An interesting alternative to a Glowforge. This machine seems less of a "tool for makers" of small things though, and rather an autonomous cutting machine for big projects. It would be silly to use this to cut out a leather wallet, for example, but totally reasonable to build a chair. Neat!
p.s. oh man, make a chair design, and then just set these babies to run day in/out. that could be an fun factory!
There's more to CNC than a hip startup like glowforge. (In the interests of disclosure, it should be noted that Series A investors for Glowforge include Bre Pettis and Jenny Lawton. Given their business decisions with Makerbot, I'd consider them 'tainted' to this market).
This device is more akin to a regular 4x8 cnc router, like ShopBot, or an off the shelf Chinese CNC machine. The innovation here is an experiment with the drawbot mechanics popularized around 2010, but with a much heavier toolhead. If it works, awesome - it's an order of magnitude cheaper than a shopbot. Even if it's not ready for production, it's an interesting enough idea for a few shops, garages, or hackerspaces to replicate the project.
This is really an awesome idea, and comparing it to a startup with questionable investors does it a disservice.
p.s. oh man, make a chair design, and then just set these babies to run day in/out. that could be an fun factory!