GlowForge Laser Cutter (initial impression)

I decided I wanted to add another laser cutter to my collection of machines at work to work along side my diode laser. My diode is not very strong so  am restricted with what I can do when it comes to thick materials. I had been eyeing the glowforge's for a while and saw one used for the perfect price so I picked it up.

The glow forge is a Co2 laser cutter and it is big. So make sure you have at least a 5 foot table to put this massive machine on and a window to vent the fumes out. Unlike a 3D printer you cannot run this in the basement or garage without a way to vent the fumes. I have it next to a window and vent it out that way. You can buy a special machine that the company sells that cleans out your air while you do prints but it is very expensive and I rather just vent out. The machine is loud, not loud venting outside but loud in the room it does the cutting. Just a few things to keep in mind, large, loud and creates fumes. If none of these things bother you then continue reading.

The machine has a really decently sized bed. I have the basic machine, if you need larger you can go with the pro. I did not need to go giant so the basic was perfect for my needs. The glowforge has a camera which allows you to see where you want to place your designs. The camera was a huge seller for me since the diode does not have a camera making it pretty complicated to get exact cuts on materials.

Glowforge works on the cloud. So if you own a circuit you can sort of get a feel on what you would expect. The machine needs internet to work and for it to process the designs. Being a cloud system means it will work from your iPad, phone or computer. The website that runs the machine is extremely easy to use and most individuals can figure it out in just a few minutes. I love how easy it is to get perfect cuts even without a proof grade material. Glowforge sells proof grade materials for people who want to take the guess work out of cutting, I decided I wanted to cut materials that were not and had amazing results either way.

Glowforge has ton of included designs, so I decided to use them to make a few test pieces. I wanted to cut on my acrylic test sheet which I had been using for my diode. The diode did not cut any of the acrylic which is why I had started looking at at Co2 lasers. I usually cover the area I want to cut with masking tape to avoid the "burn" look which can occur.

Most designs are pretty quick, this one took around 4 minutes. It engraved and cut 2 circles. It is extremely fast when it cuts and takes a bit longer when it carves into the material. You can pick the quality of carve as well, I had picked standard for this one.

I tested another and this time I did a higher quality carve and worked out well, just took a few more seconds.

I had seen people online painting their laser cut projects with acrylic so I decided to try it as well. It works "ok" but found a better solution overall which I will show with the motel keys that I did.

Decided to test a few more things, make keychains, cut as much stuff out as I could to see what worked and what did not. Overall the experience is fun and pretty simple.

I do clean the engravings out in the sink with a tooth brush. This helps remove any extra dust that is stuck in the engraving itself.

So I wanted to engrave these blanks I got online and make them look like old motel keys. I did a quick design with the pre made designs on glow forge and hit engrave. It was quick and did a great job. I decided I wanted to paint it in with a paint pen and throw some glitter, it worked ok but I wanted it cleaner so I decided to try something else.

I covered them in masking tape, engraved them and left the tape on.

Taped them down to a piece of cardboard and got them ready to spray paint with gold.

I should of done a layer of lacquer before I added the gold but I completely forgot. The lacquer would of filled in some of the lines making the whole gold area much cleaner overall. Something I plan to do next time.

Final thoughts, I love this machine and can't wait to design so much on it. I recommend this 100% to anyone curious about laser cutting. The machine is so easy to use and so is the website that controls it. This is an initial review and will continue posting what I do with this machine as time progresses.

If you have any questions about laser cutting be sure to ask.