I've followed Glowforge while they were still 'vaporware'. Years ago the idea of a personal laser under $2k was just a dream. Glowforge missed a few of their milestones... sent out some preproduction units to testers that had some serious problems... and slowly increased the price before launch.

But in the end, they created a very cool product... However...

That brand new $4k laser ($3k for the basic, $4k of the one you should buy. $6k for the 'pro') only works with Glowforge's CLOUD software. If Glowforge goes under you are left with a $$$ paperweight.

Also, since you are uploading designs to the GF cloud there are instances where copyright or NDA's will prevent you from using the cloud. I've done work for local schools who prohibit logos from being uploaded to 3rd party sites.

Take a look at the Full Spectrum Laser (FSL) brand of lasers... either the MUSE or the Hobby series. Both are the same price as the Glowforge, however, they are from a better manufacturer.