The Cheapest Laser Engraver On Amazon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2022
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What is the cheapest laser engraver on Amazon capable of? Does it work? Will it cut? In this video, I put this laser engraving machine through all kinds of tests!
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#andybirdbuilds #lasercuttter #laserengraver - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
I tested this laser too! th-cam.com/video/PXDsxAiTJxA/w-d-xo.html
I'm interested in engraving the bowls I make on the bottom with my logo. Could this be set up in a way that I can get my bowls under it? Bowls are anywhere from 2"-4.5" deep. Thank you!
This is similar to the one I started with. I paid more than $99 but it looks like that. I upgraded last year to a CO2 laser and love it but there is definitely a place for these little lasers. I gave mine like this to my sister to learn. 😊👍
Do you have any advice on a good laser printer for printing on denim??
U are amazing, what u are doing testing and showing to us is fantastic 😍, great idea, thanks 🙏
Another awesome video. Maybe now that you have both laser and CNC, a follow up to a simple enclosure to remove odors and smoke would be a great follow-up for these miniature models.
Hmm. Thanks for the idea!
My brother's wood cutting machine has a small attachment near the drill for a shop vac
Hey love the video. Since you already did a video on the CNC1610 pro you could actually do an even cheaper laser engraver by getting the module that was made for the cnc machine. I believe you will have a pretty similar experience though. Still good job on the videos!
Very good Job...always something a little different. Big fan of these.
Goodonya mate. Gives me a few good ideas about some engraving I wanna get done. Fanx.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Can you try this on glass, cups, etc.?
i didnt read all of the comments but it seems like if you did a few passes at the higher speed and power you might be able to cut with it. also when cutting through something you might want to get a honeycomb panel that the laser engraver can sit on to help with air flow when cutting something else out. i work with a xenetech (do not recommend) and a gravograph (highly recommend if wanting to cut things out about an 1/8 in thick) both of which do great in their own right. gravograph is so easy to learn its programing and is very user friendly. both laser engravers have a honeycomb that the projects can sit on if they need to be cut out.
Thank you for this
For cutting through thicker stock cleanly, simply find the speed that engraves well without burning the edges, and run it multiple times till it has cut through.
Thanks for the info!
Sure, you could do that...but.
Time is money.
So is electricity.
sure but some people have the time but not the money@@dangerous8333
Have you try on different type of metals? Paint steel vs raw steel? I’m tracking the reflection and surface factor but I still would like to try. Thanks
thanks, needed this
This video is a tease of epic proportion’s 😂❤ thanks for showing us - wish was still around
Hey Andy, I'm looking to start doing a side hustle with wood projects. What would you recommend for engraving signs on oak, walnut, etc. Engraving or routering? Which would be most versatile or give the most flexibility. Just starting so don't have a lot of cash to start.
Thanks, Ted
It's nice to see a happy review. Liked.
Thanks for your help. Good job!!!
Glad it helped!
This looks like a great engraver!
Great video, how did you choose the tiger design and implemented in the program can you do the same design on a piece of the leather and do a video about it,
Great review! Thanks for doing this video. Did you try it on leather?
Very cool! I’ve seen your cheap CNC and now the laser engraver, have you ever tested a 3D printer? Thanks
I have not the slightest clue about engraving but I find that many Amazon items that seem cheap actually seem to hold themselves quite well for the amount of money. For example I got a mini multitool for engraving wood and such but got it for sanding and metal works. It was about 15 bucks and so many people complained about it. They won't do any heavy lifting but when you keeps their tasks simple and test their limits you get a cheap fairly well working tool. You just can't expect pro tier results from a low end tool but with that in mind you can get great deals for a practice tool you won't be mad about when it breaks. Which it will sooner than later.
Well they're not Amazon items. They're sold all over the Internet, including eBay.
So you can't just say that buying it from Amazon you're going to have luck. It's a 50-50 chance no matter where you buy it from.
@@dangerous8333 If you want to get all---- 🤓 Ackchyually...
Then that was not really the point. They were talking about budget items you can order. And this video was about the cheapest laser engraver on Amazon so that is how the poster stayed on topic.
And what do you mean by 50-50 chance no matter where you buy it? That is WAY wrong. If there were a 50-50 chance of getting a decent working quality item or a crap item that doesn't work, we'd all be screwed.
Plus Amazon discontinues crap that gets bad ratings, and has a campaign against fraud and knock-off products so the chance of getting better quality items HAS gone way up.
Great Job on the video. Thank you !!!
Glad you liked it!
Great video, you can cut with it use about 80% power and 60% feed and do multiple passes, should cut clean. Focus of laser is very important also the further out of focus the wider the beam and more chance to burn. Also always keep a fire extinguisher close.
Thanks for the tips!
The further out you focus the laser the longer the "waist" becomes as well, which means it keeps it's focus over a larger depth. This helps cutting thicker stock.
Less flat stock will also benefit from the longer distance keeping things focused.
For shallow engraving on very flat stock, a close focus gives smaller spot with higher intensity so you can engrave at higher speed.
Upgrading to a 10 Watt laser module should not be a problem.
@@Willeecue Description says it's already 20W.
@@No1sonuk laser modules have two power ratings: input power and output (optical) power. I suspect William is talking about output, while you are talking about input. Might want to educate yourself before commenting.
Hi Andy.. Very good channel! I wonder if you could advice me about what should it be the best CNC machine for the budget to make some guitars and woods instruments.. greetings!
It isn't available on amazon today. Do you know where else i can buy it?
Can this be used when frame on its side do you know.
Looking for a machine that can put etching on a chassis but it's not flat it's vertical
Saw someone convert one like this to a plasma cam very easily!! Makes me want to try it!
Thanks, for the cutting part, did u try to do it in a few passes instead of one pass?
I really like this! Can you explain how to do your own designs?
what about if you wanted to make some plastic stencils like for making curbside numbers or designs? would you recommend this or suggest another type of cutter?
I randomly bought this last week and found your channel looking for info about it! Great video! I feel great about my impulse buy now 😂, it should be more than enough for the light projects I have in mind, on a side note, the description said you can use your android or ios device to use it through bluetooth, can you confirm?
Cool. I didn't try the Bluetooth option.
Did you ever figure that out?
I’m looking to buy this but I don’t have a computer, I do have an iPad and a few phones I can use.
One of the reviews says the QR code for the Android driver does not work.
Thanks for the review. Unfortunately for me, it looks like everyone else beat me to it and it is no longer available. 😳
For sure. Hopefully they'll be back in stock soon
Would this laser engraver be good enough to engrave text on electronic control panels? like remove the black paint to expose the white beneath it to create text?
You can cut with that:
- you can't keep the material laid on the base, it has to be suspended like with a metal honeycomb, for the cheap make a bed with some one inch screws in a grid
- build a small air assist with an aquarium air pump or an air compressor
Can you engrave chrome tool's?
Such as names?
thank you for this video. I came across your channel searching for a wood engraver. I am wanting to engrave my woodworking (hobbies t and gifts) and want the most bang for my buck. Many projects OK all projects at this time are turned on wood lathe. Does this have y axes or able to engrave round objects? I am happy to like this video and also a new subscriber!
Sadly, Diode lasers in this price range are barebones (which I know is the basis of this video). Though they work, they are missing some essentials. One of these essentials is a dedicated air assist setup. Typically these setups have a way to direct air right on the material where the laser is hitting it. This allows for a more precise burn and less chance of charring or burning. One problem is that the more you improve the laser, the closer you get to the high-end lasers that already have these features. Diode lasers seem better for picture quality burns, whereas a CO2 is more along the lines of a cutting tool (acrylic, wood, leather, etc). I happen to have both and use each tool accordingly.
Lastly, a fiber laser is great for marking metal. You can do some marking on certain metals with a Diode and a CO2, but it is super limited and usually have to have some sort of marking spray added, like Cermark or similar.
Also, for any laser, be prepared to jump down a small rabbit hole on proper ventilation (7:25 minutes into the video above), air assist and most likely an enclosure for the laser. Though most of this can be circumvented by placing a fan in the window, you want to remain present for burns as it can cause a house/shop fire if you walk away.
Keep in mind that the more detailed an image you try to burn, the longer the burn times. A high def image in a size of 4"x4" can roughly burn for 2.5 to 8 hours depending.
You seem to know what you're talking about, and a fellow German. 👍
I have a full woodworking and metal fabrication shop, and 3D printers, but this will be my first laser.
What's your opinion on the new Creality Falcon 2. Seems like a nice machine. With current sales and coupon it's $950. Seem worth it?
Or what route would you go with a budget of $1000?
That is impressive. Makes me regret buying the laser attachment for my cnc all the more than I did already. Thanks for the video.
I was pretty impressed too. But like I said, maybe longevity is the question
@@AndyBirdBuilds Very much could be the case. That being said, a "disposable" secondary machine beats a $500 attachment that puts your workhorse out of a job for hours on end.
@@AndyBirdBuilds Longevity is heavily influenced by how you use the laser. For diode lasers the recommendation is to not use them with more than 90% power, always running at 80% will give you multiple times the lifespan, while running at 100% can burn out the diode after a short time, in some cases hours.
The link you provided lists this as a 20W laser. With cheap diode lasers manufactures tend to give the module power input, while what you really need to know is the optical output. Laser diodes come in different classes, the most popular ones for laser engravers having 3.6W or 5.5W optical output, the latter most likely being what is on your machine. In some cases the optical output is printed on the laser module itself, I have a 450nm module saying "Rated Power 20W, Optical Power > 5500mW, 12V, 1.7A max", and with 12V*1.7A=20.4W, it is very obvious that the 20W is power consumption, not output. Diode laser modules with higher optical output reach it by using two or four laser diodes and combining their optical path, as "real" 10W laser diodes just hit the market and are still very expensive.
Even the current models combing four diodes for a 20W optical output costs USD 200+, which makes it very likely that your 20W is really 20W input and 5.5W output. Which would still be enough to cut several mm of plywood, esp. with air assist, multiple cut passes and proper refocusing/z-axis adjustment between passes. And you got that device at an incredible bargain, as "true" 5.5W modules alone will usually cost more than half of what you payed for the whole engraver. Just keep in mind that current affordable single laser diodes can physically only deliver slightly above 5W at 100%, and will run very hot when doing so, which is what shortens the lifespan.
There are some vendors selling e.g. 5.5W, 7W, 15W or 20W configurations that all list the same 5.5W optical output, if they list it at all. Meaning not only that these offers are somewhat of a sham, but also that those who go for the more "powerful"/expensive model might suffer from a diode burnout much earlier, if the lower configs run at the correct power settings while the higher ones are actually overdriven with power levels outside of the specs of the diode. That is unlikely in your case, your 20W most likely just refers to input power, adequate for a 5W output diode.
@@BB-wj8dv that's why buying a dedicated machine (tool) for each job makes the most sense. Yes, you will spend more, but you can do more and do it more efficiently with the right tool employed.
@@AduroMark-ChainReaction My cnc and all it's accessories was my first major shop purchase. It's just one of those things, hindsight is 20/20. I would make much different purchase decisions today than I did back then. Though to be fair, that was at a period in time where a garage CNC router was unheard of.
Looks good
Nice for the price!!
does it work on stainless steel?
I'm looking for a budget lazer to engrave on powder coated ammo boxes. Would one like this do the job.
Will something like this engrave on steel?
Did you try and see if it could mark metal like the XTool claims it can do using a diode laser.
any other recommendations since amazon no longer sells these?
Cool video. Btw you can get a pad of 50 sheets of news print paper at the dollar tree, i always use that in preprints and fine tuning. At 2 cents a test print, its hard to beat. Also if your doing the engraving, you really aught to invest in a good roll of Masking tape (The big stuff) to help with over burn and smoke.
There aren't free materials you can use for test prints?
Will this Lazer engrave Polly ear tag looking for something better than free hand is all. Great video
Anyone have an image for the USB drive for this machine? I just bought one for less than half the price(already built) but it didn't come with any instructions or configuration software and no safety glasses either. I've looked at several videos on setting up a engraver manually. It'd be great to have what it came with and a recommendation for safety glasses would be appreciated. I also won't mess with it until I have the glasses at least. Thanks in advance!
What is the largest dimension (L x W) this will engrave/cut?
What about the fumes etc. is it safe to use in a average indoor room?
Do you want no longer available to buy on Amazon? Can you please tell me when they’re available to buy on Amazon? I love your videos. thank you for the help.
Does the software allow for multiple pass so that you can cut the material with out burning?
Do you know if this can engrave on acrylic?
Can u put a rotary attachments to these ?
What is the best unexpensive tool to print permanently on small plastic surface please? Any suggestions as of Dec. 2023? Thanks
How about steel etc is a cnc engraver better for that?
Thanks for your video! OK, you call it an engraver. I'm a silver smith, and have been looking into something like this to engrave my maker's mark onto my pieces or little tags that I hang on necklaces & bracelets. Did they say if it will engrave metal? I've seen others do it, but not sure what they were using. Thanks!
Unlikely to engrave metal, that would be problematic with any laser cutter except some super high end ($10k+) fiber lasers designed specifically for metal. Metal both requires a lot more energy to do anything to, and its reflective so the laser would just bounce off without doing anything to the metal (but could potentially cause damage or injuries). Could make some pretty cool tags out of cardstock or wood though.
There is a way to use the laser and some material to acid etch metals - the laser "cooks" the material and makes the acid. IIRC, mustard is one such material some people use, but I'd imagine it would depend on the metal involved.
Great video.
Hi, I can’t get mine to work properly. Which software do I download for apple
i lost the thumbdrive for this, where can I download the software online?
What software are you using?
Can you engrave soft metals? Aluminum, brass, bronze, nickel, etc...?
what software comes with it ?
Is it capable of carving stencil
It says item not in stock and they don't know when its coming back. Any other place i can find the item?
I would like to see what it would do to metal.
Would it cut EVA Foam 2mm - 10mm thick?
Great video, Update?is Still working?
I just searched for this on the UK Amazon store and here it's priced at £498 (about $599) 😲🤔
Muchas Gracias por los videos, lo veo desde Ecuador. soy Carlos Alonzo. Diseñador gráfico
Does it work on metal?? Thx.
You can cut 1-3mm birch/mdf if you run multiple passes instead of one slow pass.
Great video. It’s worth keeping mind that this item will not be $99 in all markets and not even on Amazon all the time!! So packing etc is a bargain at $99 but expected at $199??
Keep it up
Kindest
Bob
England
Great point!
will a chromebook work with the program?
Very much an Ortur LM2 Rev 1 clone. Not sure about it's processing speed and optics but it looks pretty decent
I am wanting to do some inlay work using 1/8", 1/4 or 3/8' dense foam. Will this laser cut up tp 3/8". I want to cut letter and other shapes so I can do Rapid Set concrete projects with inlays.
No it won't
Can I set this type of engraver directly on a table and engrave the table?
So, as you mentioned, it's an engraver not a cutter but for cutting balsa wood sheet 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 it should work?
I think you could. It would just take some trial and error
can you put a link in the description
Can it make marks on stainless and carbon steel? My hand isn't what it used to be, so I'm having hard time when marking things, laser would be great if it could project solid lines on steels, it is easier to follow grooves than to make shapes for pendants on smaller pieces or knives.
Or would a cnc be better for that purpose?
A fiber laser would work best for this
If you need it just for marking out, it might work.
Have a look here: th-cam.com/video/nTB1Ov3_JOA/w-d-xo.html
and then: th-cam.com/video/AeN8jhTkde4/w-d-xo.html
Would this cut 3m vhb tape??
Might be kind of a dumb question for you, but if you were to get a laser engraver with the proper ventilation and enclosure for it, would I be able to leave it unattended in my garage while I work on other things inside? I would really like to get one of these but if I need to be present at all times it’s running I’m not sure it’s for me. I just can’t spend hours a day attending to it just to monitor it. Maybe I could install a smoke detector like you have? Please let me know your thoughts on this, thanks!
Have you ever tried this or any laser on rigid foam (pink or blue high density foam) thinking may work for engraving but was curious if you have ever tried
If you try it, make sure to use a chemical respirator - foam, etc. makes toxic fumes when burnt.
So, could you use light burn software with this laser engraver, or similar ones? Or do you have to use the software provided?
It can't out of the box but some people have commented that an upgrade is available.
Andy - like your video. Tried to find it on Amazon - no dice. Do you have another possible link to where it can be sourced?
Thanks. Unfortunately I don't have another link. Hopefully the manufacturer makes them available soon
@@AndyBirdBuilds sadly, they won't. These machines are Ortur clones, mass produced in China (doesn't make em bad...I'm just pointing out the facts), and they are sold at what ever price point they can get away with for as long as they can. As soon as Ortur (also a Chinese manufacturer) gets wind of the competition, Neje (Ortur's parent company) buys the factory or sues for breach of patent (serious offense in China if the owner of the patent is a successful Chinese company...which Neje is), as Neje owns about 200 patents on these machines in this style. Companies like TwoTrees and Sculpfun, that make similar machines to the Ortur line, license the design and diode housing configuration.
A couple of things you should be aware of just as a matter of course:
NEVER install the software that comes with these low end machines, your instinct to toss the dongle aside was a correct one, regardless of the video it had on it. They are often loaded with trojan horse viruses that will lie dormant sometimes months at a time before reaching a critical time marker and then wreck havoc on your computer. LaserGRBL is free and should run that machine, as it will almost any Ortur knock off, as should Lightburn provided the control board isn't complete garbage. You should probably do a short follow up about that information, and get both LaserGRBL & the free trial of Lightburn so you can test them with the machine. If it only runs with their software, you can easily upgrade the logic board to something that will run those.
Secondly, diode lasers have a "cap" that holds the gasses inside the diode's firing area (the name escapes me at the moment). The majority of them, ESPECIALLY Ortur knockoffs, and even Ortur in the early days (and occasionally Neje still to this day) are either uncapped, or not capped well. As such, plan on replacing the laser unit fairly soon. It's likely not going to last very long, but the "guts" should last for a few years with proper care.
While I still use diodes for canvas engraving, our business has grown to where a CO2 laser is absolutely a necessity, which is why my channel (with its whopping one video and zero to a handful of subs lol) focuses on CO2 stuff, BUT I have extensive knowledge and background with these machines, so feel free to shoot me a PM and I can hand you enough info and detail to produce about 20-30 videos showcasing it if you want to keep going down this road. I'd be happy to give you a helping hand in the right direction. Cheers!
@@AndyBirdBuilds oh...and one last thing, NEVER run a diode above 80% unless you want it to die a quick, and painful (for you) death. Remember, the capped gasses are a finite resource for your machine. And there's no taking it to the "gas station" to fill it back up.
Nice! Thanks for sharing…. I bet better detail would come if you had a more precise way to set focal point.
Right on!
Can it engrave small pictures say 4inch x 1inch rectangular area
How's this engraver working now? Any update?
Can this machine works on glass surface?pls Answer
Hey andy i live in scotland and would like to purchase this lazer at amazon so could you send the model number and make from amazon
What materials can this laser engrave other than wood?
Both links show that these version are no longer available. Any other alternatives?
Would this work on sheet metal?
but could it cut threw softer materials such as gasket paper sheets is my question?
Will this cut acrylic
Is it running GRBL???
Hello ,thank you very much for you time , I have a question , can I engrave saxophone (brass) ?
No
What]s a good laser to get around 500.oo
can i cut fabric with this ?