Laser Cutter
The Glowforge Plus laser cutter is available for community member projects. The Glowforge Plus is a Class 1 laser product which contains an embedded Class 4 laser. The Glowforge Plus bed can accommodate materials measuring 18” x 20.4”. The maximum printable area is 11 x 19.5”, and it’s reduced somewhat when the laser operates at high speed, as it can take space for the laser to decelerate. There’s a tray for materials that are up to 0.5” thick, or the tray can be removed to accommodate materials up to 2” thick.
You can design with any software that saves a PDF, including choices like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Autodesk 360, and Sketchup. Glowforge can print JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF, and other file formats.
The Library reserves the right to reject projects based on content or copyright. Commercial projects are not accepted at this time. Same day projects cannot be guaranteed and project completion time will vary.
Materials
Patrons using the Glowforge are encouraged to use Proofgrade materials, which are guaranteed to work well with the Glowforge. A variety of Proofgrade materials are available for patrons to purchase to use. Patrons can also purchase Proofgrade materials directly from Glowforge here.
Patrons must confirm that any outside materials are compatible with a CO2 laser. Digital Library staff must approve all non-Proofgrade material. We reserve the right to refuse material if we deem it to be unsafe for use in the machine.
Accepted Materials
| Material Type |
Cuts | Engraves |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | Yes | Yes |
| Acrylic (cast or non-toxic) |
Yes | Yes |
| Cardboard (with supervision) |
Yes | Yes |
| Cork | Yes | Yes |
| Leather | Yes | Yes |
| Paper | Yes | Yes |
| Fabric | Yes | Yes |
| Glass |
No | Yes |
| Ceramic Tile |
No | Yes |
| Marble | No | Yes |
| Anonidzed Aluminum |
No | Yes |
| Rubber Stamps |
No | Yes |
| Titanium | No | Yes |
| Stone | No | Yes |
| Corian | No | Yes |
| Slate | No |
Yes |
Prohibited Materials
| Material Type |
Danger |
|---|---|
| PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/Vinyl/Pleatehr/Artificial Leather |
Emits chlorine gas when cut |
| Thick (>1mm) Polycarbonate/Lexan |
Cuts very poorly, discolors, catches fire |
| ABS | Melts/Cyanide |
| HDPE/Milk Bottle Plastic |
Catches fire and melts |
| PolyStyrene Foam |
Catches fire |
| PolyPropylene Foam |
Catches fire |
| Epoxy | Burn/Smoke |
| Fiberglass | Emits fumes |
| Coated Carbon Fiber |
Emits noxious fumes |
| Any Foodstuff |
The laser is not designed to cut food, and people cut things that create poisonous/noxious substances such as wood smoke and acrylic smoke. |
| Material with Sticky Glue Backing |
Coats lens, cracks lens |
Additional Resources
Glowforge Proofgrade Materials - Link to purchase Proofgrade materials for use with the Glowforge.
Glowforge Safety - Safety information about the Glowforge Laser Cutter
Glowforge User Manual - Link to the most current version of the Glowforge User Manual.
Inkscape - A free and open source professional vector graphics editor.
Thingiverse.com - MakerBot’s Thingiverse is a thriving design community for discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable and laser cuttable designs.