I’ve E-mailed everyone participating in this thread, but for archival purposes here is the message: Given that the cutter procurement efforts have been long stalled, the Committee is currently awaiting for a unanimous decision before pulling the trigger on a Glowforge basic w/Air filter: http://glowforge.com/tech-specs/
It’s also only roughly $4,000 AUD after shipping and GST, but only for a few more days, in case you’re
wondering why we’re rushing into this decision: it’s currently cheap enough that we don’t need to rely on member pledges.
The basic model is a Class 1 laser product, requiring no special operator skills or training. This greatly simplifies things and better suits the realities of our current membership attendance.
To get the best possible value for money for the community, this has to be done ASAP as the Glowforge is currently discounted 50% but not for much longer.
The disadvantage with this unit is that it is smaller and less powerful than the requirements discussed on the wiki, see http://glowforge.com/tech-specs/:
- 40W vs 150W desired
- 300x500mm work area vs 900×600 desired
- handles material up to 13mm vs 12mm desired (“Thickness: Varies by material; can cut most 1/4″ (6mm) plywood and acrylic on one side; twice as thick by reversing and cutting from both sides with optical alignment”)
- Doesn’t do fancy rotary axis stuff.