I have some patents from a previous job experience. I can tell you with absolute certainty that patent diagrams and figures are NOT copyright. A Patent is necessarily a fully public document, describing ownership of an invention. It is available to everyone and it's content, like a newly enacted law, cannot ever be restricted by copyright.
Angus, for wood smokes, use painter masking tape on the top of the wood before engraving. The painter masking tape will be darken instead of the wood. Then, use a strong tape to remove the painter masking tape. 👍
You can also use masking tape to "dry run" your project. With the real material covered in one layer of tape, turn the speed all the way up and the power down very low, and you will get a white image on the tape, but the tape is not burned thru. Makes a great way of testing a file on expensive material. If all goes well, send the file again using the appropriate laser settings to mark and cut you material.
K40 user here... I do love the camera option but honestly, I have lived without it, and do not think it would improve things for me. The focusing option they chose to go with is also pretty kool. I am a big fan of keeping things simple. But the 4K price... I could get an import 80W for around 1500.. that still 2500 left over.. @MakerMuse YES more videos on Lasers. And anything related to making.. expand your channel and add things like drawing devices like BamBoo or hobby level power tools ... ETC Thanks!!
If you want to improve your K40, consider upgrading its controller for something like a Cohesion3d board. That gives you true power control, smoother motion, and most importantly, let's you use lightburn. The latter is pretty much the best laser software out there, and allows you to install a camera as well. Swapping the board is ~10 minutes, installing the camera doesn't take much longer. You won't regret it.
@@jordymoors I did upgrade to AW706 (I think that's what it's called). Updated power supply... I need to get better than stock mirrors... I might look into Cohesion 3d. LaserCad is pretty basic IMO. Thank for the pointer!
Henrik Linus Pauly then you're not really using Lightburn for the control though, which is where it shines. It has some nice design functions, but I wouldn't use it solely for that (yet). You'd also miss out on the power control, and other goodies that come with a better controller. Other World Explorers, if I'm not mistaken, you should be able to use Lightburn with that controller as well, no need for the C3D board in that case. There's a free 30 day trial. Just give it a shot :)
Hi Angus. With the etching onto pine (Or most other substances actually) if you put a layer of masking tape down first you won't get any burning effects at all and the image produced is much cleaner. The laser cuts right through the masking tape as if it wasn't there. It's a few more seconds involved to apply and then remove the tape but well worth it for the imrovement in quality imho. Love all the videos! Simon
K40 is a cheap solution but you have to be willing to really learn how they work and what could go wrong. I love my K40 but that's because I enjoy upgrading and customizing. The biggest limiting factor I've run into is my poor artistic skills.
@@kendallemory8455 I'm in the same boat. My background is electronics so a large reason why I wanted a K40 was to design my own control board. Fiddling is a feature, not a bug for me :p
I would love to see a similar review of the Glowforge. ... I agree, US$4K is lots of money, and being retired it isn't going to happen. The sketch/trace option is titillating!
Glowforge, Dremel, Muse, flux, they're all much of the same. Small, low power, limited work area, proprietary software/parts, sketchy support, and really expensive for what they are. Some are better than others in certain areas, but that's the gist of it. The Chinese machines offer way more bang for your buck, but have no support but a giant community, and they're easy to work on should you need to. Then there's Aeon/thunder. High quality, US support, good price/performance ratio. (If your machine works with Lightburn, you can add the camera system easily)
Hey there!! I like the addition of laser cutters/engravers youve added to your content. But I gotta admit, I think you’ve missed the mark on a few important things that I’d consider critical when it comes to these machines. 1. Adjusting mirrors and aligning the beam to the lens is a must learn for any new machine and it does not take very long. Somebody brand new and not technically savvy can do the adjustments within 15 - 30 minutes after watching a few quick RU-vid videos, I know I watched my wife do it and she has 0 experience with this tech. It’s nice to have a pre-adjusted machine, but it’s a critical step anyone owning these should know. 2. Power is A SUPER CRITICAL point that HAS to be covered properly. Saying it’s not wise to operate a laser at full power is just way to vague. It’s important to know the upper limit of your five, and for that your machine has to have an analogue mA reader to find that point. I’ll use my 60w laser as for example. It’s rated up to29mA, which is about 87% power, but safe operations for long tube life is recommend to be operated under 28mA. Running the laser above that is just a waste and will provide no additional power and will shorten the life of the tube. That’s the laser I am using, not all tubes are the same and the user should absolutely find the specifications to operate that laser properly. And any machine that costs $4k and doesn’t have a reader on it is just irresponsible imo. 3. @4k this think doesn’t really offer anything that you can’t get from companies like Orion Works that cost half the price, slightly more powerful laser, larger area, and include Lightburn which is a MUCH better piece of software. It’s worth mentioning these kinds of lasers when looking at the $2k+ range (not k40s). 4. Cleaning. Mirrors and lenses need to be cleaned regularly to keep the laser aligned and working to its full potential. This is even more important for the lens, especially if you don’t have a ventilation system. If you aren’t cleaning your mirrors/lense you are going to have a catastrophic failure... I know... I wound up burning right through a lense that had accumulated something on it. Easily prevented if I had cleaned it. Costly mistake!! 5. And the last one on my important list is cooling. Tubes have to be cooled properly to get the most out of them, there are temperature specifications those tubes should be run at. To hot or to cold and you risk losing the tube sooner than expected. I love your videos, avid follower for awhile... but when it comes to lasers, you really should be more focus on proper operation and maintenance (safety first of course). This product, in my mind, is not great at that price. Maybe the tech support is worth the extra $1500 - $2k...
I must say, a great read! I have been researching laser for years and still haven't pulled the trigger! All the points you have brought up are very solid, and really should have been covered. Think I have watched all the videos from Sarbar Multimedia and Roger Webb! There is nothing wrong with pointing people to other resources to keep the video under 20min. I think a great opportunity was missed, this product should have been broken up into a series covering everything you pointed out. This is especially valuable information for beginners. Price? Well I have to say looking at the Glowforges and Flux Beamboxes still reminds me of an overhauled K40 (I know it isn't). As for spending north of $5,000 when there are better offerings at half the price, no thank you! I have been looking at Orion lasers as well, possibly the 60w or 80w. Also I believe the Orion has a Ruida digital control panel, and tends to be more of an industry standard for compatibility? Hope to buy my first laser very soon! Thanks again!
While the points mentioned are fair, entire videos could be made around each of them. Choices have to be made to keep it manageable. As for 2. Power, I'm going to assume they limited the PSU at the factory, to put out no more than the safe current. As such, you don't really need the mA meter anymore, though it wouldn't have hurt either.
I have been working in an IR laser lab before. Aligning those invisible laser beams is usually done with a detector card. It has a special coating that lights up where it is hit by the laser. They make things much easier than just trial and error. If you have such an expensive laser cutter, another $100 for a detector card (from e.g. Newport or Thorlabs) is not a lot of money if you need to adjust the laser.
Where I work they have 20kw and 30kw cnc lasers to cut steel plate into parts. It slices through 0.75" steel plate like butter and only leaves 0.0625" cut behind that is very smooth. I was blown away when I saw them working.
sinformant, what brand lasers do you have there? I used a Trumpf at a factory YEARS ago. If memory serves, it only about 3300W, and it used different gases for cutting different metals. That thing cut 1” steel plate in nothing flat!
I saw the trace in action at a big laser shop. (03:26) the trace option moves the laser head throughout the path without firing the laser so one can see if there's any anamoly at any point and resolve the issue. It helps a lot when working with expensive acrylic.
I got a glowforge when it was a Kickstarter project, and at $1900 it was the best money I ever spent. I am a somewhat technically inclined artist, and having the nicer user experience of a smart laser cutter really helped me enjoy the experience of learning to use it a lot. See my stuff here: www.etsy.com/shop/ArtFormFunction BTW if you have some experise with Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape, that will increase the value you get from your laser a lot. On the other hand the cutting area 11"x 19" is a bit small and cutting anything more than 5mm thick is an exercise in patience. I have been toying with the idea of getting a larger more powerful laser maybe 600 x 900mm and 80 or 100 watts to be able to cut thicker, faster, engrave metals better, and the LightBurn Software which has a lot of the features I have gotten used to in the glowforge.
I bought a 5030 50W Laser with a movable z-axis, ruida controller, rotary engraver, honeycomb bed, ethernet, for 1600 USD, shipped in 2 weeks without additional customs duties, and it worked perfectly fine from the start. Setting up Lightburn including the camera, is pretty easy and the software is really great. I would not spend 4000€ for the Flux Beambox that looks more like a K40 painted black, with less capabilities and what seems an unfinished software.
It is much faster since it'll then follow the lines, instead of going line by line. That said, that only works if you have an actual vector, which many times isn't the best option for photo realistic images.
I am very conflicted here. I bought a K40 for 400 bucks from OMTech. I didn't have to do any adjustment to the laser as they had done it already and hot glued the parts in place. I spent a few bucks on a mgn12 rail for the main head and created some 3d printed parts that I designed for the rail system. Based on my experience, I can't see paying 4K for what we see here from FLUX. I think you can have most of the same features if you do it yourself for about 60-80% less money; but admittedly it would take quite a bit of messing around to get it. You're trading manhours for cost and depending on how handy you are, it might be worth it. That being said, FLUX has some incredible software by the looks of it and the out of the box features/upgrades look pretty fantastic. Again though, I just don't see myself spending 4k on that.
Probably a bit late now but when cutting thicker materials like the 8mm ply it helps to focus the beam down into the wood about %30 to 40 of the depth. So with 8mm I would set the focus to 5mm above the bed. It does cut better and cleaner and overall a thinner exit line. As your probably aware the beam after the focus point starts to spread out in a cone shape. Good video but I watched it to see how they cooled the tube? Oh well off to look at another video. Oh and on material 4mm or less I would just focus on the top.
Can't wait to see what puzzles you design for the cockatoos. I remember I had designed a puzzle bird feeder for a BBC competition back when I was younger - didn't win, but it was fun nonetheless.
Hey Angus, I think you need to test the power output of that. A 50W laser tube should be around 1M long (~39") from tip to tip, and this thing is less than that with the case. It's kinda hard to get around physics, so my guess it that the laser isn't actually capable of putting out 50W. It's most likely closer to 40-45W max, and you really shouldn't ever run these tubes close to full power, it significantly decreases their life. If you have a way to measure laser output, I'd be curious if it's actually putting out that much power. It's a lot of money for only 40W.
@@MakersMuse Sounds good! I'm curious to see what you find. I need to replace the tube on my 60 watt, and I'd be curious if things have gotten smaller, maybe I can fit a higher powered tube!
Suggestion for a very cool Review/Comparison (also to attract loads of viewers): Materials which are very, very Soft, even down as soft as to silicon materials. And also soft results done mechanically, and resulting in Sponge / Foam-like materials, those then printed through 3D-honeycomb-cube-shaped bubble-Construction inside a printed body , would be cool to see .... not many have done this "Soft" material Topic on RU-vid, but usually, they got a huge crowd that has watched those videos....
I bought a used Epilog 24TT for $4800 4 years ago, so it's nice to see prices on newer systems coming down. Though, I think the big 3 still have a lot of advantages over the lower-cost manufacturers.
@@MrTobbo The big 3 would be Universal Laser, Epilog, and Trotec. After those 3, you get into the really expensive stuff. Kern lasers start around $400K I believe.
@@MrTobbo Here in the US, you can get an entry level Epilog for around $7000. However, the bed would be smaller, and the laser power lower than what you can get with the lower cost companies. On the plus side, Epilog lasers are air-cooled, and use metal laser tubes that last much longer than glass tubes, so at some point the TCO will be lower with a "Big-3" laser (Universal and Trotec also use air cooled lasers).
Great overview Angus, expensive for sure, impressive for sure. Good to see this sort of continued coverage from an interest point of view more so than a purchase. Cheers, JAYTEE
My $1000 chines laser came calibrated also. Not "Unheard of" as you say. I haven't had to do a thing and I purchased it 6 months ago. 50W works great and moves up and down with plenty of room and a free $100 rotary attachment. Also the inline fan is fantastic. I don't have to even close the lid while cutting.
1 more thing, The software looks nice but you can get most if not ALL that from Lightburn which is probably better because it handles large files very well. Yes mine has air assist.
This one is on the pricey side already. Metal cutting machines would get you over $10k easily :/ The cheaper option would be a CNC plasma, or that desktop waterjet cutter (pretty pricey as well)
Great video Angus! If you haven't already, try laser cutting PETG sheet. It lacks the brittleness of acrylic and is only marginally more difficult to calibrate for clean edges :)
Great looking cutter, but expensive though. Exciting looking machine. 50 Watts, WOW, that is quite a serious machine. Love the alignment setup,. that is very cool. Thanks Angus, great video.
If you like engraving patent plates, I suggest the following: White ceramic tile Sharpie Generic magic eraser Results can be amazing. There is also a enamel paint that can be fired in an oven and is easy to squeegee into the grooves and wipes easily from the surface with a magic eraser. "Folk Art" brand enamel paint.
Would love to see a quick video tutorial on adding kerf to an existing shape and exporting it as a DXF. I use a larger 60 watt laser cutter at the PDX Hackerspace, I also have my own Silhouette drag knife cutter. I often use the Silhouette software to create shapes (rather than adobe). I am fairly proficient using it. Currently my workflow uses inkscape to generate DXF files for the hackerspace laser cutter.
PETG sheets cut nice too. It isn't brittle and thermoforms well. I have the K40 and it gets the job done, but you get what you pay for. This looks a little too much like an upgraded K40 with some cloudray parts thrown on it. If I'm stepping up to this price range, I might as well go glowforge. Thanks for your work.
It’s far too expensive unless your getting paid etc. I’m not a laser cutters fan. If I need bits of burned wood I will save myself some money and buy a blow torch. I mean there isn’t anything much in a laser cutter apart from the tube etc. My comments are negative but I would like to see you review more of them.
Several people who are partial to Glowforge feel the Beambox is nothing more than a slight upgrade to the cheap Chinese 40W laser cutters out there. How do you feel this stacks up to Glowforge? The cutting area alone seems hard to beat and it seems to be the only cutter with air assist. Are the differences in the software enough to make such a big difference?
When cutting acrylic you can get bounce back from the honeycomb, leaving marks on the underside. I fix this problem by getting small square glass tiles to lift the material up off the platform. The honeycomb still does it's job, but the laser is out of focus when it bounces back up and can't cut.
I've wanted a laser cutter for a very long time now. Those K40's have always had my eye because of price but I have yet to even come close to seriously thinking on getting one because of quality and you you need to do to make them worth while. I just wish there was a really good quay alternative that didn't cost a arm and a leg. Maybe one day I will be able to afford a good laser cutter but for now it is just a dream for me.😕
The k40 really isn't all that bad. Sure it could do with some TL&C, but few upgrades are needed for basic operation. Alternatively, look at the ~$1300 K50, which has all of those upgrades and is larger/more powerful & uses much better software (lightburn)
Beamo is from Taiwan. Taiwan is the country least affected by the virus in the world and had no shut down etc but shipping to many places is a nightmare now.
You're either buying this because it works out cheaper than an alternative process (such as low-volume die cutting, where the setup costs will kill you) or because you can make the price back in next to no time on custom work. Not everything needs to be for hobbyists.
Do you recommend bringing a glowforge to Europe knowing if anything goes wrong it would have to be sent to the US again? Or is the Flux pro worth it comparing both in quality
Needs auto-focus. That manual focus set-up, albeit easy, looks like a disaster in waiting to break that little acrylic arm. Also, a question...can you print directly from CorelDraw files or do you have to import them into their interface?
People might also want to have a look at the experience of Matthias Wandel with laser cutters and precision woodworking where he had problems with the laser undercutting pieces that had to mesh precisely.
That's due to the kerf. Much in the same way that a sawblade removes material, so does the laser. The difference lies in the fact that the saw has a constant width, and with lasers it can vary depending on the material type and thickness. Make a simple test cut, measure the kerf, and correct for it (just like you would with woodworking). I can make boxes that friction fit so well you can barely get them apart, even without glue.
Great video as always, can you make one about the BuildOne from Kickstarter, the project is about 3 years old and the creator at one point said he would do weekly updates just to break that promise repeatedly, it's probably a dead project now but it would be cool if you put a spotlight on it!
Very nice looking machine. Cutting 8mm wood on my 80w laser looks horrible its going to be so burnt on this. A note on ventilation if cutting mdf you will clog a filter very quick.
I'm a bit late to the party I expect, perhaps someone else will have mentioned this, but... Isn't fake leather "PU leather" - or "poly urethane leather" - not PVC??? I realise that a heck of a lot will depend upon the cloth underneath the surface, but I'm guessing that this would be variable, depending upon the manufacturer or something like that
"Keep in mind that this engraving is quite slow." Oh, how slow? "This took 13 minutes, and it's a fairly small engraving" *scoffs in FDM* But seriously, thanks for the review. This cutter is way out of my price range, but it wasn't that long ago that 3D printers were too. Fingers crossed that they continue to improve for hobbyists like myself.
In fairness, you can walk away from a printer, which you can't do with a laser unless you enjoy watching your house burn down. There are some more affordable (Chinese) machines out there. Some go down to ~$300, but benefit from some tinkering.
@@jordymoors Unfortunately I can't walk away from mine. It's got a design flaw where the motherboard glitches, the printer freezes and triggers thermal runaway. But it's true that normally that's a benefit.
They already are, just not the 'smart' ones. You can get an equivalent 50W machines for around ~$1500, with a Ruida controller, which let's you use Lightburn, which in turn also allows you to install a camera.
There is very little info about this machine. Can i use their software offline? How is it compare to Glowforge plus in term of cut quality. Can the build in fan turn off and use external fan? How loud is the build in fan?
Fairly much done to death and why review the A8 equivalent of Lasers (they also catch fire)? There is some really good value in the middle ground but also some gotcha's for the unwary.
The glowforge does all the things the laser cutter does but a bit better. It has auto focusing and builtin area to add ventilation. It has overall a better value for the price which is around 4000
hmmm, how could i go about finding out what types of wood are too thick/dense/hard(?) to laser cut? or would it not matter so long as it's thinner than 8mm?
great video great review thanks, something to work towards for me. personally I think a product like this has a market, great price for what seems almost ...... so close to a professional product.
You can get a similar 50W unit for ~$1500 with an industrial grade controller (Ruida), and much better software (lightburn). You can even add a camera to it ;)
Hi I own a small laser engraving shop. I have a Epilog EXt 36 120 watt CO2 in addition a Rofin Powerline 20 watt fiber with this unit "Flex" will provide good quality photo images? Presently I use photgrav and corel draw
I love when Angus Impales my creativity, we are both vampires. Thanks for the bolt trick to adjust the length of the ropes on the tensegrity. You are very cool as usual.
Hello can say me what type of water you use with it? blue refigerant water for chiller?? please if somone can send url of buy it i apreciate it, is for span and need some solution because with destilated water the temperature is elevated. Thanks for your help and your time.
Angus, just a quick one for you.... I 3D print mainly in PETG and have a laser cutter coming in a few weeks time. The laser cutter is actually for wood work projects in the main, but it got me thinking... From your experience can you laser engrave onto a PETG 3D printed surface? I know you have all the gear I wondered if you had given it a go? I like the idea of engraving/etching a logo into a finished flat surface after a print has completed rather than having to try and print the logo into the item itself. I'd love to hear your thoughts. James
When engraving a raster on plastic, you don't need to keep the laser in focus. If you defocus, the laser will make a wider and messy burn which will scatter light better, exactly what you want with a picture.
Hi Angus, Brill video - does this machine have to work through the internet and can other software be used to operate it please? I have had so many issues with Glowforge that I'm now looking for an alternative and the ideas of A) Camera dependability and B) Teathered to software in the web just doesn't do it for me. Appreciate your thoughts please, Thank You Very Much :-)
What's this Fusion 360 plug in you mentioned? I was thinking of getting something made from Ponoko. I was going to pick the 3.2 birch they sell and I have some pieces that lock together. So I gather I need to expand those notches?
