Very informative! I recently purchased the S1 20W, but have not had time to get to learn it yet (currently in the process of building a trolley for it, so I can move it away from my Workbee cnc router). I look forward to seeing more of your videos about the S1! Rod
I have the 40W. To engrave clear acrylic, get a 16 gauge steel sheet at Home Depot in the size you require. I got the 12"X18". Don't get galvanised or stainless steel. Get a spray can of rustoleum grey primer paint. Degrease the steel sheet and prime. Place the sheet on the honeycomb bed and acrylic on top. When you engrave the laser will burn the primer and also engrave the acrylic. If you have writing be sure to reverse the image. Works great. Power I use is 15% and speed 550.
Great tip! 👏Thanks. My only hesitation to buying the S1 is that you need to change the modules and switch heads mid-work to IR engrave ( I do 2 passes on my tumblers - Diode, followed by Ir Laser). Currently have the F1 and switching between Diode and Ir is just a click of a button.I Wish S1 had this too...
The Diode for initial scratch off, Followed by the IR to kinda polish it off - so I do not have to work hard ( # lazy ) to reveal the shiny side ... @@GeekBuildersNet
Great video. I also have the 20W, and picked it over the 40W. Don't get too hung up on the 40W being more powerful for cutting. Although that is true, the difference is relatively small. The focus point size of the 20W is so much smaller than the size of the 40W, the effective power applied per area of the dot size makes the 20W only about 17% less power applied to the work surface than the 40W. But the 20W is much better detailed too.
Thanks for testing and doing a demo of the S1 20W. i had just ordered a 20W (it hasn't been delivered yet) , but then i keep seeing most people use the 40W version and it made me thinking if i made the mistake. after watching your video, i think it calmed me now. i do hope for more videos. thanks and have fun.
That feeling is understandable. Luckily enough, that 20w does a great job with cutting and engraving. The only difference with the 40w would be faster cutting and more efficient cutting with thicker material. But the 20w will engrave a finer level of detail. I almost never cut more than 3mm stock, so it ends up being fine for me.
Completely not necessary. You only need to mark the area you plan on cutting/engraving. Sure you CAN mark the entire material section, but in no way need to as you still are only going to put your image within the pace you intend to use anyways. By only marking the area you plan to use, it will only show that area in XCS and makes it easy to prep.
For the software as of the last build, it only wants you to mark opposing corners and then draws the work area. They have an update coming soon for circular objects
Just ordered my S1 20 waiting for delivery, I planned to put it on a husky adjustable table from Home depot, it has a wooden top. Is that ok or does it need to be metal?
The Husky table is perfect. The bottom of the S1 is metal, so it should be just fine. I have my S1 on top of a large wooden structure as well. Thanks for watching
I would love to test all 3, but I currently only have access to the 20W. But I will say that the 2w IR laser should produce the best result since that is what that particular type of laser is made for.
The board part should be fine, but my concern would be the plastic coating. I think the laser would cut through it, but the only way to be sure is to test it. It looks like the unisub board is designed for laser cutting, so it should in theory cut fine.
Interested in buying a laser. Almost pulled the trigger on a glowforge this weekend until I saw your video on them. Are you using a purifier in this video? Also, I think you said it won’t cut clear acrylic, but I read elsewhere no acrylic.
I am not using a purifier, I have the machine venting out a vent in my garage wall. As far as the acrylic goes, it will cut dark and opaque acrylics. I engrave and cut black acrylic in this video.
@@GeekBuildersNetsorry. I’m trying to watch a bunch of videos on this so I can decide before the sale ends. I can’t remember who did what in their videos 🙃
Don't know for sure, I don't have the conveyor, but there might be a slight issue with the conveyor system blocking all of the laser reflection, the goggles might just be a better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
No matter how they spin it, no camera is a huge mistake. The 2-point positioning will NEVER be as fast and efficient as a camera, and their excuse of not including it because it would add $1000's to the cost is not remotely accurate. They claim the 2-point is more accurate than a camera, then why does the P2 have "2" cameras...LOL!
First about the camera. The cameras used for lasers are a nice luxury and convenience, but have declining accuracy when moving towards the edge. The twin point positioning is more accurate. Watch Justin Lasers video comparing the S1 and P2, he does a good job demoing this. As far as the P2 having a camera... don't know, I don't work for XTool