Our members are amazing designers, maker and creators. One of the tools that new members gravitate towards are the Laser Cutters. We have also had a few members purchase a laser for home because their ideas really took off when they found a niche and filled a need. In each of our training sessions we typically share relevant links, where to get materials and more based on what you are doing and now we are sharing some of the common items between sessions that we love with you.
Buying A Glowforge?
If you are thinking about buying a Glowforge and use our referral link you’ll get something terrific $500 off a Pro, $250 off a Plus, or $50 on a Glowforge Aura (and we get the same amount back in $ or store credit as you). Referral link: https://share.glowforge.com/3nxz3frk
Wood Locally In Hampton Roads
We use a lot of 1/8″ Baltic Birch and get it locally from Yukon Lumber. The Birch comes in 5’x5′ sheets and pro-tip, have them rough cut it down on the panel saw and you can leave with the sheets right under your arm rather than strapping to the top of your car/truck.
Another resource that we love, for MDF and Bamboo in particular is Wurth Wood Group. They have a great showroom that you can walk into and a knowledgable staff to ask about for your project. Their online store above is up to date, great social media updates and more… definitely worth checking.
Specialty Things We Find Online
Johnson Plastics
For years we loved LaserBits… a web resource that provided all kinds of great things for lasering all in one place. From picture frames, and pens to laser engravable rubber for stamps. A little while back they got purchased by Johnson Plastics and you can find their merged site here: https://www.jpplus.com/laserbits
A few items to mention we love from them:
- Cermark Fluid – Allows you to mark on different types of metal with a CO2 laser.
- No Odor Laser Rubber – Make your own rubber stamps with the laser.
Deepnest
Do you have a lot of parts and want to put them all together on the same sheet or laser job to save material and time? That is where Deepnest can help, it is an open source nesting application, great for laser cutters, plasma cutters, and other CNC machines.
One feature we love about this is the line merging feature. Deepnest automatically merges common lines so the laser doesn’t cut the same path twice.
Laser Designs and Resources You Can Download
We love making our own designs with tools like Fusion360, Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator and more… There are also a lot of talented artists out there that have shared their file, sometimes for free and other for a fee (and others that can be commercially used for you to download, make and sell).
Etsy is a great resource and there are hundreds of great designers out there. If you search for Glowforge .svg you will find some great options (or check out the link below that usually has links to Etsy digital downloads).
Facebook Group Glowforge World – Full of great conversation, great people and exchange of files, links from designers and more available as well as tips, tricks and techniques to make your own work even better.
Glowforge Settings, Materials, and Supplies – Last and probably the best for Glowforge users, here is a link to Google Spreadsheet of all the default settings and a whole lot of custom materials, links to other related suppliers and more… This is like the gold mine of Glowforge related material.
That’s it for today and if you want to learn more, come join our community at 757 Makerspace and get access to laser cutters and so much more. To get started, sign-up for a tour and we can show you around our giant creative warehouse workshop and meet some of the wonderful people that make up our community.