From 0416986e52ed4efc646283965c07ad72b69ac2a8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: ScottW514 Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:52:06 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Update README --- README.md | 106 ++++++++++++++++++++---------------------------------- 1 file changed, 39 insertions(+), 67 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 40c7b56..f4f0253 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -2,44 +2,11 @@ > # ⚠️ IN DEVELOPMENT — NOT YET RELEASED > -> **ForgeFIRM has no public release yet.** No images are published, nothing here -> is installable, and there is no supported way to put this on a machine. The -> documentation describes the firmware as it is being built and validated on the -> bench — it is here to be read, not followed. -> -> If you come across a file claiming to be a ForgeFIRM image, it did not come -> from this project. - -> # What this costs -> -> Nothing. It cost nothing yesterday, it costs nothing today, and if anyone -> ever charges you for it, it wasn't this project. -> -> ForgeFIRM is free in both senses: free as in beer, free as in speech. All of -> it is public. The image, the build layers, the kernel module, the control -> daemon, the grblHAL driver, the cloud client, down to the brackets you print. -> The licenses (MIT and GPL) are the standard ones, and any lawyer will tell -> you they're not a trap. Read it, build it, change it, pass it on. -> -> No paid tier. No license key, no subscription, no activation, no Pro edition, -> no feature parked behind a paywall. Nothing is held back for a rainy day, -> mostly because there's no plan for a rainy day. -> -> The work happens in public, including the parts that don't work yet, which -> are written up with more candor than flatters anyone. There's no product -> page. No waitlist, no pre-order, no backer, no launch, nothing to buy. Anyone -> who spends their evenings deleting sales pitches has earned the reflex to -> suspect one more, so don't take a stranger's word for it. Ten minutes with -> the licenses and the commit log settles it, which beats trust on both cost -> and accuracy. Questions are welcome at -> [the community forum](https://community.openglow.org). -> -> If someone offers to sell you this firmware, the licenses allow it and -> nobody's calling it theft. Just note that you'd be paying for something -> that's given away, and that what you take home is their build, not this one: -> a stranger's code, running a laser that has no opinion about what it burns. -> Get it from the source. Same price everywhere, and here you get to read what -> you're running. +> **ForgeFIRM has no public release, yet.** Nothing here +> is installable. +> The documentation describes the firmware as it is being built +> and validated on the bench. It is here to be read, not followed. +> The first public release is expected in September 2026. If you are interested in being an early tester, please reach out to the developer. Open-source firmware for Glowforge brand CNC lasers. ForgeFIRM replaces the cloud-dependent factory software on the **stock control board** — no hardware @@ -54,7 +21,7 @@ panel, and a standard Grbl interface. * [How cooling and airflow work](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/COOLING.md) * [The cameras and the video stream](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/VIDEO.md) * [How the laser safing works](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/SAFETY.md) -* [How a release is accepted](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/ACCEPTANCE.md) +* [How a release is tested before being accepted](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/ACCEPTANCE.md) * [Community Support](https://community.openglow.org) ## What it does @@ -62,32 +29,23 @@ panel, and a standard Grbl interface. **Two controller modes, selected in the web panel and switchable while the machine is idle:** -* **GRBL mode** — [grblHAL](https://github.com/grblHAL) runs on the machine and - speaks Grbl 1.1 over TCP port 23, so LightBurn, UGS, and cncjs drive the +* **GRBL mode**: [grblHAL](https://github.com/grblHAL) runs on the machine and + speaks Grbl 1.1 over TCP port 23, so LightBurn, UGS, cncjs, etc... drive the laser directly. Motion runs on the board's own hardware step engine (SDMA + - EPIT), fed live by the planner. M3/M4 dynamic laser power, coolant-flow + EPIT), fed live by a local planner. M3/M4 dynamic laser power, coolant-flow verification, over-temp holds, and an operator button press to arm the laser for each job. -* **Cloud mode** — the machine presents itself as a stock Glowforge to the +* **Cloud mode**: The machine presents itself as a stock Glowforge to the Glowforge web service, so the phone and web apps work as they always did. Optional, and off by default. GRBL mode jogs and cuts without it; the one GRBL-mode function that still reaches the Glowforge service is camera-referenced homing (below), until limit-switch homing lands. - -**Around both modes:** - -* A **web control panel** on port 8080: machine status and position, coolant - and fan telemetry, safety-switch states, camera view, machine settings, - hardware diagnostics, firmware updates, and boot-slot management. +* A **web control panel**: Machine status and position, coolant + and fan telemetry, safety-switch states, live camera stream, machine settings, hardware diagnostics, firmware updates, and boot-slot management. * **Camera-referenced homing**: `$H` from any sender runs the factory-style camera homing cycle through the Glowforge service (a Glowforge account and a live service session are required for `$H`; everything else in GRBL mode - runs without them), and the machine records where it is. -* **Cameras only capture with the lid closed.** The lid camera faces the room - once the lid is raised, so ForgeFIRM refuses every capture — live view, - snapshot, and anything the Glowforge service asks for in cloud mode — until - the enclosure is shut, and stops a running stream the moment the lid opens. - See [the cameras and the video stream](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/VIDEO.md). + runs without them). ## Hardware @@ -95,21 +53,35 @@ The control board is common to Glowforge Basic, Plus, and Pro. The 5 MP (OV5648) camera modules are fully supported and hardware-validated. The 8 MP (OV8856) modules found in "HD" units have a complete capture path — the kernel patches, device tree and sensor-aware capture profile they need are all in the -build, but it has never run on an 8 MP machine, so treat it as untested; see -`docs/BRINGUP.md` (Next work, cameras) and the headers of kernel patches -0011-0013 in `meta-glowforge-bsp`. +build, but it has never run on an 8 MP machine, so treat it as untested. + +## What this costs + +ForgeFIRM is free in both senses: free as in beer, free as in speech. All of +it is public and released under MIT and GPL licenses. Read it, build it, +change it, use it, pass it on. + +The work happens in public, including the parts that don't work yet, which +are written up with more candor than flatters anyone. +No paid tier. No license key, no subscription, no activation, no Pro edition, +no feature parked behind a paywall. Nothing is held back for a rainy day, +mostly because there's no plan for a rainy day. + +If someone offers to sell you this firmware, the licenses allow it and +nobody's calling it theft. Just note that you'd be paying for something +that's given away. Get it from the source. Same price everywhere, and here +you get to read what you're running. ## Safety **These machines contain a CO₂ laser: it burns, blinds, and starts fires.** Never defeat the lid switches or interlock. Never leave a -running job unattended — keep a fire extinguisher within reach. Read -[Before you cut — safety](docs/LIGHTBURN.md#before-you-cut--safety-read-this-first) -before your first job, and the -[Regulatory and legal](INSTALL.md#regulatory-and-legal) section before -installing. [How the laser safing works](docs/SAFETY.md) describes the hardware -safety chain and the software gates ForgeFIRM stacks on it. +running job unattended. Keep a fire extinguisher within reach. Read [this](docs/LIGHTBURN.md#before-you-cut--safety-read-this-first) before you cut +your first job, and read this [regulatory and legal](INSTALL.md#regulatory-and-legal) section before installing. [This](docs/SAFETY.md) document describes the hardware safety chain and the software gates ForgeFIRM stacks on it. -**A very important warning: this is experimental software. Use of this software -could seriously maim or kill you or others, and voids your warranty. It is not -affiliated with or endorsed by Glowforge. Use it at your own risk.** +**THIS IS EXPERIMENTAL SOFTWARE +Use of this software +could seriously maim or kill you or others, and could void your warranty. +Use it at your own risk.** + +This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Glowforge.