The comparison should be to a 90w co2 tube, because that would be limited to approx. 70% from the rated tube power, so at about 60-70w. Quite comparable raw power. 60w co2 will be a bit faster, even though it really will be 40-45w power. A 90w cuts 3mm ply at about 50 mm/s at 25 mAh. Quite underwhelming cutting results for a "60w" diode. But it is only the raw cutting speed which can be increased by having a normal compressor. Different variety of lenses will be able to give better results at different material thicknesses.
I have an Atomstack 48w. It cuts and engraved great. With lasers the real issue is speed- how fast can you cut and move to the next. I believe the continuous improvement on diode lasers will push time lasers down in price. I’m just impressed I live in a time where you can have a laser in your workshop!
Yes please can you do a comparison of a ~60W CO2 machine to 60W diode. I'm torn between getting the P2 with all the bells and whistles and the Falcon2 Pro 60W.
Should probably finish watching the video before asking this but.... Given that the tray can be removed, does the Z have enough adjustment to make it possible to have a long piece of material inserted in it's place, with the cutting capacity of this larger(stronger more functional) multi-piece projects can be done and you will get a LOT of waste if you have to cut pieces short enough to fit in the machine rather than just feeding in and positioning/flipping(if necessary) a longer piece to maximize material usage and minimize waste? Basically every 'tool made from plywood' vid on youtube with parts small enough........................
If you slide material in through the tray, you can fit a full 24" long piece of plywood into the work volume. The Falcon 2 Pro has sensors that know if the tray is open, so you'd have to spoof it being closed in order to fit larger sheets of material in and cut with half of it hanging out.
Yea, for $3200, I bought a 55 watt CO2 laser with a 20" x 28" bed. Those laser modules must be super expensive to manufacture because the rest of the machine looks like it should come in under $150.00. I think if they put a better collimator lens on the laser module, they could get the spot size down significantly making the beam intensity super high. Then I would think you would be able to cut through ¾" walnut in a single pass with no problem.
I suspect the limiting factor in how many laser LEDs they can cram in these things is thermal. If they can dissipate the heat there's no reason they can't put 20 of them in there.
That’s a lot of money to spend on something that can’t cut clear acrylic. I’d rather spend that sort of cash on a CO2 laser that gives me the ability to cut materials outside the scope of a diode laser. I own a diode laser. So, this comment isn’t to beat up on them. They have their place in my maker space. You can’t ignore their limitations.
From the parameter test values, I feel that the engraving function of this machine is average, and I can't see a suitable engraving parameter. And the wood board has traces of yellowing.
I'll say I didn't fully dial it in BUT the performance with the 1.6W module is really nice, just slow. Also I need to show engraving tests on better material, the normal birch ply is pretty grainy and it's hard to get a good shot of it on camera.
