Atomstack M4 Fiber Laser: Is it worth buying?

Рет қаралды 176,478

Күн бұрын

Today we're reviewing the ATOMSTACK M4 Fiber Laser Engraver. This is one of a new crop of hobby-grade fiber laser engravers appearing on the market. Is it any good? Will it engrave steel and aluminum? We're going to try it.
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
ATOMSTACK M4 Fiber Laser (Amazon*): amzn.to/3QNvAOM
Other tools used in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Yeti Rambler 14oz Mug (Amazon*): amzn.to/3nAC59q
Bondhus Metric Hex Key Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3eqZzwb
Bondhus SAE Hex Key Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3h9bJLZ
Knipex Pliers Wrench 3-Piece Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2ruzS8m
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
00:00 Intro
00:56 Price and Features
03:01 Problems and Tech Support Problems
04:00 Fixing it Myself
05:43 Adjusting the Focus
06:14 Included Software
11:13 Testing on Different Materials
15:34 Using it Handheld
16:57 Similarities to Other Products?
17:39 Conclusions and Recommendation
fiber laser marking machine laser engraving ideas laser engraving business fiber laser engraving

Пікірлер: 411

@bobtorrence3461 Жыл бұрын

I like the fact that you give honest reviews for hardware you receive for free. I also applaud that you gave the manufacturer solid input on what they need to improve. Keep up the good work!

@mattw7949 Жыл бұрын

You beat me to it. Many channels just do "best tool ever" reviews for free stuff.

@somebodyelse6673 Жыл бұрын

James has done a few of these, and I'm curious if any of these companies actually heed his feedback.

@cplcabs Жыл бұрын

Not sure why you think it was free. He received the Atomstack M4 for the review.

@jamesreed6121 Жыл бұрын

.I think you were being very generous. If the average guy buys one and runs into any of the problems you di, then the reputation of the product goes down the drain, Everyone of your suggestions should be adopted. I think you forgot about the two formats that didn't work. Fro me that would be a deal breaker. Thanks for the video.

@Nobody-Nowhere Жыл бұрын

I think most people who buy chinese stuff understands, that they are cheaper exactly because you are not paying for all the branding and handholding. They are not meant for the average western consumer type. And in my opinion, that's good. As the average western consumer needs to die, people need to recognize use value instead of signal value. And that's what china stuff offers. There is always some western reseller who charges you twice for this and offers the hand holding and branding experience in a fancy box.

@anullhandle Жыл бұрын

@@Nobody-Nowhere A product that actually works out of the box is more profitable. The best customer service is none, the product just works. That's cheaper than shoddy workmanship in the long term.

@melgross Жыл бұрын

@@Nobody-Nowhere the also often incorporate poor software with many bugs. Don’t support all the claimed features, often don’t meet the specs and can be poorly assembled. Another problem as far as handholding goes, well what do we mean by that? If there is something wrong in one way or the other, you NEED the handholding. Generally, you can’t fix the problem yourself. Sometimes the problem isn’t fixable, because it’s in the design and manufacturing. Sometimes the “fix” is a kludge and doesn’t last, or really fix the problem. Look, when buying an unknown brand from China, India, or some other places, you are taking a risk. Some of us find the risk may be acceptable, because we have a good deal of experience, but many others can’t, and shouldn’t be buying these products. Just because someone wants to do something doesn’t mean they should.

@Ol_Durty_Badger Жыл бұрын

Been researching a laser for my Gunshop. I plan on doing custom marking and engraving. So finding good honest reviews for lasers with no nonsense is very welcome. Honest, up front and easy to understand. Great work, keep it up.

@DavidLindes Жыл бұрын

I love the critical-but-constructive review! Good stuff. Makes me want version 3 someday. ;)

@thaelian Жыл бұрын

I think you were being very fair and reasonable... Most people would have given up and they're lucky to have a reviewer like you who doesn't back down from a challenge.

@JimmyStewpot Жыл бұрын

Kudos for the great feedback. I'm in no way related to any vendors but it's great hearing good quality pointed feedback as a part of a review.

@robotskirts Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the wide variety of materials tested.

@LetsRogerThat Жыл бұрын

James I think your review is fair to the manufacturer. Many folks would've given up. Your recommendations are valid, and I would expect better from them even for a $1500 laser. Let's face it. There's huge market potential, given the amount of hobbyists like us. Putting their best foot forward with a product would be recommended. As usual, good work. Gilles

@pauldevey8628 Жыл бұрын

I think your review is spot on. Thank you, this is of value to your viewers who are considering a laser for their shops.

@tonyurquhart8278 Жыл бұрын

Thanks James. I have no experience with Laser Engravers. Having said that, I think your final assessment sounds fair & reasonable. Yes I am like you, I pretty much pull apart anything I own to see how it works, & numerous times I have got badly assembled/marketed items to work. I have provided similar sort of feedback to suppliers to say "this product has good potential, but you need to change some things to vastly improve a customers experience".

@Rob_65 Жыл бұрын

About the "red light": the product description mentions "1064 red light" which indeed is InfraRed light. It does not burn meat but you do feel it stinging on the skin (I've been told - I have not tried, or will try, this myself) but it will damage your eyes. Always make sure to wear laser safety goggles designed for 1064 nm wavelength especially when using this on brass, copper or silver - these materials are much more reflective than steel or aluminum.

@sanjojohn5060 Жыл бұрын

Love the honest review man. Thank you for sharing your opinions. Would love to see more videos from you

@TradeWorks_Construction Жыл бұрын

A good and fair honest review, far too often I’ve seen people review products and gloss over the negatives simply because they feel some type of obligation to do so for receiving the product for free.

@transmitterguy478 Жыл бұрын

Great review James, you answered all my questions.

@benrawner5218 Жыл бұрын

Great review. I like the honesty and explanation of who this tool would help

@richardbennett6053 Жыл бұрын

Excellent review, clear and honest, as always I enjoy your channel

@Mike-ff7ib Жыл бұрын

Very fair review. It seems like they have several areas that need attention and improvement. Although the product does etch material it lacks the R&D to make it successful. I think you provided extremely valuable feedback to this company. It will be interesting to see if they use any of the data that you provided them.

@joselrodriguez5999 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the honest review. I will wait :)

@123232ism Жыл бұрын

Great honest review sir! Really appreciated.

@wmwalkerco Жыл бұрын

Great review. I'm going to have my own thoughts soon too. There should be one on the way for me to review in the next week or so. This gives me a good jumping off point to see what I should try practically.

@TheHouseBlog Жыл бұрын

Fiber lasers are pretty great. We use a 30w noname unit to make equipment tags on bare stainless tags and for other marking. Folded up painted flashing can make a good optical shield to protect your eyes and some fume extraction is important, pretty sure these things are creating nano-sized particles of whatever you're blasting/etching/engraving. That software looks very similar to EZCad, steep learning curve on that one :D I think you need to use much older illustrator formats as it can't read the new ones.

@Graham_Wideman Жыл бұрын

Except this isn't actually a fiber laser.

@TripodsGarage Жыл бұрын

I have the Mr Carve M1 and a Omtech 100w MOPA Fiber, I backed the Mr Carve on Kickstarter. To be clear, the AtomStack isn't a fiber laser. It is a 2w 1064nm diode attached to a galvo head. The Mr Carve shipped with SeaCAD as well. Just like using EZCad you need to apply your hatches. Instead of hitting enter, just click "Application". You have to do that with each hatch, as you can have several hatches for one Pen. If you hit enter, you are only applying that setting to the first hatch. There is a steep learning curve when it comes to using SeaCAD and EZCad, they are very similar in operation. Mr Carve was first out of the gate with a 1064 Galvo, this looks very similar to Mr Carve M2 with a different shell. I would agree in your closing statement about, shipping and quality control. However, even though this isn't a fiber laser, it is using traditional fiber laser type software. I would suggest people be educated on the software before jumping into the 1064 Galvo and or Fiber lasers.

@Ross401 Жыл бұрын

100% not a fiber laser as you point out. It's just a DPSS laser. It's cool for what it is, but should not be marketed as a fiber laser.

@davidp886 Жыл бұрын

I've been looking for something like this to engrave USB drives and maybe some laptop lids for customers, but I'm glad I watched this video to know what to avoid. The comments are also surprisingly informative.

@TheDevnul Жыл бұрын

Good video James. I think the video is just right. You gave us your experience and gave the product more than a fair shake with some troubleshooting. Not sure what the expectation of the company was. But you gave us your experience, not much more to ask for.

@rustyshackleford928 Жыл бұрын

We can always count on a non biased thorough review from you.. For $1500 I would expect more. It has such a small work envelope and I don't want to have to diagnose it. You gave this a fair shot and were constructive in any criticism but the laser is a thumbs down. The video is a thumbs up! Thanks James.

@TheMontanaBladesmith Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I am in the market for a fiber laser for marking many of the alloys you mentioned. My issue is space...I need something small and compact, which is what drew me to this video. Right now I just have a difficult time swallowing the obvious shoddy workmanship on I see on many of these type/size lasers...particularly for the cost.

@bulletproofpepper2 Жыл бұрын

thanks for sharing! it was fun to watch.

@redteardrop Жыл бұрын

While watching the video I had the same thoughts that were articulated at the end. The laser module and mirror seem to work great.... then there's the user experience and "extras" (handheld mode). adding a locking ring, some rubber grip feet and a way to have a positive air pressure (compressed air / fan) setup on that mount that blows smoke out the little corner openings at the bottom would make it work much better. Another option that would be nice would be a mounting system for a Cartesian robot to use fiber laser on large surfaces. The software would have to lock in a 70x70 working area, finish that, move over another 70, then do part 2, etc. embroidery machines have a manual way of this, but with a CNC controlled XY system, it could be automated and even customized on size... as long as the software supported it. The guys over at Lightburn are great and if there was a market for it, they might add that system in (if it was worth it)... or it could still be done manually with little effort programming a control board on your motor system.

@FullSendPrecision Жыл бұрын

I do gunsmithing (precision long range rifle barrels mostly) and need a way to mark the barrels with some text. They are 416R stainless. I am searching for something in this price range that will do the job... I know there are 5-6k lasers that will make short work of it, so I'm excited for this mini-series you have .

@gonzo2.0 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for an honest review, makes the Laser Pecker 2 seem like a better buy.

@Rob_65 Жыл бұрын

When you started I was like: "Less than $ 1500 for a fiber laser - and you think this is gonna do anything ? 🤣". But I am surprised about the results you got. I have a large 30W fiber laser machine for which the laser source alone is over $ 1500. I am surprised with the out of the box quality of the engravings. You are right about the software and support. Lightburn is so much better than all those dedicated packages. Lightburn has no problem opening all the regular file formats.

@Clough42 Жыл бұрын

I think this is a case where all the required hardware is here, and it's getting cheap enough to assemble into a product like this. There's real potential here if they can work through the system integration problems.

@NoTimeForThatNow Жыл бұрын

The fact it does so well on metals is remarkable. But at that price for such a small engraving area and the other limitations, it is hard to justify.

@artcraft2893 Жыл бұрын

Put it on cnc frame and move frame by frame.

@NoTimeForThatNow Жыл бұрын

@@artcraft2893 hahaha that’s hilarious!

@MasterThief117 Жыл бұрын

Honestly, this is around the price I'd expect for this size work area. Fiber/galvo marking lasers tend to be pretty expensive. If you want double the engraving area, be prepared to spend 3 to 4 times the price *at least*. Hardware wise, I don't think you can currently beat this price, especially considering it actually seems to perform well. With that said, the lack of support for Lightburn and poor documentation makes the decision on getting this a hard "no." If this picks up support for Lightburn and if the customer service improves, this would probably be one of the best options on the market. One other thing I'm curious about is the longevity.

@NoTimeForThatNow Жыл бұрын

@@MasterThief117 I don’t know enough about the tech, definitely. But I have been looking into diode and CO2 lasers for craft work and from that perspective this is obviously a very different animal. I guess I just don’t see the business case of it, engraving a tiny area on a variety metals. How does it pay for itself or even make you money doing that?

@artcraft2893 Жыл бұрын

@@NoTimeForThatNow I have 100W CO2 cutting plywood 3mm is slow.

@petetheprettygooddog Жыл бұрын

Well done review, James

@dodgersfnshepard8673 Жыл бұрын

So glad I saw this! Found this exact Lazer for sale locally today for 400, apparently dude got frustrated & wanted it gone. I can see why now

@mark111943 Жыл бұрын

I think your review was spot on in terms of approach and conclusions. This review wouldn’t put me off the product but at least I know what extra I might need to do to have success with it. I am all about managing people’s expectations, everyone is happier at the end of the day! I don’t think I would do well in marketing. 😁 thanks

@jeremylastname873 Жыл бұрын

I will suggest that you don’t want to breathe in the ablated metals and whatever. On the aluminum, blowing off the detritus might help to mitigate it occluding the LASER as it etches along. Thanks for taking the time to create this.

@paulroberts6904 Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for this review, it's one of the best ones I've seen. I had one question for you: on mild steel, how deep was the mark? You mentioned "a few thousandths" with aluminum and I was wondering if it was the same with steel? Great job!

@melgross Жыл бұрын

I’ve been considering a fiber laser myself. I’m like you in that I have pretty much the same experience levels. But, early next month I’ll be 73. At this point in my life, I’d finally like something to just work. I recently finished redoing my mill, replacing the motor with an inverter rated unit. Working to the same standards as my industrial designs over the years was a lot of work. Buying a laser should be simpler. I neither want to be rewriting the software or redesigning the hardware as I would have done a few years ago. Good models are several thousand, but they meet their specs and work properly. If you should have a problem, help is there. It’s a tough decision, particularly as one moves up the power level. My interest is at the 6o to 80 watt level, and these are too expensive, even in the cheap off brand cases to fool around with.

@8amonas Жыл бұрын

I just love how calm you're while explaining that everything about I=this is horrible

@PhysicsHack 8 ай бұрын

I kind of liked your logo with the slip effect!!! 😃😃

@kenh8979 Жыл бұрын

Agree with your comment about supporting lightburn. LightBurn supports Linux, Mac, as well as Windoz while the software included with this laser only supports Windoz. You made 3 really good recommendations to the manuf. Keep up the GREAT work

@mosfet500 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, good review - fair assessment.

@euhunter Жыл бұрын

I operate a 30w fiber laser engraver at work, and it can mark any kind of metal at 500mm/second on full power. It is a Chinese machine and it was about 3500 euro. The Atomstack does not state (or I haven't found) the actual laser power, but an electrical power and a "peak optical pulse power" which is in my opinion deceitful. By the way, the 30w unit houses the laser module and control unit in a case that is as big or bigger than a mid tower pc. The galvo head / arm and baseplate are bigger than the whole Atomstack unit. And it also worked right out the box (meaning a big plywood crate it shipped in) :) The smoke MUST be vented or filtered because when marking metal the resulting smoke contains vaporized metal particles which are hazardous to breathe.

@Clough42 Жыл бұрын

I have seen the figures 2W and 5W in various places in the marketing literature. I would believe either of those. There's probably some rationale by which you could argue that the 20KW peak power is a real thing, based on optical compression of the beam, overdriving the diode source momentarily, etc. but everyone knows it's silly and shouldn't be used to compare to anything else.

@tjmarx Жыл бұрын

To be fair, if the included software just had documentation that would probably solve the problem. I love that you use metric. Keep up the good work.

@somebodyelse6673 Жыл бұрын

Since there's no guard seemingly needed when operating on a tabletop, the only contribution of the guard while using it vertically seems to be stable spacing. Get rid of it and use one that's just a framework so smoke won't be an issue. If you got smoke deposited on the inside of the guard, it's likely on the lens as well. Clean carefully! p.s. As someone who has cut acrylic and plexiglass with industrial lasers, I was unable to ever find an MSDS / SDS that addressed the hazards of cutting it. They'll tell you all about the hazards of using the product as intended, but when you DO stuff to it like melting or burning it, you're on your own. Does a dust mask suffice? Do you need organic vapor filtering? Inquiring minds that may or may not have been repeatedly exposed to carcinogens want to know!

@BozesanVlad Жыл бұрын

Or just put a hole with a fan on it. Simple hack.

@BozesanVlad Жыл бұрын

And an simple mechanism to fix the guard on the laser. For laser software , chinese should build an good app for all them clones and give it freeware even closed source instead of botching all them software. I know nothing about lasers but simple solutions are obvious.

@johnmiddleditch3656 Жыл бұрын

Great vid, really enjoyed it. Have you tried it on Tungsten carbide? If they follow your advice I'd probably buy one. Thank you for saving me loads of dosh and all the grief of buying a pup.

@stevencirrito5422 Жыл бұрын

Sitting here wishing you'd chosen a design with a gradient somewhere in the design. this was an honest review though so thanks!

@deloreanjewelleryviv3593 Жыл бұрын

Fiber lasers on metal in a single pass , are basically only surface engraving , but as you have shown very clearly , each metal is different However , if you use a spacing in region of 0.02 , and use hatch one at 0 degrees and hatch 2 at 90 degrees Then on the right hand side set the speed to around 800 , power 80% ( i never use 100% ) and say 50 passes. That setting in something like copper should give you depth as well as a nice clean cut. I would be interseted to see the result , and i would suspect others would to Great review

@shs1415 Жыл бұрын

A few things to try out. As someone else mentioned this looks like a re-skinned version of ezcad. There are videos out there on using it. For illustrator files, save them as a version 3 file. None of the other versions have worked for me. The frequency is important on a fibre laser. It will affect marking vs deep engraving. Fibre lasers don’t do well on organics and most plastics. The Laser Everything YT channel has some ok videos on using fibre lasers and settings.

@kudegras 3 ай бұрын

I recently got one of these at work. After also managing to visit their office in Shenzhen. I brought up Lightburn driver and they claimed it's in the works and may be released in April this year. We'll see. As for the missing "Apply" button you mention at 9:00. I think I've found that the "Application" button is the apply button, just a slight mistranslation it seems. My additional tip on the Fill settings is to enable the "Cross fill" option. It'll do a second pass, clocked 90 from the first pass to really thoroughly do the fill marking. I also visited LaserPecker, and while their machine has easier software and two lasers so that is has one for wood and paper, its IR laser is much much less powerful than Atomstack's and thus far slower for marking metal.

@maxheadflow Жыл бұрын

Very fair review.. IIRC you being a software guy, I am surprised the user interface didn't drive you batsxxt crazy..

@Dreddip Жыл бұрын

@Clough42 - I was very interested in seeing the inside of this thing. Hopefully following your testing you could do a complete disassembly and inspection????

@dvdrxd7013 Жыл бұрын

Great explanation! Hi James, do you think this laser could mark plastic with a 60% of fiber glass material on it?

@ashleyward427 Жыл бұрын

Really, if I'm spending that amount of coin, I expect it work out of the box. Great review...

@InssiAjaton Жыл бұрын

I noticed a quick piece of info - the wavelength of the laser was listed as 1040 nm. That is a little shorter than what I have believed to be a standard 1060 nm for YIG lasers and mostly used in fiber transferred laser welding. I may be wrong about one or the other number, but no matter, it is infrared in any case.

@Clough42 Жыл бұрын

Their marketing materials claim 1064nm. I have no way to measure or verify this.

@patprop74 Жыл бұрын

looking at the insides when you opened it up, i think one could easily change the galvo board for an uno with a CNC shield and run GRBL for lasers, and unlock its usefulness with software such as lightburn, Perhaps. If this product was only a few hundred dollars, it would be a no-brainer, but for a little over a grand... IDK Nonetheless, thanks for the little review which helps us all make a better-informed decision.

@TheRealFrankWizza Жыл бұрын

On more expensive fiber lasers, like a 20w raycus, you can control the color of the anodized titanium. As such, you can do pretty cool artwork. Is that possible with this?

@tomasjackson6748 Жыл бұрын

What was the speed setting, and line density used for that PCB operation at 12:14??? Really nice removal of the soldermask! Any other relevant settings for the other materials would be awesome to document?

@jhawker2895 Жыл бұрын

Not to hard ... Honesty is never to hard when people know you for honesty.... $1500 is a lot of money to most home machinist's..... Thanks for Sharing ... Stay safe and well .....

@nerdnoise Жыл бұрын

How would this work on cleaning up rust on pipes, or other non-flat surfaces?

@Dreddip Жыл бұрын

I have the Mr. Carve and it appears to have been manufactured with very SLIGHTLY better construction. It uses that same software. I get quickly frustrated by it. I've looked into Lightburn also but as you know, they don't support the BSL type galvo driver boards these things use. Lightburn has indicated that they will only add support after getting more requests for it.

@Sketch1994 Жыл бұрын

How many passes do you reckon it would take to reach an actual depth on the engraving (ideally just enough to be able to transfer the engraved serial on paper with a pencil). If it can actually do that I am really likely to buy one.

@mr1enrollment Жыл бұрын

Nice review. I have been considering one of the fiber laser systems. The AtomStack price is compelling. Do you know the laser power? The frequency limits? I, like you I believe, am an EE - retired. I want an easy way to quickly make PCBs. I am sure the M4 will not cut copper, but the ability to remove solder mask opens doors. Applying SM and blowing it away to prepare for an etch process is an idea. Also the possibility of first applying toner, or powder coat paint and then fusing the material onto the platted G10 copper surface is another idea to prepare for etching. It would be interesting also to know if holes could be "drilled" in the epoxy,... If you have the time to explore these ideas, please do so. I suspect there are many people that would find this topic interesting. Thanks for the video as it is, it is helpful. Dan

@MEMO-sb1sd Жыл бұрын

Thanks great video

@brucegor Жыл бұрын

Thanks. Question. Parts with military paint. Will it mark the paint? Just finished marking part numbers with a friends 30 watt. 2 lines 3 mm tall symbols. The whole mark was about 3/4 of an inch wide and 1/4 tall. Parts took about 2 seconds apiece.

@tttuberc Жыл бұрын

First time ever saw a video of this type of galvo laser. Thanks for m making the video. Your video makes me wonder if you can use this machine to file away the top part of a micro chip so that eventually you can see the inside? And also can we use this machine to burn the glue between the cracked glass of a cell phone and actual screen beneath the glass (for phone screen repair)

@75keg75 Жыл бұрын

5:19 looks like a project to widen the slot right there [haven’t watched rest vid at time posting in case you do in this vid]

@JulieanGalak Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the review, it was excellent. Personally, this level of lack of support and lack of documentation is what I'd expect from a sub-$300 product. If I'm spending $1500 on something, I expect better. To me, this alone would be a deal breaker, before we get into the manufacturing issues and software quality issues.

@EZ_shop Жыл бұрын

Hey James. Amazing that it can do what it does, but it takes way too much fiddling around to get it to work right. I agree with your assessment and would not buy it as is, at least until they improve the user's experience. Ciao, Marco.

@scottmilano2940 Жыл бұрын

Can you heat anodize titanium with a laser like this? Do different feed speeds or power levels produce different colors in the titanium? It's an interesting effect with a torch, but with something like this you could dial in how much heat goes into the titanium.

@kingdoesthething 11 ай бұрын

Hi, I was just wondering what your settings for copper were? Thanks!

@eduardoferegrino917 Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for your good work, I think that would be better to wait for this laser to be improved, I hope that the manufacturer follows your recommendations, if this laser could be improved, it is very sure that I will be interested to get it.

@Graham_Wideman Жыл бұрын

James -- on the chance you see this -- on lasering IDs on PCBs -- have you tried lasering a white silkscreen area, instead of the solder mask? I would really like to know whether the silkscreen ink (which I believe is a kind of epoxy) will mark like other "paint", or escape effect like some other white targets.

@Alan2E0KVRKing Жыл бұрын

When it works it seems to do a great job! Shame about lack of support and quality control thou!

@bryanwillman7410 Жыл бұрын

1. EYE SAFETY!!! - the hazard isn't that it will burn your skin, the hazard is the the probable wavelength with cause instant blind spots if it gets a clean shot into your eye. 2. For between 2x and 3.5x the money, you can get a galvolaser that works as well or better, comes with some glasses that seem to be OK, and a version of ezcad that works. I got one from bescutter (zero affiliation just a customer about 2.5 years ago.) That is of course rather more money, but it's not 10x more. These devices are making progress, but it's clearly not yet mature (for direct metal marking.)

@sublimationman Жыл бұрын

Oh, and that page where you had to hit "enter" after changing things, try "tab" to change to the next item then hit "enter" when you are all done. I have found that quirk in some software.

@thadrodgers2595 Жыл бұрын

Does it remove rust? Does it mark chrome plating ( remark sockets)?

@ocAToccd Жыл бұрын

Nice review James! I never thought that an IR laser wouldn't even etch wood or cardboard... But metal engraving looks great! Have you tried holding the stand on the wall (with the windowy opening) instead of using the funnel? Could be easier to hold the base still... Next time, could you engrave meat with the blue laser for a comparison? 😉

@jackwilborn2353 Жыл бұрын

A CO2 laser is also IR and works very well with natural materials, such as wood. IR is frequency below what we can't see, in simple terms. The CO2 is 10.6 uM and a fiber is around 1064nM.

@bradjarvis Жыл бұрын

I use a fibre laser(higher output that this one admittedly) and had the same initial result as in the video on cardboard, a really light mark. Slowing the speed right down to 100mm/s and dropping the power down to 20% and also dropping the frequency fixed the issue and ended up getting a really good mark, 100% power at the slow speed is also great for cutting the cardboard. My laser uses software called EzCad, but it looks pretty similar to what is in this video, it is the crappiest software ever so agree with this review on that point, also I think the 'application' button is apply when changing settings

@minaextogether1013 Жыл бұрын

You can made jig for control move about use in vertical

@ryanamberger Жыл бұрын

If it can engrave copper, curious if it would be possible to etch circuit boards. Burn away the thin copper layer around traces.

@Pest789 Жыл бұрын

Given how poorly the lens system was mounted, I have to assume the grid of alignment stud holes in the base are kind of a joke. What are the odds they'll ever be square to the raster?

@Moehre040 Жыл бұрын

i hope these types of laser get better and more affordable for industrial use, because at the moment, at work, i cut and engrave parts for a heat exchanger with a lasercutter, but after it is assembled it gets tested and if it passes it gets some sort of code on it, which this laser looks kinda perfect for (atm it is simply done with punches, which imo looks kinda stupid on a part full of nice clean laser engravings)

@kawag2780 Жыл бұрын

I wonder if it's possible to use it in a DIY SLM printer. I figure 3~4kUSD should be enough to build it.

@farhad2839 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your review. I have a question, what laser device would you recommend to engrave stainless steel jewelry with gold plating? necklaces, bracelets? and possibly Bracelet (curved).

@Jimson642 Жыл бұрын

I recommend the EM-Smart Basic with Rotary, It's a good choice and help me a lot, I used my rotary engrave my ring and cup. And it's a good laser to engrave metal jewelry for Etsy, they have many video that they engrave the materials that you have listed: stainless steel jewelry with gold plating, necklaces and bracelets

@Nezzrac 4 ай бұрын

9:20 you'd have to hit "application" (at the top of the object property window) to apply the changes to the object.

@victorlazaro6331 Жыл бұрын

So it doesn’t support light burn‽ thanks for that precious info!

@osgeld Жыл бұрын

4:44 omg the build quality of the electronics in that thing looks like a one off college student project, nothing is close to square (though it probably just makes IPC standards) the two boards on the top right look like they are bent since they are bolted together at 2 crooked angles. Back to the middle board, why are we using headers on one side but solder blobs with wires obviously too thick on the other... and is that a freaking D-Sub cable in the top middle? Nothing wrong with that except it looks like they cut the end of a vga cable and called it a day

@NOTSOSLIMJIM Жыл бұрын

They also sell a fiber laser upgrade for their standard X/Y engravers.

@hashemmousa5509 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your efforts, all clear, im looking for such a machine that can do printing on mobile phones covers , metal, and could be used for printing on ceramic, and glass, im not into programming so it must be easy to use and to be able to print photos as well, this one was perfect until i saw your useful demonstration, i can't work with this machine programming, i saw another model the (atomstack x 20 pro ) but im not sure whether it can be used for mobile phones covers as manufacturers claims, could you please to help me to suggest such a product or if the atomstack x 20 pro is good or not ? I really appreciate your kind response.

@inspectormedia 11 ай бұрын

I really appreciate the video great work! What would you recommend for engraving business cards of all sorts? of metals like aluminum, stainless steel, gold plated? Etcetera. Budget would be around the price of this one, if possible..

@EM-Smart-Laser 10 ай бұрын

Hi EM-Smart Basic 1 can meet your needs with affordable price :)

@liampollard2908 11 ай бұрын

Two diode lasers used for focussing ... this is reminicewnt of "The Dam Busters" height indicating lights...

@SethKotta Жыл бұрын

But can you 3D print a better shield for the laser? I mean, yes; I'm pretty sure anyone could make a better version of that thing. But would you? And would it be worth the effort?

@Killraven59 Жыл бұрын

Hi. Great video. What about ComMarker B4?

@wantafastz28 Жыл бұрын

I’m surprised you don’t make a mount to do the remote burning.

@sidehop Жыл бұрын

I was like IS THAT BOLOGNA? lol...excellent video and audio. Other KZfaqrs should follow suit on how they do product reviews!

@nerwusek19 Жыл бұрын

I have question, Can I use this kind of laser po do postage label printing ? I mean blank postage label will be already on cardboard box that I want to send. All I need if to apply barcode on my snow white blank label from thermal reactive paper - sticker . Thats going to work ? Is laser beam able to put barcode on thermal paper- sticker? Thank you

@matteatuttle2177 Жыл бұрын

Is there a fiber laser you would recommend? I am wanting to engrave paw prints into pendants that are gold/silver plated stainless steel. I am a begginer.

@gangleweed Жыл бұрын

I think for most people marking arm bracelets, whisky bottle labels, and house plate numbers would be the most practical use for this product.....anything requiring more marking would probably give poor results.....so might be good bang for the buck if you like messing with software that isn't really user friendly.

@ronhaefner7833 Жыл бұрын

Ya know, they fix the issues you mention then I may purchase one of these. I wonder how much of a curved surface can one engrave and how accurate does the height adjustment need to be?

@Clough42 Жыл бұрын

It needs to be pretty close. It loses power pretty fast. The focus needs to be really close for challenging materials like aluminum. It's a little more forgiving with paint.

@letsjazzitup Жыл бұрын

This seems like a basic laser I can use for my jewelry. I don't need anything big or fancy. I just need it to etch/engrave on small pieces of stainless jewelry Can this be used on laserGrbl?

@Clough42 Жыл бұрын

No idea. Definitely check with the manufacturer.