. Edit: We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10273316 and marked it off-topic. It's true that there are other unsubstantive comments in the t…

Please don't post passive-aggressive comments intended to control how I choose to interact with the community here. The upvote and downvote arrows are the correct method of expressing approval or disapproval.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#83

Post by outworlder » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 6:57 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #9

I am surprised it can cut paper without causing ignition. I wonder how many of the projects shown were created using the "basic" ($2K) version and how many were produced using the pro ($4K) version? I will say their early bird prices make these compelling for small business/etsy setups. However once they go to full price, I don't know if that will remain as true. It would take a LOT of wallets to break even at a $4K…

> I am surprised it can cut paper without causing ignition.

As a kid, I had a lot of difficulty trying to ignite paper with lenses under the sun (white notebook paper). I then gave up and used the lenses for cutting instead. So I'm not that surprised.

To this day I wonder what would be the correct set of conditions that would make it easier to combust. I remember trying black paint - that only made the cutting part easier.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#84

Post by cptskippy » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 6:59 PM UTC

3dfan wrote: post #62

riebschlager wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any details about this? I can't seem to find that on their site. But yeah, if that's true it's a real buzzkill.

They say so here at 13:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=292&v=0R3mMUsHFvU I said so in a comment half an hour ago, but it immediately got downvoted to oblivion. Meanwhile the comment seems to slowly recover. Nowhere on their website they say so. I would be really pissed if I bought a printer for thousands of dollars, unpack it and then realize I cannot use it. Letting it use my internet connection and being dependa…

Yep, that's where I heard it. I doubt many people listened that far into the video which is why I came back and posted it.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#85

Post by elihu » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 7:01 PM UTC

tomkinstinch wrote: post #65

borgel wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What unit do you have? I've been thinking about getting one.

I have an older one from Full Spectrum[1], from when they were adding their own control PCBs to generic units imported from China. The newer ones they have look nicer. There are a few other options on the market now, so it's probably worth shopping around. Larger cutting areas are nice, if for no other reason than that they limit the number of cuts you have to make on raw materials to get them to fit into the machine…

I have their 5th-generation machine (now just called their "H-series" machine) with the 45 watt upgrade, and am pretty happy with it so far. Their software has a few quirks, but nothing I can't work around.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#86

Post by danshapiro » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 7:03 PM UTC

chromaton wrote: post #37

This looks like a decent laser but I thought I'd post a few thoughts about this package which might give a potential buyer pause. First, the main unique feature I see is the built in camera which apparently gives you a preview of cut/engraved finished part on your computer screen with the material as it's positioned inside the machine. This also (apparently, it's not clear), allows you to correct for misaligned mater…

(founder/CEO here) I vented a 60W chinese laser out my window for a year in the suburbs, but I've learned never to underestimate what neighbors may complain complain about. The air filter is definitely a good idea. If you do the math on the volume, and compare it to the actual volume of the filter of e.g. a Purex, you'll find it's similar. Almost half of the volume of the Purex is in the fans or open airspace; we have the advantage of a ton of airflow from the Glowforge itself, so the filter needs proportionately less. We also have a sealed (basic) or almost-sealed (pro) case so it's easier to build up negative pressure and move the exhaust through.

Cleaning stinks, and wrecks alignment - the tube and turning mirrors are completely sealed, including the tube output, so there's just one flat window to wipe clean (and it unscrews for easy replacement). The head has a window and purge air to keep it clean too.

We're mitigating a lot of the risk of fire by avoiding trouble situations in software (e.g. not cutting a piece of material where the dimensions make it an effective wick, detecting obstacles on the bed, accelerators to detect problems quickly) but you're right that you don't want to run it unattended.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#87

Post by apendleton » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 7:05 PM UTC

knieveltech wrote: post #82

dang wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't post unsubstantive comments. That, combined with snark about new work, is something we try to avoid on HN. Of course, there's a legit point about cloud-connected products here too and you're welcome to comment about that substantively. Edit: We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10273316 and marked it off-topic. It's true that there are other unsubstantive comments in the t…

Please don't post passive-aggressive comments intended to control how I choose to interact with the community here. The upvote and downvote arrows are the correct method of expressing approval or disapproval.

FYI: dang is an HN admin, so has additional tools besides the upvote and downvote arrows, up to and including nuking comments and banning users. A comment before it gets to that point is a courtesy, I think.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#88

Post by knieveltech » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 7:07 PM UTC

knieveltech wrote: post #82

dang wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't post unsubstantive comments. That, combined with snark about new work, is something we try to avoid on HN. Of course, there's a legit point about cloud-connected products here too and you're welcome to comment about that substantively. Edit: We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10273316 and marked it off-topic. It's true that there are other unsubstantive comments in the t…

Please don't post passive-aggressive comments intended to control how I choose to interact with the community here. The upvote and downvote arrows are the correct method of expressing approval or disapproval.

He's welcome to continue down-thread and copy/paste his comment to me as a reply to every 2nd or third comment in this thread if that's his intent. I stand by my statement and am utterly unconcerned by any consequences that might come of it.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#89

Post by mindo » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 7:10 PM UTC

Looks like a great toy until you go through comments here. Honestly would have bought this for my woman, since she's into crafts and stuff, but cloud-only cutting/engraving, comments on fumes and filters + dealing with customs (if they even shipping int) quickly changed my mind. I've seen laser engravers on kickstarter before, hope to see more machines that do not require clouds to cut/etch a damn thing.

Re: Glowforge launches consumer-grade laser cutter

#90

Post by nivla » Thu, Sep 24, 2015, 7:19 PM UTC

chromaton wrote: post #37

This looks like a decent laser but I thought I'd post a few thoughts about this package which might give a potential buyer pause. First, the main unique feature I see is the built in camera which apparently gives you a preview of cut/engraved finished part on your computer screen with the material as it's positioned inside the machine. This also (apparently, it's not clear), allows you to correct for misaligned mater…

I personally think its a pretty cool product. However, their insistence on having everything routed through the cloud doesn't seem appealing to me. If they close down or even if Google has some sort of service interruption, this thing becomes nothing more than a paper weight.

After watching their video on tested, I think you are spot on with the concerns. It looks like the laser printers does generate some nasty fumes [1] and there is the section where you actually see the wood catching on fire [2]. Not sure if plastic should have been the choice for the enclosure.

Regardless, cool product but could have been better.

[1] https://youtu.be/0R3mMUsHFvU?t=16m5s

[2] https://youtu.be/0R3mMUsHFvU?t=13m15s