[jreuck]

I'm sure by now, several people have seen the new Glowforge funded on kickstarter. One feature I really like about it and would like to apply to my own cnc machine is their live view camera. I think it's an awesome idea to to have a live feed of your table to your software in which you can see your work piece and move your design to the exact location on the stock you are using. I'm sure there is some proprietary technology involved, however has anyone seen this used in any application before? I've searched and searched, but haven't seemed to have any luck with it.

Software

Trace mode scans material with a drawing on it, then cuts and engraves over the top
Compatible with JPG, PNG, TIF, SVG, AI, DXF, PDF, and many more file formats
Drag-and-drop with live preview to position designs on the material
Catalog of premium, customizable, ready-to-print designs

https://glowforge.com/tech-specs/


and a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3mMUsHFvU



Thanks!

[Storen]

Actually this is done with the help of two separate cameras. One for remote monitoring of the progress, the other for scanning and building a static image of the work area, generating coordinates for the CNC controller.

Neither of this is invented by Glowforge. It has been used in laser cutting machines for the textile industry for many years.

For upgrading you current machine: you can use any USB or network camera for live-view monitoring. For controlling the cutting you have to buy an industrial camera with a dedicated motion controller. Recently I researched this upgrade for my machine and sadly all the quotes I got were quite steep.

I think the main contribution of Glowforge to this technology is that they adapted cheep “phone” cameras for this purpose and wrote idiot-proof consumer friendly software. Which of corse is what Glowforge is about - bringing the old industrial laser technology in a smaller package for the masses. It was about time for something like this to happen.