Laser cutters are nothing new, however Glowforge has an extended historical past of including one thing that the class has sorely been missing: Ease of use. As we speak, the corporate declares the Aura. Smaller, cheaper and even simpler to make use of than its greater brother, the system is ideal for training, craft and light-weight prototyping work.
Carrying a $1,199 price ticket, the Glowforge Aura can carve up wooden, leather-based, acrylic, paper, stone, steel and different supplies. The corporate doubles down on its ease of use by providing supplies particularly chosen for the machine. The built-in digicam reads the QR code, and the right settings for reducing, scoring (i.e. marking however not reducing during) and engraving are robotically chosen by the machine. After all, you’re not restricted to the supplies offered by Glowforge, and you need to use the machine’s built-in settings as a place to begin to your personal craft initiatives.
The Aura could be vented out a window, or be paired with an air filter so it may be used indoors. The air filter robotically pairs with the Aura, and turns itself on to extract the smoke and fumes from the system when it’s operating. Not less than, that’s the idea — in follow, I stuffed up my house with smoke plenty of occasions when the air filter failed to come back on.

The air filter was nice when it labored. Sadly, it wasn’t notably constant, and I discovered myself sitting in a cloud of wooden smoke, wishing it simply had a guide “on” button in addition to its good options. The button that appears like an “on” button, shouldn’t be. Picture Credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
After a dozen emails forwards and backwards with the shopper assist staff, they despatched out a brand new air filter — which labored extra constantly, but additionally didn’t activate for just a few of the cuts. Not perfect, however the staff assures me that software program updates will make the air filter extra constant over time. The difficulty additionally exhibits the draw back of getting a “foolproof” system that’s meant to “simply work” — if one thing goes fallacious, I by no means discovered a option to manually flip the air filter on to extract smoke.
Replace: Moments earlier than this text went stay, I obtained an electronic mail from Glowforge’s CEO, Dan Shapiro, who tells me that they listened to my suggestions, and carried out a option to manually run the air filter.
“We simply carried out your suggestion: if the printer isn’t linked, the button turns teal and can be utilized as a change to toggle between off, medium, and full energy,” Shapiro emailed me. “That ought to function a backup in case anybody sooner or later winds up right here once more. That replace simply went out so all new homeowners can have it.”

On the right-hand facet of the picture, contrasted towards the chair: That’s… much more smoke than I’m comfy having in my house. Picture Credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
The aforementioned built-in digicam makes the machine nearly foolproof to make use of. With the web-based management software program, you’ll be able to see precisely the place you’re about to chop, and place your materials simply so. The software program lets you choose the kind of cuts you need to make, together with the order of cuts — in my expertise, engraving and reducing the internal components of a fancy design earlier than reducing the define of a print is normally one of the simplest ways to go.
The issue is that the digicam isn’t tremendous correct. I’ll get again to that when I attempt to engrave a telephone case in only a second, however even utilizing Glowforge’s official Proofgrade supplies, there are quirks. Beneath, you’ll be able to see a bunny I attempted to chop; the software program thinks I’m effectively throughout the strains, however when reducing, the beastie’s toes had been dangling off the sting. That meant I needed to reprint components of it, losing materials.

Making an attempt to chop a bunny close to the sting, however effectively inside it… Picture Credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
Through the years, I’ve used tons of various laser cutters, and most of them have one thing in widespread: They’re fantastically highly effective, but additionally very onerous to make use of. A few of them must be targeted manually; others must be fastidiously configured by trial and error everytime you use a brand new materials. The Aura suffers from none of those points.
Glowforge’s Aura is to laser cutters what the Cricut was to vinyl cutters: Skilled customers who’re used to extra industrial machines might be disenchanted. The Aura has restricted flexibility and may’t be used for as many use instances as they could be used to. General, the Aura has all the benefits and drawbacks you’d count on from a craft-grade system. The fabric thickness is restricted, so if you wish to laser engrave an merchandise that’s an inch thick, you’re in all probability out of luck.
I additionally bumped into points with supplies that do, in idea, match contained in the Glowforge. I attempted to laser-engrave a telephone case, for instance, however the first few makes an attempt, it fired its lasers off the facet of the case. After a good quantity of trial and error, I used to be capable of get all of it arrange and calibrated as anticipated. Nonetheless, if a part of the audience of the Aura is college students and makers, telephone instances appear to be a fairly apparent alternative.

I attempted a tiny one-millimeter check rating to see if the laser was outputting the appropriate energy. Hilariously, the Aura tried to chop about 10mm subsequent to its goal space, time and time once more. Picture Credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch

Finally, I requested the Aura to attract a circle across the Apple emblem on my telephone. The alignment is off, however along with that, it seems to be just like the laser didn’t focus correctly (the road needs to be quite a bit thinner than that), leading to one ruined leather-based telephone case. Womp-womp. Picture Credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
The skilled in me is aggravated that the Aura doesn’t have an “define print” function discovered on skilled lasers: This is able to make the laser do a low-output go over the skin of the print space. It gained’t mark the fabric, nevertheless it does present whether or not it’s aligned correctly. I’m additionally aggravated that I couldn’t discover a option to focus the laser manually.
Nonetheless, whining about these limitations does a disservice to the Aura — it doesn’t faux to be an expert device. In its press supplies, the corporate describes it as a “craft machine,” and positions itself as a alternative for craft cutters: Changing razor blades with a beam of sunshine, basically.

Glowforge’s software program comes with plenty of fonts which can be nice for making stencils. Within the foreground: One of many purposeful components I made with plywood, dowels and wooden glue. Picture Credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
Time will inform whether or not that positioning works, however I think it isn’t an accident that the corporate is attempting to go downmarket: The superior beginner market is roofed by the unique Glowforge machines; the $7,000 Professional, or the $5,000 Plus. Neither of these worth factors are notably hobbyist pleasant, and the $1,200 worth level places it inside attain of maker areas, hobbyists and crafters who see the necessity for creating repeatable patterns on the fly.
Glowforge Aura additionally works the Magic Canvas performance I lined some time again, which removes even the necessity to have the ability to design your individual prints. Magic Canvas transforms easy descriptions into tangible artwork types like hardwood jewellery, slate coasters and extra. Excellent for the crafting and doing-a-project-with-the-kids market, Magic Canvas can generate customized clip-art in tons of various types, making crafting much more accessible than earlier than.
In reviewing the system, I performed with plenty of completely different supplies, however ultimately I ended up reducing extra paper than I used to be anticipating, and utilizing the paper as spray-paint stencils. I additionally lower a good few purposeful components that I’d have in any other case 3D printed, however I spotted that stacking plywood with dowels and wooden glue to carry all of it collectively made components that had been each sturdier and quicker to provide — to not point out extra immune to warmth — than components made with a 3D printer.
Glowforge’s Aura isn’t the most cost effective laser cutter on the market, nevertheless it packs many ease-of-use and security options into a comparatively inexpensive package deal. {The teenager} in me actually needs these items had been round once I was a youngster; it might have been actually enjoyable to be taught to craft and create with certainly one of these.
The Aura goes on sale as we speak, and could be bought immediately from Glowforge, or is accessible in a choice of retail channels.