The Glowforge Aura – my overall experience.

Before I go into this I would just like to make it clear that as a blogger and full-time crafter, this post is a review/experience and is based solely on the experience that I have just had having purchased the Glowforge aura as a UK-based user. I have not been asked or paid to write a review and the opinions and content in this post are fully my thoughts and may not apply to everyone. And is purely based on the use of the Glowforge Aura machine.

Unfortunately, my experience with Glowforge lasted a month, which was mainly spent speaking with the UK desk support team, and attempting many failed prints, before finally winning against support to get the machine returned to Hobbycraft.

So although my review of the machine is 90% negative personally, I remain honest and open-minded to the fact that not everyone who purchases the machine will face the issues that I did encounter.

What is the Glowforge Aura?

The Glowforge laser brand had been something on my radar for a long time. I had been following their release of the machines since they started. When Hobbycraft became the only UK stockist I was fangirling even more over it (yep I used the expression fangirling, sorry not sorry). Every time we went in for Cricut supplies I’d be staring at the machine and muttering ‘one day’ to myself, However, the initial machine is rather large and very expensive. So this didn’t seem like something I’d ever get my hands on.

However, Glowforge released a smaller laser cutter aimed at crafters at a much more affordable price than the pro. And when I say that, it is more affordable than the extravagant pro machine.

Yesss!

I was blown away when my wifey decided she would purchase it for my birthday this year and I could have it as an early birthday present.

What can the Glowforge Aura do?

The Glowforge Aura is a diode laser cutting system which can cut, engrave and score.

The laser can cut through a wide variety of materials. These include wood, leather, acrylic, paper, and even certain types of iron-on vinyl.

Is it easy to set up?

So easy! I had no issues with this at all. The set-up is so straight forward and the online video instructions made it even more so.

I also had the Glowforge personal filter to connect to the machine, which was again so simple to set up. Pretty much pull it out of the box, remove the packaging and it is ready to go, sorted. The main issue I found was finding a suitable space for such a large machine in our already crammed craftroom.

The limitations.

I think it’s important to understand that the Glowforge Aura is a diode laser. This means its blue laser light does not cut through certain materials well, I noticed a lot of Aura community groups that the ability to cut acrylic is more limited on a Diode laser in comparison to a CO2 laser. And is commonly brought unaware of this.

So If you are planning to buy any Diode laser such as the Aura, to primarily cut clear, white or lighter acrylics, I would advise that this will be an issue.

The issues I faced.

As soon as I had the Glowforge Aura out of the box and up and running I was so excited to get playing and start learning what I could do with the laser. So I explored Glowforge’s online software (The design space) and eventually found something I wanted to cut and engrave as my first project.

Using the Glowforge-approved material that came with the machine, The process was going to take 45 minutes. I kept an eye on the machine the whole time, like an excited little child waiting for Christmas. The engraving came out perfectly. However, the actual cut of the print did not come out correctly at all and was completely scew-wiff.

I tried a few more attempts before giving up for the evening, and nothing came out correctly.

Since it was my first attempt using the machine I put it down to bad luck and user error originally. Figuring I needed to look into how to use it more.

The Glowforge community

Since I wasn’t happy with the initial experience and outcome of using the machine, my overthinking brain went into overdrive, and I was straight onto Facebook to join some community groups to see what help I could get, and what I could learn through the groups.

So, I know it’s always important to research what you’re buying before you make a purchase. Which is something I thought I had covered by reading online reviews. Admittedly I’d been following Glowforge for so long anyway I wasn’t expecting any issues. however. I have been subscribed to their newsletter since 2019 when I first noticed them online. My only regret research-wise is not joining communities before the purchase had been made.

If in doubt, Clean it.

Before contacting support I headed over to Facebook (As I do for most things really) and checked into as many Glowforge, and Glowforge Aura-specific groups as possible. Initially, I found lots of helpful advice on cleaning the machine properly to get things to work better.

Although I tried recalibration and constant cleans nothing was getting my machine to work perfectly.

The personal filter.

One of the main pieces of advice floating around Facebook is to unplug the personal filter and vent the Glowforge through the window. therefore making the rather expensive add-on purchase completely obsolete. So Although the personal filter is an amazing idea, and would in theory make running the laser safer and easier indoors (particularly not wanting to have an open window in winter) This wasn’t the case and can make the laser have issues just by being used.

Contacting support.

As a UK buyer, I found the support options for the Glowforge team frustrating at best. Emailing the team is the only option you have. Admittedly I was provided with the Glowforge UK helpdesk team contact email by Hobbycraft head office. This still resulted in long waits for replies to help requests and various members of their support team supplying the same response.

In my experience, I sent numerous emails to the support team which included many images of my setup and machine (inside and out). I found myself repeating that the advice they were providing was unhelpful because I had already been maintaining the machine with constant deep cleans including ensuring the lens, rails and everything else had been cleaned before every use.

Eventually, I did need to give up on speaking to the team and went back to Hobbycraft with evidence of the emails for a refund and return of the machine. I do praise Hobbycraft for being so helpful during this time despite initially being told I would not be able to return the machine until I had been through the Glowforge support as it is a ‘high-end’ item.

The Glowforge Aura experience overall…

The Glowforge Aura has the potential to be an amazing machine. However, For me, this was an experience that caused me a lot of stress and disappointment.

I mean to have the feeling of dread is one thing when making a purchase and realising that it may have been a mistake but to have spent such a large amount to invest in a machine like this one, you would expect it to be running perfectly from day one, right?

Throughout the month that I spent a lot of wasted time and materials on attempting cuts, I was not left with many successful items. When the machine worked, it was amazing.

It’s safe to say after a very long month of issues, I was pleased to say goodbye to the machine.

I was lucky enough to finally send it back, receive a full refund and purchase another laser brand.

So that’s all I can say personally when it comes to the Glowforge Aura. I would love to hear other’s experiences, whether they have been through similar or had a more positive experience! Let me know in the comments!

Want to get social? Come find me on Instagram! and chat craft with me 🫶🏻