Great review Will. I'm happy with my Aufero Laser 1 for small engravings for now, but this looks like a great option if I want to expand my capabilities.
So many cool ideas! Now I need to try some of those. I really like the mason jar inserts. One thing I found out in my research you don't want to run a diode laser at 100%. It will decrease its life faster than it would at say 85%, which is my typical max. I just lower the speed a bit to compensate. It's logarithmic or something. Keep up the burning!
Thanks for showing such a plethora of substrates and applications! I never would have thought you could “engrave” fabric or watercolor paper. Both applications are stunning! I can envision lots of products using both substrates. Good review video!!
Love these vids man, keep them coming. I’m currently looking into getting a laser engraver to engrave the baseball bats I make (Hammertime Bats) but I’m not trying to break the bank. :) What is your preference between this laser engraver and the XTool D1?
Looks interesting. Apologize for the extremely basic question but I have zero experience with CNC or laser. Are the software programs (layout, design, set up, etc), typically Mac compatible or would a dedicated PC/Windows machine be necessary?
Lightburn has a native Mac application. For $60, it's a no-brainer for laser work. I use VCarve for my CNC, but there's no Mac version. You would have to run Parallels. It runs at $350 for the Desktop version. The limitation there is 25" x 25" workspace, although you can tile to make things as large as you want. I have the Pro version which removes that limit and runs at $700. There are other things, but they are more for workflow efficiency than actual operations. You can buy Desktop and then later on upgrade for the $350 difference. Fusion360 has a native Mac application, but I find that it's more 'technical' and for 3D objects. VCarve is focused on CNC with routers. That said, I would love to dig into Fusion360 more for CNC operations. Those two would be for designing the jobs. Then you need a software to send the toolpaths to the CNC. I use OpenBuilds Control, which is 100% free. There are a few other free ones, and PicSender which I think is $30. They're dedicated to moving the spindle around the work area and sending the gcode (toolpaths) to the CNC controller. Then the controller tells the X, Y, and Z motors how much to turn clockwise or counterclockwise. It really is a pretty cool system. Lightburn does everything for the laser, design and controlling the gantry.
Take a look at Joshua De Lisle's RU-vid for using this machine - he made good use of air assist. He made two videos using lasers - you might like then both.
It would be interesting to see how quickly (or if) you outgrow this machine given your use case. Rotary seems intriguing, but I would definitely need a beginner machine to cut my teeth with. This seems like it would fit the bill for someone like myself who has little to no experience with a laser or CNC. Thanks for the video!
I started with a CNC and then got a laser. If I had to do it over, I would probably get the laser first. The focal point on a laser is so much more forgiving than the z height on a cnc. So I would learn how these types of machines work, then expand into spindles and bits and such. Whatever you do, get into it and start making things!
