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Glowforge: Democratizing Laser Cutting with an Inexpensive, Easy to Use Machine
Watch this woman stick her MacBook into it
For many would-be makers, there are barriers aplenty that can keep one from realizing one's dreams. One of the first barriers is not having access to the right tools—the welding rig, 3D printer, laser cutter etc. that you need for your project—or the know-how to work one. But thankfully companies like Glowforge are ready to step in and become barrier removers, by designing better, cheaper tools that are easier to use than their forebears.
Glowforge is currently democratizing laser cutting by designing an affordable, easy-to-use laser cutter/printer that takes clever advantage of software. By integrating affordable smartphone cameras linked to software, their machine enables you to do things like draw directly on your part and have the laser trace-cut it (once you've removed your hand, naturally). The hassles of part alignment are all done on the screen of your smart device, rather than on the physical bed of the machine, giving you a WYSIWYG interface that reduces errors. And they reckon that their eponymous machine can rival a $10,000-plus laser cutter, but for just under two grand.
Take a look at some of the things they've produced:
Personalized hardwood skin for Macbook Pro / Print Time: 19min / Material Cost: $9.00 
Plywood iPhone stand / Print Time: 42min / Material Cost: $12.00 
Walnut veneer Macbook keyboard caps / Print Time: 33min / Material Cost: $12.00 
Stacked contrasting pen holder / Print Time: 29min / Material Cost: $8.00 
Engraved glass spice jars / Print Time: 9min / Material Cost: $10.00 
Kip leather custom satchel / Print Time: 133min / Material Cost: $58.00 Check out how easy this looks to use:
Here's a more in-depth video, for those of you interested in the technology behind it, and some of the early successes that drove company founder Dan Shapiro to develop the machine:
For the next 26 days, they're taking pre-orders for the machine at an astonishing 50% off (i.e. the $4,000 model is going for $1,995), with shipping scheduled for December of this year. Demand is apparently strong: In the four days since the sale began, they've racked up $3,052,002 in sales!
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Get an additional $100 off your Glowforge using this link!
Hi All! Just excited to put in my order for the laser cutter !
After much reading and thought... I took the plunge! Nothing out there can do what this does at this price point (Especially the pre-sale price.) Even if half of the features were removed.
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I decided to take the plunge and order one. Save $100 with this link: http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=dESr0i
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If I had the money, I'd totally buy one. Especially with the ability to just draw on something and have it engraved right away because not everyone can take the time to learn Adobe software.
Actually it is 3D printer...2 dimensions to "draw" and the 3rd is the depth of the laser cut which will engrave or cut the material.
It is not a printer. It removes material on the Z axis, does not add.
You could say that, but that would be a pretty big stretch. It's not like the device can readily carve out a relief out of block of wood.
Machines like these have been called laser cutters for years. Not necessarily a huge deal. I just find it condescending to call a 3D printer since laser cutters are a completely different beast.
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Thanks!
I just made my pre-order. My mind is full of ideas right now :)Here is my referral code to save both $100. Just a few hours remaining.
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Shipping to Chile is pretty expensive so any help would be really appreciated!Happy crafting!
I'm really impressed with the engineering of this product, and I'm a mechanical engineer and a software engineer.
I just helped out a customer from Europe (expensive shipping!) by using his referral link when I ordered the basic model, and got free shipping to boot -- not a bad deal!
I sure wouldn't mind if someone else used my referral link! Thanks!
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Sincerely,
Will
Ordered ! Btw less than 2 days for Glowforge 3D laser printer 50% discount + you can use this referral link and we both get $100 off http://glowforge.com/?kid=oXzwdZ Thanks :)
Ordered ! Btw less than 2 days for Glowforge 3D laser printer 50% discount + you can use this referral link and we both get $100 off http://glowforge.com/?kid=oXzwdZ Thanks :)
It would be greatly appreciated if you used my link to save $100. http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=Z9eJLL
Thanks
Hi!
Here the link to save $100 if you want a glowforge!
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Here the link for save $100 if you want a glowforge ! :)
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Here's my referral link to get $100 off http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=rGO3EI
Just make sure when you click on Pre-Order and select a model, the discount show by your total.
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Hi all,
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Hi
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Please help support our Science Education Outreach organization by using our link to save $100:
(and for growing new scientists)
Im really excited to have mine! If you want a $100 dollar discount use this link. http://glowforge.com/?kid=gEdDfM It would really help the both of us :)
Less than two weeks to get one of these machines for 50% off! Use this link and get an addtional $100 off when you pre-order! http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=P9ggLL It's gonna be AWESOME!!! Linklovin!
Save 100$ on your glowforge and you can get up to an aditional 1000$ discount later!
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The Glowforge crowdfunding is already over 8.6million dollars! Reserve
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Use my referral link to get $100 off. With over 8M sold this is really promising plus it has a great team leading it up.
If you use my referral link you can get $100 off. With over 8M sold this is a really promising campaign!!
Use this referral link to get a US$100 Discount when buying a Glowforge:http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=3Livp4
We've had extensive use of laser cutters in the past at various architecture and design firms. We've been shopping around at similarly sized laser cutters and haven't found anything for less than $15,000 for the same bed size.This introductory price was a little too appealing to pass up for us. If you'd like to get an additional $100 off, you can use the following link http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=r3ZwVh
We've had extensive use of laser cutters in the past at various architecture and design firms. We've been shopping around at similarly sized laser cutters and haven't found anything for less than $15,000 for the same bed size.This introductory price was a little too appealing to pass up for us. If you'd like to get an additional $100 off, you can use the following link http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=r3ZwVh
I ordered one. You can save $100 if you use this link:
http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=dESr0i
Passing the coupons forward: http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=yuOV7b
I just ordered mine. Use my referral link to get $100 off yours! http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=CH3s83
Use my referral link to get $100 off your order. I just ordered mine! :)
You can still get an additional $100 off your purchase using this link. http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=FrvUGs
As a designer producing my own designs this seems to be a very promising laser cutter for customizing my products and maybe prototyping. For 3 main reasons: attractive price, compact setup with optional built in airfilter, ease of use. I'm sure the cut speed will be way too slow to produce products (and still be profitable). But now to be really convinced what I would like to see is side by side comparisons to other lasercut machines and videos that show clear demo's of the special features that make this lasercutter extra attractive: how the software works exactly, how you can cut on both sides of a material to result in a deeper cut, feeding very long piece of material through the pro model, etc. It's a shame there are no working models in use yet, so there are no reviews by 'real people'. Would be interested to hear what fablabs have to say, like this one who wrote a good text about "lower-end" lasercutter models: http://www.minifablab.nl/lasercutter/
I ordered mine. Use this link to save yourself $100 as well!
Took about .5 seconds to convince myself to pre-order this. Thanks for the referral codes all. Here's my referral link to save $100 off your also! http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=8EL0e3
We have a large Chinese import laser and it was pretty cool to hear him address all the pain points of operating a traditional machine. Very excited to see this!
Is it safe to eat laser cut food? I wouldn't recommend that, the burnt edges would stay lodged in your gut for years. It's not really a 3D printer, it's just a laser cutter - which looks cool.
Operation is reliant on Glowforge's proprietary cloud service. As I understand there's no offline mode.