Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I ordered the Glowforge Plus a month ago from Amazon, and it arrived a couple of days later. Prime saved the typical $150 shipping charge, and using the Amazon credit card garnered another 5% cash back. The unit arrived with the packaging a bit undone, but there was no damage to the machine which was well packed. I followed the setup instructions, but did not get the glowing button by default, which prompted me to write an email to Glowforge support. I received a reply 4 hours later, which pleased me. Their reply directed me to hold the Glowforge button down for 15 seconds which would cause it to glow and be in the mode to look for the wifi in setup. With this tip I was able to complete the connection to my home wifi. I have installed and learned to use Inkscape to prepare the SVG files for the Glowforge. I am impressed with Inkscape and it is free to use. I saw a couple of tips on the Glowforge community forum, which I have followed to improve Inkscape. The first tip was to install a default Glowforge color palette where the colors are in the sequence that Glowforge will use in engraving, scoring and cutting the parts of a project. Thus, in design mode, I can pick the stroke and fill colors for the sequence that I want Glowforge to follow. Any cutting is placed as my last step. I know that the steps can be rearranged in the Glowforge software, but it is nice to have the project pre-sequenced when loaded. Another forum tip was to install a Box maker Extension in Inkscape, which I downloaded, installed, and have used to make boxes out of the proofgrade draft board or white hardboard. The extension makes it very easy to design boxes with dovetail joints on the corners. My most recent project used the Box extension to design and cut specimen cases for an upcoming rock show. Each case is 10x18x1 inches with an interior grid every 2 inches so that the case has 45 cells for displaying small rocks and fossils. My favorite materials to use are 1) Medium draftboard (proofgrade) 2) Medium clear acrylic (proofgrade) and 3) 1/8th inch white hardboard from Home Depot. The white hardboard has a shiny white surface and dark interior, which makes for excellent contrast when engraved. This white hardboard is also cheap at $11 for a 4 ft. x 8 ft. sheet. I had Home Depot cut the sheet in the store into 19 inch by 4 foot strips. I then cut these 19 inch strips on my table saw into 12 inch widths so I have 19x12 inch boards to put in the Glowforge. The smoke accumulation on the white surface easily wipes off with a damp paper towel. Or, I will cover the surface with blue painters tape to be the smoke shield. I use the following speed and power settings for the white hardboard: Engrave: 1000/full power, Score: 500/50%, Cut: 160/full power. The ability to save Custom settings is an improvement made by the Glowforge team since I purchased my machine. I appreciate continued improvements to their software. A project using medium clear acrylic was to design a 10x10 inch quilting ruler with slots at various distances for guiding a quilter's cutting wheel. I also own a BobsCNC and use the free Easel software from Inventables for router projects. The router has its own realm of applications and is wonderful. But by comparison, the Glowforge is a plateau step up in the accuracy and the detail that can be obtained. My last tip is this. Draw a rectangle around the entire project just outside the cut perimeter. I make this rectangle the first step of my project, and have its score setting at 500/5%. This weak setting is sufficient to mark just the painters tape without touching the material surface. The purpose of the rectangle is to confirm my project placement on the material. If this border does not draw in the intended position, I lift the Glowforge lid to abort the print, and then either adjust the material location or adjust the image in the Glowforge view, and restart the project. This extra confirmation step has saved my bacon more than once. In summary, I love my Glowforge and have been very pleased with it.