ForgeFIRM¶
Open firmware for Glowforge brand CNC lasers. ForgeFIRM replaces the cloud-dependent factory software on the stock control board, with no hardware modification, and gives the machine a local controller, a local web control panel, and a standard Grbl interface.
In development, not yet released
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.
What it does¶
Two controller modes, selected in the web panel and switchable while the machine is idle:
GRBL mode: 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 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 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.
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).
Hardware¶
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, with the kernel patches, device tree, and sensor-aware capture profile they need all in the 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, and keep a fire extinguisher within reach.
This is experimental software. Use of this software could seriously maim or kill you or others, and voids your warranty. Use it at your own risk.
Where the rest lives, for now¶
This site is being assembled. Until each section lands here, the documentation stays with the code: