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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2023
- Struggling to make pro-quality laser products? Diode Laser Bootcamp might be for you (starts June 3rd, 2024): bootcamp.asherdiy.com/p/join
Here's those other videos I mentioned:
Lightburn / Creative Space Setup for XTool D1 Pro (From Buster Beagle 3D): • Lightburn Tutorial for...
The Ortur 10W vs. Xtool 10W test video (From Make or Break Shop): • ORTUR'S BEST YET! - Or...
And if you've decided to buy an xTool and you want to get it through Amazon, then consider using my affiliate link below. It doesn't cost you any extra, but I get a commission on qualifying Amazon purchases, so it's an easy way to support the channel if you'd like to do so. Thanks :)
xTool D1 Pro 20W bundle: amzn.to/3XRB3HW
Really appreciate your clear and concise explanations on what you found to be your pros and cons about each model. Just enough detail to defend your position without gettin' deep in the weeds. An informative post for sure. I'm a fan. Keep up the good work.
Thanks MJ - appreciate it!
Note on the time it takes. It looks like you were using lightburn. You can change the order it engraves the piece. Instead of engraving all the tracks and text across the board at the same time, you can set it to do one track and label at a time. You'll eliminate the travel time it takes to go from one to another as it moves across the board. This will shorten the time some. Play with it and how you group them.
Thanks, Derek - I actually got that same tip from someone else as well. So we grouped the tracks to reduce travel time, it shaved off 10-15min on that project.
Try the offset fill also
Great job brutha! I've watched a bunch and you brought up points no one else did. Thanks.
You got it. Happy to help.
Very thorough …I look forward to seeing what you create
Thanks!
For your speed: Use offset fill instead of fill, for things like this where you have either multiple different sections or for shapes with space inside (such as the letter O etc). I just loosely replicated the size and speed that you have for the exact same image, and it goes from 1hr 24m 28s for fill, to just 19m 59s for offset fill. Over an hour saved there. If you click "Show traversal moves" in preview, you'll see the wasted time the laser head spends moving over blank areas.
8:28. Computer and laser should be in close proximity. And always monitor your jobs, at least every few minutes.
GOOD to see someone else with the extension kit! Subed, Hope to see some cool stuff!! I got the 20w 2-in-1 deluxe kit enclosed!
Yeah - I think the extension kit is super cool. I thought about doing a video specifically about the extension, but I’m not sure if I can make that interesting to everyone since most folks don’t have one. If you’ve got any idea for a cool video about the extension, let me know and I might make it!
@@asherdiy When I get past my learning curve. I would like to do a FULL-SIZE sign, like WELCOME or something? Right now it's just small orders.
Great points thank you for the info sir
Nice overview! Another unit that's a close competitor to the XTool is the Atezr P20. Very similar in not only capabilities but construction / design as well. I just ordered one a couple days ago so looking forward to getting it. It's a upgrade from my Sculpfun S6 Pro which is a 5 watt unit. It's been a great machine and I'm planning to keep it too, just want more power.
And as noted in another comment, you probably need to change your cut settings on that tracks plaque. Your cut time is only about 20 minutes, but you have over an hour of rapid moves. In the cut settings for the fill layer, at the bottom are options for "Fill all shapes at once", "Fill groups together", and "Fill shapes individually". It usually defaults to the first one, but to be honest unless it's a fairly small or very dense (little white space) image it's probably not a good choice. Try the other two settings and see what kind of times you get. Which is better will depend on how you have the shapes in your design grouped. Offhand, I'd suggest making each track a group, each name a group, and the title another group and try "Fill groups together". It can take some experimenting to find the most efficient approach.
Another trick that can speed things up if you have a large "hollow" shape (for example, an empty circle) is to split the object in two or more parts and put each part on a different layer but with identical cut settings. That way the laser can do each half individually without having to traverse from one side of the circle to the other with each pass. The direction you split will also depend on which direction you're scanning the laser. For horizontal scanning, split into left / right halves.
Hope that helps! Looking forward to more content from you!
Wow - that is a terrific idea. Thanks for the tip on the fill. I’m 100% going to try that!
And yeah, I’ve just recently heard about that Atezr laser also. I think from Steve Makes Everything.
I’m curious about that one, let me know how it pans out for you if you have a minute to pop back over after you get it!
You covered good points. Wish I would’ve researched before buying but still looks like xtool is a good product. I agree on lack of air assist out of the box and pro of upgrade-ability
The air assist on the 20 is fine. Works Great and I have made hundreds of cuts and engravings with zero problems.
You run into the limit (sensor) because of project positioning. Remember, there’s an offset between the positioning crosshair and the actual laser. It’s not that they’re “pretty sensitive,” but they’re perfectly accurate!
They can also get dusty which makes them more sensitive
As I don't have an enclosure, I leave mine on the balcony when burning. For FDM I have a filtered "hot box" which uses three charcoal filters. I have an adaptor to it for soldering which works well so I will make another adaptor for the laser enclosure I am building from aircraft composite like my hot-box. The aircraft composite I use is alu-acrylic-alu in a 0.3/3.0/0.3mm sandwich.
It is light enough to hold together with just tabs and hot-glue.
Aluminium and graphine reinforced belts are good for preventing expansion due to heat but Kevlar reinforced are cheaper and work just as well if you are not moving a head over 800g. (Which is pretty much all of us outside an industrial situation)
Hi, just a little word about the air assist not being adjustable, I just receive mine yesterday and it now has a small rheostat on the electric cord. But still no remote control from computer 😞
About the support team, I agree, I had a response to my question in less than 4 hours !
Logistics was not as good thought, took 2 weeks to receive my D1 Pro 5W, which end up being in fact a 20W... BUT NO COMPLAINT 🙂
Finally great vidéos (plural) THANKS
Really helpful that, thank you for taking the time .... I'm looking around right now at purchasing a machine mainly will be used for engraving leatherette coasters, tumblers etc not interested in cutting anything how long do you think it would take to engrave a leatherette coaster 4" x 4" with say 50% coverage
Hey Paul - sorry, I haven’t tried leather yet, so I’m really not sure what the speeds would be for that.
It would be nice if they the extension pieces with the end pieces and the gantry or sell the pieces separate. I have the 1064nm and the 20w and 40% of a second frame.
Air assist help every type of layer regardless!
I just got my new Xtools laser and can't wait to begin. Question ....what type of surface workspace should I have below the laser ?
Hi Tami - I have the xtool honeycomb bed, which comes with a sheet of aluminum for the bottom. I’ve been using that for months and it works well.
Great video. I’m a noob as well and have the D1 Pro 20w. Smell is also one of my biggest challenges. The fan that came with the xTool Enclosure is a joke and the enclosure was too small. I end up buying a larger enclosure (SCULPFUN) that is taller and bigger. I also bought an inline fan (195 CFM). Still major smell. Will need to figure something else out.
Looking forward to more videos!
Hey - thanks for chiming in. Yeah, the smell is a problem. I’ve got a video coming up where I’ll talk about my experience with the enclosure and online fan more, but ultimately I’d like to try building a DIY enclosure.
@@asherdiy The Clack Shack has a couple of videos on the enclosure he built. I like his design.
Yeah - I’ve seen those. I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do yet, but I may end up doing something similar.
Hey John, I have both 10w & 20w with homemade enclosures, I’ve installed computer fans in each and also run a 4” (195cfm) inline fan. Smoke and fumes are not an issue unless the outside wind is blowing from wrong direction
I had to tighten and seal the housing of my blower at all accessible connections, seams, and all hardware with silicone. For its primary and only purpose, it was poorly assembled for extraction. Multiple areas were insufficiently sealed. Pass a feather duster slowly around yours when it's operating and you may find its hemorrhaging exhaust air.
I have the D1 Pro 2 in one with the extension kit. I've spent more time and money building the biggest enclosure you have ever seen.
The main thing I see in ordering the extension from the git go is that you wind up with half enough parts to build another machine. It would be nice for them to offer the extension as an option. Two side rails, extra standard belts and wiring harness and extra power supply. I could build another machine just for the infrared laser or one to keep the RA2 accessories set up in.
I cant imagine running this in a home without any enclosure. I have a high velocity three speed six inch exhaust and still get some odor issues.
The other item needed is a full length honeycomb. With two standard ones you have a large middle section of rail joint.
I think I saw an update coming for the Wi-Fi. No issue for me because I'm running a mini computer on the station.
One other thing they should work on is the wiring of the main cable and placement of the motherboard.
Overall The machine is impressive in appearance and construction. I like the built in projects that have the library of settings for the main materials provided in the samples kit.
One thing to note on all enclosures is the placement of the intake port. One user sent photos of the fan module that had sucked up a ton of residual smudge. The laser is cutting and the air assist is blowing the material downward. If you place your intake up top it is pulling a supply of the dirt up where the cooling fan can take it in.
with the air stream going down from the start let it keep on its path and draft into the exhaust intake tube. Position the air intake to the enclosure to cause the air to draft across and down away form the material and laser.
Hey Ron - thanks for sharing your experience with it. I’m prepping to build my own enclosure (and I also have the extension kit). I’m thinking about designing my intake vent like and exhaust hole. That way I can have an intake from one window, and exhaust out another. My theory is that this will further reduce smoke/smell. I’d be happy to hear it if you have any thoughts on that approach.
1:15. It takes longer to vector fill rather than raster fill. Nice animal track project!
8:01. Yep, fought WiFi for a while, did not get it working. HOWEVER, you can’t beat a solid connection. So USB is better anyway.
Yeah, from what I’ve seen it does seem like most folks stick with USB
I have been looking at getting a laser. Did you look at the TwoTrees TS2? I have never used a laser, but I like that it auto focuses the laser, comes with air assist connection, has a larger area, and wifi. If you had dismissed it, why?
Nope - I don’t think I’ve actually heard of that laser before now.
@asherdiy as someone who knows nothing about lasers but has 3d printed, it looks like they have better features. It is one of the few that come with drag chains for cable management. It is not popular on youtube. I have seen bad reviews, so it may be that they don't send out as many free units for review? Still at $900 it is a big investment for me when I don't know if I will have a use for it. If you get a chance in the future to look at it, let me know your thoughts.
Hm - that’s interesting. Thanks for the heads up about them.
Why would you want air-assist off? It prevents flame-ups and keeps the head clean from back flash and back splatter
Sometimes an engrave (not cut) job, looks better when you run it without air assist. Watch my air assist comparison video, that has an example of this in there.
I’m a newby but it looks like you engraved horizontally and lost a lot of time in “white space”. Have you tried grouping each track set and engraving each complete before moving to the next?
Great point - Eddie just said the same thing. I’m definitely going to try grouping the fill to reduce the engrave time. Thanks for the tip!
you could get a cheap kvm over ethernet to transport hdmi and 2 usb down to your basement, and then access you pc from 2 places.
I believe everyone’s first laser is good , it’s there second one that should grab all of the attention! By the time your ready for your second one you should be well informed on what you need what it does and things like cost and expandable options ! If you return to buy an upgraded version of your first that tells me your happy with your first and if you buy a different brand that’s saying you weren’t happy with your first ! Just my opinion !
Hey Dave - thanks for sharing your thoughts. Out of curiosity, what was your 2nd laser?
@@asherdiy my first was a Two Trees tts55 ver.2.0 300 x 300 and my second is a Two Trees tt10w 420 x 400 and my next maybe the 40w two trees 600 x 600
One more compliant to add on the air assist "after-thought" bolt on they did. The egress tube bangs into one of the mounts on the right rail, further reducing the working space. Ridiculous!
I also built my own Baltic Birch enclosure, with laser window, exhaust fan, tubing to window door (over 40' of run), and interior lighting. No smell at all if I leave lid closed for a few minutes after burn/cut is done. I'll have to do a review video and post online.
Definitely do that - I’d love to see your design. I’ve been slowly designing my own enclosure in my head, and I’d love to see what you came up with. One idea I’ve had is to have 2 “exhaust” tubes. One for actual exhaust and one as an enclosed air vent to feed air in. With most other designs I’ve seen there is an open vent of some kind on the enclosure, which is necessary, but it does still let some smoke/smell out unless a super powerful fan is used I suppose. Thoughts?
I have the luxury of two windows in the room on adjacent walls, so two hoses out the window would work for me, but maybe not for others.
I'm a couple months in with my D1 pro 20 watt. I too was shocked by the amount of smoke and smell. I have it 100% solved this with an AC infinity Cloudline s6 in line fan (I used reducers and run 4 inch hoses vs 6). This thing is so strong, I can open my enclosure while cutting wood and barely smell smoke. The fan is also strong enough to push the air through roughly 25 feet of hose to my outside vent on speed 6 of 8.
Wow - you using the xtool enclosure? I’m not yet satisfied with the amount of smell with my enclosure while running the AC Infinity S4 4 inch fan. If you’re getting good results with the xtool enclosure with the s6, I might try that before I try building an enclosure.
@@asherdiy no, I built my own. I shopped around online and couldn't pay those prices for something held together by Velcro. I'm thrilled with the results smoke and fume wise, zero smell in my shop! If you build one, ensure you have plenty of access for fresh air to be pulled in
Cool - that makes sense. I think a homemade one will perform better. I was thinking about doing an exhaust pipe on each side. One for air in, and one for air out.
@@asherdiy I wish I could post a picture of what I built, just because it seems to be working great. I cut roughly a 3x9 hole and put a metal are vent cover on the outside. I use the vent cover primarily to keep sawdust and other stuff from easily entering the box since it's in my shop. The AC Infinity unit creates such a draw, a piece of paper can be held against the intake
@@johndeaux9987 You have really inspired me to build my own enclosure, using the s6 fan you recommended. I'm trying to grasp what your custom enclosure looks like. Do you have a hole on either side, one for the s6 and another for getting fresh air in? Since you are using a limiter, do you have a 4 inch hole for the s6 and another 4 inch hole for the intake? I was thinking about drilling a number of smaller holes to avoid having one big gaping hole.
I want to point out that the Infrared laser is very difficult to use. Yes it does have a "kickstand" but when I have contacted customer support, they told me that I have to look a the light beam and focus it based on the brightest light. I have only had one time that I could even see what I had engraved on a metal "dog tag". I regret my purchase.
me too. also it doesnt cut clear acrylic or white bucket lids from the hardware store. I did two knives and on both the laser lost focus on the ever so slightly beveled surface even though I did my very best to level it. I know it would have turned out with the 20w laser just slower. I wonder if it works better in the f1. im a bit hesitant to purchase from xtool again.
*PRACTICE!*
I'm looking at 3rd party air assist since the xTool doesn't seem to be very good.
I’d suggest checking out my most recent video where I test an aquarium pump.
Bon travail. J’ai la chance d’avoir un partenariat avec Xtool et j’arrive aux mêmes conclusions.
There are much cheaper air pumps available. I'm not paying $139. Good vid.
Yeah - I’ve got a video coming up that I think takes a fun angle on that.
@@asherdiy Looking forward to it. I'm actually thinking about a small 3gal. air compressor. It can be used on the laser and tools, tires, etc. You can get them for $90.
Is Lightburn on an iPad connectable for any lasers?
I don’t know, but I’d be curious. Let me know if you find out
I hate when the framing says it is good and then the job stops due to those limit switches! I may have to turn them off myself one of these days for those large jobs!
I bought mine. Didn’t use it yet. Wish i seen this first :/. It was $300.00 on sale so hopefully its worth it
Wow - you got the 20W for $300? If so, that’s a fantastic deal.
I don’t know if you caught the end of the video, but despite some downsides I do think the xtool is one of the best diode lasers out there. So I wouldn’t stress about buying it too much. I like mine.
2:54. If the fan is *exhaust,* why would you be getting cold air?
I had one fan blowing air into the room, in addition to the exhaust fan sucking air out.
Of all the weird crap, I had a spider build their home inside one of the limit switch sensors after only a week of not using it.
Little dude was blocking the optical sensor. I had to relocate him.
Lol - never heard that one before.
This idea of having your laser in a separate room from your computer - not a good idea IMHO. There are times when you're going to have something jam up (e.g. forgot to turn off rotory when doing linear), or hit a piece because of misalignment. Or something worse, and you need to stop it. With Lightburn, the HW button on the D1 doesn't do anything. So your options are to run back upstairs to hit stop, and hope and pray the house doesn't burn down, or turn off the machine and lose your position. Plus it's not practical to do alignments, realignments, etc. Now that I've had my 2-in-1 for 2 mos, I've come to accept that the wifi is only a means of 1 less wire, otherwise a gimic. Again, just my own experience.
Yeah - good point. Probably the ideal scenario is to have multiple computers. Like one for lasers and one for everything else (obviously for when you’re not running a laser as it would need to be monitored), that way you don’t need to move your work station around all the time. I think that’s what Sam from Samcraft does actually.
Or, I guess you could do the same thing with a laptop, Im just rocking a desktop Mac mini at the moment, so that’s the scenario I’m going from.
@@asherdiy indeed... I have a copy running in my warm office, which syncs to OneDrive, and is readily available from the repurposed old laptop used to control the D1 Pro in the garage.
Nice - I’m guessing you had to buy two Lightburn licenses for that?
2:12. Do you expect to BURN something and _not_ have smoke??
Nope
Wish, just wish they had a U.S. based customer service center.
Hey - this is unrelated, but you’re my channel’s first ever comment!!! Thanks for weighing in!
Hey, get a hepa filter and just run it in your room.
What is "AIR" ? Why do you need it?
I think you mean air assist. It’s basically a little hose that sprays air at the point the laser hits the material. It does a few things, including reducing surface scorching on wood cuts.
It blows the smoke away from the laser lens, keeping it clean. And it blows the smoke away from the project, eliminating “powder burn.”
If you can.. take external in air, not your room air, and make sure that your (box) is seald closed box.. no leaks.. in and out air need to be friends.. or they will take over each other..
Yeah. - good call. I want to design a homemade enclosure, and I would probably go with 2 pipes (one air in and one air out) , that way the rest of the enclosure can be completely sealed.
you can run it from an rpi
Rpi = raspberry pi?
If that’s what you mean, I’ve actually heard that from two people now, so that’s good to know. Cheers.
Use a raspberrey with virtual usb to utilize wifi. Problem solved with Lightburn
Hm - I didn’t know you could do that. Thanks for the tip!
yeah i got the enclosure its crap build your own sealed one with silconed joints
Yeah - I actually did exactly that. I’m 90% done making a video about the build.
So pretty much research before you buy.
I wish you'd have bought a microphone before you made this video...
Oh and why is the whole video vibrating? Did you set y our camera on the washing machine?
Lol - yeah, I made some mistakes. I’m actually working on my next video this week and I have bought a microphone and fixed the shaking problem.
If you need a bigger bed buy a laser with a bigger bed, what's the problem? Didn't know what you were doing, WTF? Burning wood smokes, what a surprise. You only need to import a file with parameters, took a whole 2 minutes to setup once, WTF? I got a good pump for less than half, once again you buy without knowing anything how stupid.
Get that audio squared away, my friend it's terrible. Information is great, however.
Yeah, you’re right. I’m working on that.
@@asherdiy The audio was great for me 🤷♀
@Asher DIY decent mic with an inexpensive audio interface, and you'll be squared away! I'm an audio engineer, so I can answer some questions if you haven't already gotten the information you need.
Hey - thanks for the info offer. What Im using right now is my iPhone with a mini rode mic. I think the mic itself is decent quality, Im guessing the main quality problem is that Im in a small room and it feels a bit echoey. Any tips for how to improve that while still recording audio straight into my phone?
I’ve actually experimented in the past (before starting this channel) with separate audio recordings, but Im just looking to save time by having the audio and video all recorded on one device.