Joe - your comments are fair... and wholely correct.

but as a hobbyist who cuts on a ULS25E vented to the outside... I can tell you that Air Assist is a nice to have.
I have never had air assist plumbed on my machine and have been able to cut Acrylic and other materials without anything more than nasty smell of burnt tires.

I do not think the Pro model will have adequate ventilation... and will either cut mine in the garage; or use my 25E vent system.

When cutting any plastics with plastic film; I ALWAYS remove the film and replace with transfer paper. The film melts at sticks to the plastic while cutting; so it's nothing but a useless protection system.

Star Trek: Mirror Universe's custom plastics were reverse printed on 3/16" Acrylic and then laser cut at techshop. PETG is nice; but I've never seen a need for it for plastics in my use models.

I've only tried to cut PolyCarb (Lexan) once... it just doesn't work at these power levels. The problem with Lexan is it melts the joint back together ... so you won't really be cutting it well on these lasers.

I wouldn't use these glowforge lasers for a business model... although I may use it for various parts on Pinball-Mods.com. HobbyGrade != industrial lasers.

Finally; I asked GlowForge early in the campaign:

I’m very interested in your Pro Kit Pre order...

As a ULS-25E owner; I’m wondering what the MTBF and/or hour rating is on your tubes. What warranty does the machine have?

Once they go bad; what is the expect cost for replacement of said tube?

There's a 6 month warranty on Basic and a 12 month warranty on Pro. Some highlights:

* If your machine is defective when you receive it, we’ll make it right immediately.

* For US customers, if it develops a problem later that’s our fault, we’ll either (at our option) ship you the parts that need to be replaced along with detailed instructions, or ship it back to us for repair or replacement – in either case, for free, including shipping.

* For international customers, parts and repairs are free, but shipping is not included.

* The warranty covers everything except the air filter cartridges.

* Unfortunately, if you modify your firmware, we can’t cover your Glowforge under warranty (because it’s easy to break your Glowforge by modifying your firmware!)

The Glowforge tube is custom made - it's bigger than most desktop units (850mm) and has some modifications for longer lifetime and smaller spot size. It's rated by the manufacturer for 2 years, but we're doing lifetime testing now to dial that in a little more closely. We plan to have a replacement available for less than $500.

40w basic
45w pro

Not at this time. I'd consider that bait and switch and demand a refund

They are still claiming a ?40%? off special. I have no idea if the full retail price will ever be realized. You can still use my referal code to get $100 off the current price.
http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=0SVBAG

They earned so much cash with the preorder; that I expect them to have more than enough revenue to hire programmers to make the project a success.

That's what I recall. December

Got an email yesterday from them:

In just a few days, I’m going to send an email about our first shipments - our first beta units, coming out in December - and how you can volunteer to get one. Before we start shipping units, though, we want to be sure that everyone involved knows what’s ahead. We’ve been sharing information through the FAQ, update emails, and most of all through daily posts on the forum at http://community.glowforge.com. But we’ve had a few emails from people who are concerned. They missed some of the details. For example, some thought we were shipping everything in December, or didn’t realize that you had to have internet access to use a Glowforge. That makes us feel terrible, because it means we didn’t communicate as well or as clearly as we should have. So we pulled together this email with all of the most important information about your order, and a few of the misconceptions we’ve heard along the way.

For most of you, nothing here will be a surprise. But we want to make sure Glowforge is right for you, so please read through all the details here. Should you decide that you’re you’re going to do without your Glowforge, you can reach us at [email protected]. We’ll cancel your order, reverse the payment, and give your place in line to someone else.

But we hope you don’t want that.

With no further ado, then:

Most backers will get their machines in the first half of 2016.

When we launched, we said “First units shipping December 2015”, and then went on to say that units purchased before October 23 would ship in the first half of 2016. Now the first shipments are about to happen! (Stay tuned for an email in a few days on how you can apply to get one of the first few beta units). However, we’ve heard from a few people who thought that all the shipments would happen in December. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. To make sure your final Glowforge is as good as it can possibly be, we’re going to start by shipping a small number of beta units starting in two weeks. We’ll build the next set of units on a small test line over the course of the month. Then, the majority of units will roll out in the first half of next year. The date that we ramp up our production and start shipping thousands of units will depend on your feedback and our quality testing, but we’re on schedule to have all units that were purchased before Oct 23 shipped in the first half of 2016. Units ordered after Oct 23 will ship in the summer of 2016.

We’re on time, but delays are still possible.

Every day when I come into work I think about the Glowforge backers who are betting on us. Everyone at the company knows you’re counting on us, and that weighs on us and inspires us every day in equal measure. We will spare no effort to deliver every Glowforge on time. There is one thing we won’t do, though, and that’s compromise on the quality of what we’re building.

Our team has many years of experience shipping hardware, so we know how to minimize risk and stay on schedule. We’re buying parts months before they’re needed, flying around the world to inspect component manufacturers and ensure that they have the supplies and quality that we need, and sparing no efforts to accelerate production. (Do you know how much it costs to air freight a 10 ton injection mold? I do now!)

We are right on schedule, and have built buffers and redundancy into our plan. But even with all our efforts, we could experience delays. What we aren’t going to do is ship our production units until they are awesome.

I think they are still offering them at 40% off and you can still use my referral code to get another $100 off.

Not really. A few.

Just got word that production units have slipped from June to December due to a "power supply" quality/design concern.
Not happy - but not unexpected given the nature of crowd sourced funding.

Apparently they are now assembling here in the USA which is cool.

For those that still want in
http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=0SVBAG
but keep in mind they are saying that the backlog is huge and it will take several months for them to fill existing orders.

I have no experience with the Pro... but looks like a "nod" but useless feature.
First; the review I read - called it a "engraver"; which won't do much useful stuff.
Second the 6x6 inch travel limit of the "laser" would just about remove all useful capabilities from the laser.

Having had a 24x12" Laser... I can tell you even that was limiting many times.

So far; Glowforge is reporting they are on track to ship the Laser in Dec... for early backers.

They've also increased the pricing closer to their retail price $3k for a basic and $6k for a Pro model; but you can still get a $100 off coupon if you use my referral link:
http://glowforge.com/referred/?kid=0SVBAG

I expect my unit is in the December batch; but with Crowdfunding you never know.

Your Glowforge isn’t shipping...
We will be manufacturing hundreds of units per month through February and scale up to thousands starting in April. Most customers will get their deliveries in May through August. All orders placed before Oct 26, 2015 will be shipped by July 31, and all subsequent orders by August 31.

I think I'm done being patient... Do any of you guys really have faith in this product any more?
I'm going to sleep on this latest news... but will probably cancel tomorrow. They've earned enough interest off of my money.
Apparently:
http://fslaser.com/Muse
is nearly ready to ship gonna go find out.

Sure.
I think I'm going to get a real laser ... no a joke from these companies. I hear that Full spectrum laser treats their employees like crap... which results in a poor build quality.. and that they don't support their customers very well either.

Haven't decided yet... but I really want an Epilog Fusion M2 40 w/ camera option. Sadly, I'm thinking it's out of my price range. Those options are probably >35k.

Just got this by email... this is not an endorsement of this company. I have not heard good things about their products nor how they treat their employees. They also are considerably more expensive than the pre-ordered Glowforge.

Hobby Laser Cutters
For most people, it all starts with a hobby laser cutter. Laser cutters offer an incredible amount of functionality and project diversity. Hobby laser cutters typically have three main functions: Cutting, Engraving, and Marking. By combining these distinctive functions, makers access endless possibilities for projects.

The typical hobby laser cutter generally offers a 40 watt laser tube and a workspace of around 20” x 12”. For most hobby-level projects, this is a good usage of space and power for the price. Full Spectrum Laser offers its Hobby-Series and the upcoming Muse in the hobby laser market.
dae7e244-cf3c-4b61-a542-392bf8bc3615 (resized).jpg

Muse is our latest hobby laser cutter and features a sleek new design, upgraded components and a host of new features including RetinaEngrave 2.0 software (available for Hobby Series, as well), a built-in camera, and more. Muse comes with an added water pump cooling system and an exhaust fan for traveling to shows and Maker-Faires. We are currently offering Muse in the following package deals:

The Performance Package includes a water chiller for added longevity of the laser tube. Only $5,550.
The Clean-Home Package comes with a fume extractor to remove fumes and small particles from the air. Great for home workshops that don't have built-in air exhaust ports. Only $6,000.
The All-In-One Package includes both the water chiller and the fume extractor.
Only $6,500.

We also offer an additional discount for customers who have canceled pre-orders from competitors. Quantities are limited, so if you want your Muse shipped in January, order today.

Like an id10t; I didn't cancel my glowforge order... because well; I have all this "investment" in time.

Today; these scam artist have announced yet another 3mth delay and they are shipping only half of the machine with incomplete software.

For the love of god; if you are still in this crowdfunding campaign - demand a refund.

In general; laser cutters are MUCH easier because you can only work in 2D with vectors.

BUT, DO NOT believe the hype / error in marketing for Glowforge. Nothing in that product is "3D". It's not an additive manufacturing process. It's a subtractive process and you cannot build 3D parts with it unless you figure out how to make 3D parts from 2D parts. There are tools that will break 3D items into 2D slices ... but I've never done it so don't know how well it works.

My advice; is if you aren't on the pre-order list for Glowforge. Wait for another year before pulling the trigger. Then and only then; ensure the reviews for the product match you expectations. I think those that have received a glowforge basic... still have "buyers high" that they finally got the product... A more realistic story should appear as more people get units. Pro users (like myself) will still be waiting until Oct-Dec for their units.

I need to cancel my order and go buy something like a https://www.bosslaser.com/

I stayed in... but tonight was the last straw.
Glowforge again waiting until last minute to announce that they won't even come close to hitting their latest production date. They said by the end of Oct; everyone who preordered in the first campaign would get their machines.
This didn't happen - infact; they have stated they are only up to like day 4... and that is only if you ordered a basic w/o airfilter and shipping to USA.
For International people; they are saying May 2018.

I don't trust this company anymore and requested a refund. They tell me my check should be here in 10days.
I'm done.... I walked away for pre-order pricing and $700 (seven) referrals. I just can't run the risk given they can't forecast their way out of a wet paper bag. They also REFUSE to offer any concessions to their pre-order people who've been waiting almost 3years now. They also refuse to publish a reasonable schedule for non-beta software and feature updates.

So; I'm seriously request that anyone who still has a pony in this race - to pull the refund trigger. I seriously think that this company with implode or fail... or the product will be substandard at best.