Would they be open to letting you solve it?
flattening algos are not actually a complex thing, and you have a lot of them out thereā¦
It actually surprises me that they would have such a bugā¦
@Amal, when the Titans show up, could we get a picture please? Maybe with something for scale?
It doesnāt surprise me. Glowforge was a hardware startup and now theyāre targeted at the educational market. The bed facing camera is a gimmick so you can scan a hand drawn image placed in the bed and then it automatically converts it into an SVG for the laser to engrave. Itās not made for alignment
sort ofā¦ but the other big downside to glowforge (@anon3825968ās stomach is turning) is that they want a long tail on their product so 1) the software to do design and control it is cloud based, and 2) certain features are āproā only, so you must pay a monthly fee to access those featuresā¦ and one of those features which is a pro feature is the ability to set up elaborate designs that are saved as a āprint jobā so they print the same each time. Otherwise you are stuck with basically just shapes that get put on to the drawing field at 0,0 and you drag them around all wyiwyg style each time. Sure a giant grid image could be made that when aligned 0,0 by default will always be the sameā¦ but then youāre cutting thin air all the way around the perimeter of the pieceā¦ possible, but it just gets a little sidewaysā¦ and would take nothing for them to randomize the location of your dropped shape image on the free version and that plan would go away instantly.
The somewhat good news is that others have complained as well and there are some beta calibration methods available.
https://app.glowforge.com/maintenance/camera-recalibrator
Nowā¦ I donāt have a lot of hope here because they are talking about alignments that are off by MORE than 1/4" and thatās over 6.35mm offsetā¦ which Iām not even atā¦ so the question really becomes can the algo accommodate it even if alignment is āfully calibratedā properly. This I donāt know.
Since everything it in the cloud, I seriously doubt it. I honestly knew this going in, and yet I opted for Glowforge over other much cheaper options because I didnāt want to mess with anything or spend hours researching the nonsense shenanigans common with cheap CO2 lasers from Chinaā¦ and the camera of course seemed like icing on top if I didnāt have to rely on jig based cuts and etchingā¦ just align your shapes over targets and goā¦ but thatās probably outā¦ and now even the jig option is looking shaky because of the cloud softwareās approach to pay walling thingsā¦ over all I am not the target market for this and now Iām feeling buyerās remorse.
Honestly, that sounds like a terrible product - however, I am used to Epilog / Trotec laser cutters, and with them, if you place something at a position in the software (not based on camera), it cuts at that position on the bedā¦ theyāre very very expensive in comparison though.
Like why would people ever not need good positioning? Especially if you want to use up smaller offcuts / do second passes.
the idea is you toss in some wood or a phone case or whatever, drag your shape or drawing over it, hit āprintā. all that stuff about power level and number of passes is built into the material definition. for the target market, itās actually quite coolā¦ but for engineering types itās a nightmare.
just an asideā¦ here is the setup for one of the test methods to help determine corrosion resistance and durability.
Itās a 3D printed array of baskets that will sit in an ultrasound bath of various salts and acids with a magnet in each basket. this will run for many many days (using a uproc to keep cycling the timer).
You got that right! I hate it 
- anyway, I hope it gets resolved eventually
Iām in the monogram no matter how long camp. Tbh Iām happy for others who arenāt waiting - more testing before / if I get mine put in 
Soā¦ Youāre saying Glowforge is likeā¦ the āAppleā of laser cutters? 
In all fairness, I can understand your buying logic. I mightāve fallen for it tooā¦ 
Apple products are limited, but do as promisedā¦ this doesnāt even do that
So high techā¦ Just stick it in the septic tank for a few weeks 
Yours does a little too apparently
Ok soā¦ the Titans.are held up in customs but Michelle just had a long phonecall to deal with getting the duty paid and moving the documents to the top of processingā¦ new eta is Tuesday!
These timings are sounding more and more like this will arrive just in time to be a Christmas gift (presuming they dont fail testing). Your timing here is perfect!
I was hoping for two weeks earlier. So I can install and heal.
Still, as long as I looked for sensing magnets options, Iāll take 'em whenever I can get them.
Two updates to the official threadā¦ the first has to do with the markings and is detailed here;
The other update is that I was hoping to be posting about receiving the magnets today but it looks like that will happen tomorrow. Boo.
On a very unrelated but still kinda related note: do you think that a titan install could be a valid āmedicalā excuse to cross into Canada with the currently closed border? The closest installer for me (partnered at least) is just across the border (in upstate new york so it is closer than NYC).
This is all assuming that the shop itself isnāt closed from covid which it likely isā¦
thatās hard to comment onā¦ maybeā¦ but also maybe the US side doesnāt agree when you come backā¦ itās pretty risky right now Iād say.
Fair enough, I should probably not risk it. Thanks!