Thanks for the review, took advantage of sale and bought this machine. Would love to see other material tests on this machine for acrylic and metal. Thanks again for taking the time to do the videos.
There are quite a few deals out there right now and with many lasers with new features, it can be hard to pick. I try to present as much information as I can to help. I need to restock on some acrylic so I can use more in testing. As for metal, it will mark stainless and a few others if you use a marking spray like Brilliance or Cermark, otherwise it wont cut it.
I’m not good with the terminology because I’m new with lasers. But I have this laser and I had to set up a macro where it homes just the XY. And it won’t adjust the Z axis after you autofocus. Somebody told me that on the Facebook Ikier page and now it works great.
Autofocus macro: [ESP500] Home XY macro: (two rows!) $HX $HY Skip using the Laser window's "Home" button. You shall use "Home XY" when you want to home your laser head (every machine turn on, when moved by hand). After this your Absolute Coords wil be ok.
I have had the Ikier for about 6 months now, stepped up from an X-tool D1 10w, it is a game changer for my side hustle business. Absolutely love the Z axis control to be able to cut deeper/cleaner materials. Did you ever hear back about the auto focus? I have had the same problem, laser head goes up 2x then hits the stock material and gears start to grind. Sometimes it is as if the switch isn't sending the signal to lightburn.
If yours is pushing into the material and grinding on the bottom then it sounds like the limit switch is not triggering on the bottom of the module. The issue I'm dealing with is that after homing the laser, the autofocus will fail the first time and then loose it's x and y position. It will then focus after that without issue until I tell it to home again, and then it will fail again. Ikier told me that I don't need to home just autofocus and switch from absolute coordinates to current position. However that will mean I cannot use jigs and fixtures to quickly align jobs. Others have said you can disable the Z axis and then it will not home that axis and the autofocus will work correctly, but then you'll loose the ability to set the z offset per layer. I think the power of the laser is great but the struggle with consistent autofocus has been very frustrating.
Thank you for your detailed review and explanations. I'm still confused a bit but that could be my traumatic brain injury the incurred while serving in the navy, so I apologize if I ask simple questions. I have been thinking of buying two of the Ikier laser set ups. The 11w for engraving as it has a smaller dot size and the 36w for cutting. I would like to do some marquetry inlays and thought that the 11w would get me tighter corners. However after watching this video of the 24/48w Pro Max, I'm wondering if I would still be able to accomplish cutting small inlay pieces, do decent engraving on wood, and using the higher power to cut, which for me is probably going to be mostly 1/8" mdf and/or up to 1/4" plywood. Do you think the Pro Max would be a good choice or going with the 11w or 36w (there would be a redundancy of having two frames, controllers and the like should one fail but I don't know if that' really all that important). I do wonder though, with a the pro max in essence having two heads, if one goes out then both are inoperable. What I really liked seeing in this video is that it appears the 24 or 36w units would do the same but not as fast. Anyway, thank you for your videos, I've been spending all week watching as much as I can. And I think I am settled on the Ikier because of it's autofocus and autosink, as well as the linear rails. Thanks again!!
So for fine detail work a smaller dot size will matter, but you might also be surprised at the detail you can achieve with even the 30 and 40w diodes. They are still a finer point then most Co2 lasers and people have been using those for years. The biggest difference will be in the engraving, but for cutting, the lower power lasers will hamper you by needing slower speeds and more passes. This can have a great impact on the quality of the fit of pieces. A 20-30w diode laser should do all that you have mentioned with decent quality. Now, having multipule lasers can be nice from a backup scenario as well as a productivity standpoint. You can run both at the same time working on different things. I've been impressed with the iKier machines and the only issue I've had is the Autofocus after homing on the Pro Max. Hopefully that gets sorted out quickly.
Thanks for the overview. This looks very intriguing; I'm needing to replace the 20 Watt module on my laser as tech support at the supplier has deemed that it has lost power as a normal result of use and this is preventing me from being able to cut through material I had previously been able to cut through. My first thought was to upgrade to their 40 watt module, but the cost of the Ikier 48 / 24 Watt is not much different and it has the autofocus and Z axis adjustment. Really interested in finding out what luck you had getting that resolved. Also holding off a bit to see what the 70 watt laser looks like later this month. Another thought on this, is it reasonable to use the 24 Watt setting to do detailed engraving, then, after the detail is complete, switch to 48 watts and cut out the part?
I'm surprised you have a 20w that has lost power from normal use. Most are rated at 10,000+ hours before they should loose power from normal use. I've not had any luck with getting the issue resolved with the Autofocus failing after a homing operation. It works fine as long as I don't home the machine, but that means working from current position, and that makes it near impossible to use any fixtures or jigs for repeatable operations. I don't know that switching from 48w to 24w for detailed engraving will matter that much in the long run. The hassle of using two jobs and the likelihood of moving the module while flipping the physical switch and loosing home makes it less attractive. Depending on the size of the part, it might be best to just account for the slower cutting speed at 24w or just be fine with the hotter engraving that might loose a bit of detail.
Picture engraving. Surly a test where you change the settings including speed negates the test as you have changed all the settings!!! Leave the settings the same and alter the machine power (just one variable) and we see the difference between the two powers. Just a thought
Cabinet maker here. I’m looking into getting a laser. Only interested in cutting boxes. Plywood and solid wood 1/4inch. Maple, white oak, walnut maybe others. What laser would you recommend? A laser that I can upgrade the length would be great. Is $2000 a realistic budget? Or should I be saving up. I would like it to last 2 years.
That is done with a weld operation. I traced the logo in Lightburn, then drew a box and offset that box by about 1/4". Then I used the weld or Boolean tools to combine them. I have a video on a similar process here that you can check out. th-cam.com/video/DGT3hdWdBcQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=PFPFQUdAFzto2J2e
Greatly appreciate your videos. I watched your video on the 24 watt iKier and this one on the 48 watt. I bought the iKier 36 watt about 8 months ago (still working on getting space to set it up). Do you think if there is much difference in the quality, features and setup between the 36 watt and the other two?
From my experience with them there is a decent jump in power from the 24 to 48w module, I can't speak for the power difference from the 36w to the 48w. As for the spot size, I don't think you would notice that much difference unless you are doing highly detailed white tile engravings and then, you'd want an even smaller dot size. I think the quality is there amongst all of them, my only issue has been with the Autofocus not working correctly after a homing operation on the 48w model. If I can get that sorted out, this one will have a fixed spot in my shop until something else can dethrone it.
I am doing some maker item prototyping on an atomstack a5 pro+ 5.5 watt that I am borrowing. Im very interested in this machine. is it possible to control the power of the air assist, no just on and off from lightburn? Is it possible to use the z axis to de-focus on a layer by layer basis, again from lightburn? I am currently using some 3mm basswood panels, but would like to do other materials. some review of other materials, and this machine would be a great subject, as would when and why you would step up to a co2 machine from the Ikier.
There is a dial on the air pump that allows you to adjust the air flow. It's not automatic so you'll have to manually monitor and adjust it. You can also assign a positive or negative z offset per layer or even per pass. This is done in the advanced layer settings of lightburn.
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Great review! Can’t wait to see your review of their new 70W laser.
Thank you! I hope to get a chance to take a look at the 70w machine!
Thanks for the review, took advantage of sale and bought this machine. Would love to see other material tests on this machine for acrylic and metal. Thanks again for taking the time to do the videos.
There are quite a few deals out there right now and with many lasers with new features, it can be hard to pick. I try to present as much information as I can to help. I need to restock on some acrylic so I can use more in testing. As for metal, it will mark stainless and a few others if you use a marking spray like Brilliance or Cermark, otherwise it wont cut it.
Great video! Can't wait to see their xTool S1 killer.
I’m not good with the terminology because I’m new with lasers. But I have this laser and I had to set up a macro where it homes just the XY. And it won’t adjust the Z axis after you autofocus. Somebody told me that on the Facebook Ikier page and now it works great.
Autofocus macro:
[ESP500]
Home XY macro: (two rows!)
$HX
$HY
Skip using the Laser window's "Home" button.
You shall use "Home XY" when you want to home your laser head (every machine turn on, when moved by hand). After this your Absolute Coords wil be ok.
This is what I was told on Facebook. Works great
Thanks for the tip and the Macro details. I'll have to give this a try. I appreciate you sharing.
I have had the Ikier for about 6 months now, stepped up from an X-tool D1 10w, it is a game changer for my side hustle business. Absolutely love the Z axis control to be able to cut deeper/cleaner materials. Did you ever hear back about the auto focus? I have had the same problem, laser head goes up 2x then hits the stock material and gears start to grind. Sometimes it is as if the switch isn't sending the signal to lightburn.
If yours is pushing into the material and grinding on the bottom then it sounds like the limit switch is not triggering on the bottom of the module. The issue I'm dealing with is that after homing the laser, the autofocus will fail the first time and then loose it's x and y position. It will then focus after that without issue until I tell it to home again, and then it will fail again. Ikier told me that I don't need to home just autofocus and switch from absolute coordinates to current position. However that will mean I cannot use jigs and fixtures to quickly align jobs. Others have said you can disable the Z axis and then it will not home that axis and the autofocus will work correctly, but then you'll loose the ability to set the z offset per layer. I think the power of the laser is great but the struggle with consistent autofocus has been very frustrating.
Thank you for your detailed review and explanations. I'm still confused a bit but that could be my traumatic brain injury the incurred while serving in the navy, so I apologize if I ask simple questions. I have been thinking of buying two of the Ikier laser set ups. The 11w for engraving as it has a smaller dot size and the 36w for cutting. I would like to do some marquetry inlays and thought that the 11w would get me tighter corners. However after watching this video of the 24/48w Pro Max, I'm wondering if I would still be able to accomplish cutting small inlay pieces, do decent engraving on wood, and using the higher power to cut, which for me is probably going to be mostly 1/8" mdf and/or up to 1/4" plywood. Do you think the Pro Max would be a good choice or going with the 11w or 36w (there would be a redundancy of having two frames, controllers and the like should one fail but I don't know if that' really all that important). I do wonder though, with a the pro max in essence having two heads, if one goes out then both are inoperable. What I really liked seeing in this video is that it appears the 24 or 36w units would do the same but not as fast. Anyway, thank you for your videos, I've been spending all week watching as much as I can. And I think I am settled on the Ikier because of it's autofocus and autosink, as well as the linear rails. Thanks again!!
So for fine detail work a smaller dot size will matter, but you might also be surprised at the detail you can achieve with even the 30 and 40w diodes. They are still a finer point then most Co2 lasers and people have been using those for years. The biggest difference will be in the engraving, but for cutting, the lower power lasers will hamper you by needing slower speeds and more passes. This can have a great impact on the quality of the fit of pieces. A 20-30w diode laser should do all that you have mentioned with decent quality. Now, having multipule lasers can be nice from a backup scenario as well as a productivity standpoint. You can run both at the same time working on different things. I've been impressed with the iKier machines and the only issue I've had is the Autofocus after homing on the Pro Max. Hopefully that gets sorted out quickly.
Thanks for the overview. This looks very intriguing; I'm needing to replace the 20 Watt module on my laser as tech support at the supplier has deemed that it has lost power as a normal result of use and this is preventing me from being able to cut through material I had previously been able to cut through. My first thought was to upgrade to their 40 watt module, but the cost of the Ikier 48 / 24 Watt is not much different and it has the autofocus and Z axis adjustment. Really interested in finding out what luck you had getting that resolved. Also holding off a bit to see what the 70 watt laser looks like later this month.
Another thought on this, is it reasonable to use the 24 Watt setting to do detailed engraving, then, after the detail is complete, switch to 48 watts and cut out the part?
I'm surprised you have a 20w that has lost power from normal use. Most are rated at 10,000+ hours before they should loose power from normal use. I've not had any luck with getting the issue resolved with the Autofocus failing after a homing operation. It works fine as long as I don't home the machine, but that means working from current position, and that makes it near impossible to use any fixtures or jigs for repeatable operations. I don't know that switching from 48w to 24w for detailed engraving will matter that much in the long run. The hassle of using two jobs and the likelihood of moving the module while flipping the physical switch and loosing home makes it less attractive. Depending on the size of the part, it might be best to just account for the slower cutting speed at 24w or just be fine with the hotter engraving that might loose a bit of detail.
Picture engraving. Surly a test where you change the settings including speed negates the test as you have changed all the settings!!! Leave the settings the same and alter the machine power (just one variable) and we see the difference between the two powers. Just a thought
Cabinet maker here. I’m looking into getting a laser. Only interested in cutting boxes. Plywood and solid wood 1/4inch. Maple, white oak, walnut maybe others. What laser would you recommend? A laser that I can upgrade the length would be great. Is $2000 a realistic budget? Or should I be saving up. I would like it to last 2 years.
Love your content. His did you make that ikier name plate. Would love to see a tutorial.
That is done with a weld operation. I traced the logo in Lightburn, then drew a box and offset that box by about 1/4". Then I used the weld or Boolean tools to combine them. I have a video on a similar process here that you can check out. th-cam.com/video/DGT3hdWdBcQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=PFPFQUdAFzto2J2e
Greatly appreciate your videos. I watched your video on the 24 watt iKier and this one on the 48 watt. I bought the iKier 36 watt about 8 months ago (still working on getting space to set it up). Do you think if there is much difference in the quality, features and setup between the 36 watt and the other two?
From my experience with them there is a decent jump in power from the 24 to 48w module, I can't speak for the power difference from the 36w to the 48w. As for the spot size, I don't think you would notice that much difference unless you are doing highly detailed white tile engravings and then, you'd want an even smaller dot size. I think the quality is there amongst all of them, my only issue has been with the Autofocus not working correctly after a homing operation on the 48w model. If I can get that sorted out, this one will have a fixed spot in my shop until something else can dethrone it.
I am doing some maker item prototyping on an atomstack a5 pro+ 5.5 watt that I am borrowing. Im very interested in this machine. is it possible to control the power of the air assist, no just on and off from lightburn? Is it possible to use the z axis to de-focus on a layer by layer basis, again from lightburn? I am currently using some 3mm basswood panels, but would like to do other materials. some review of other materials, and this machine would be a great subject, as would when and why you would step up to a co2 machine from the Ikier.
There is a dial on the air pump that allows you to adjust the air flow. It's not automatic so you'll have to manually monitor and adjust it. You can also assign a positive or negative z offset per layer or even per pass. This is done in the advanced layer settings of lightburn.
did atomstack address the issues you flagged to them on this model,