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.

Glowforge Training

Beginning September 5th, 2023, all users of the Library's Glowforge must complete training with a staff member. Two staff members are currently designated to train patrons on the Glowforge. You can schedule an appointment with one of them here or by pressing the button below:

Glowforge Reservations

The Glowforge can be scheduled in advance for 30-180 minutes up to three times a week. Walk-ins are welcome if no one else is scheduled to use the Glowforge at that time. Reservation requests must be made 24 hours in advance to give staff time to confirm and approve the request. You cannot request a reservation with the Glowforge without having gone through Glowforge training with staff prior to your reservation. Click here or the button below to request a Glowforge reservation.

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

Thickness varies by material. The Glowforge can cut some ½” (13mm) hardwood and acrylic; for best results, ¼” (6mm) or thinner materials are recommended. 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.
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

These materials are never allowed in the Glowforge, as they may cause damage to the machine, or endanger the user.
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.