If you haven't heard of Glowforge and its incredibly novel entry into the 3D fabrication space, you're in a group that's growing smaller every day. After a record shattering Kickstarter campaign that netted the company more than $27,900,000 in purchases in less than thirty days – the already well-funded startup ($9M A from Foundry Group and True Ventures) has plenty of visibility.
- The Glowforge uses subtractive rather than additive manufacturing, carving out objects instead of building up them layer by layer like a conventional 3D printer. Technically a 3D laser cutter and engraver, it re-imagines the process of three-dimensional fabrication by combining the attributes of CNC milling machines and the precision of camera guided, computer controlled lasers in a wirelessly enabled desktop unit.
From intricately carved pencil boxes to chocolate rockets, there are no shortage of examples showcasing the myriad materials and projects the Glowforge can tackle, but we wanted to know more. We asked founder and CEO Dan Shapiro for an update on the company and to learn what the current "kings of Kickstarter" have planned in the near term.
Today, a Glowforge is still $2400 for the basic model which is a price point not everyone can get to. It's going to go up before it goes down too, but five years hence I want everyone to have access to this and I hope more and more families will see this as a learning experience they want to give their kids.
Sure. I can see banks of machines for rent by the hour at maker spaces, but I imagine someone who is a wallet specialist who says "I will print any wallet for you, I've got 50 different designs and leathers, I'll do the lacing so you tell me what you want and I'll make it exactly to your specifications and take it to the post office."
I feel pretty good about this product. So many times you have to make a hundred compromises to get it out, but we didn't have to make a hundred compromises. This is a platform that I think will survive for many years to come and it will be improved constantly by virtue of software. The design principle is we are going to put out a really robust platform that we can build on from a software standpoint and unlock new features. We have so many amazing things that we have planned for this device that we haven't told anyone about. In fact, it wouldn't shock me if we were still selling this device or something very close to it four or five years from now. We have some ideas for the hardware but eh ... the really exciting stuff is what we're going to be doing with the software on this thing because it has a ton of potential.
Check out the video below to learn more about Glowforge and visit the photo gallery for some examples of the awesome creations this machine can produce (including a 3D-laser-printed-drone with rubber band gatling guns!).
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