Very informative! I recently purchased the S1 20W, but have not had time to get to learn it yet (currently in the process of building a trolley for it, so I can move it away from my Workbee cnc router). I look forward to seeing more of your videos about the S1! Rod
I have the 40W. To engrave clear acrylic, get a 16 gauge steel sheet at Home Depot in the size you require. I got the 12"X18". Don't get galvanised or stainless steel. Get a spray can of rustoleum grey primer paint. Degrease the steel sheet and prime. Place the sheet on the honeycomb bed and acrylic on top. When you engrave the laser will burn the primer and also engrave the acrylic. If you have writing be sure to reverse the image. Works great. Power I use is 15% and speed 550.
Great tip! 👏Thanks. My only hesitation to buying the S1 is that you need to change the modules and switch heads mid-work to IR engrave ( I do 2 passes on my tumblers - Diode, followed by Ir Laser). Currently have the F1 and switching between Diode and Ir is just a click of a button.I Wish S1 had this too...
The Diode for initial scratch off, Followed by the IR to kinda polish it off - so I do not have to work hard ( # lazy ) to reveal the shiny side ... @@GeekBuildersNet
Thanks for testing and doing a demo of the S1 20W. i had just ordered a 20W (it hasn't been delivered yet) , but then i keep seeing most people use the 40W version and it made me thinking if i made the mistake. after watching your video, i think it calmed me now. i do hope for more videos. thanks and have fun.
That feeling is understandable. Luckily enough, that 20w does a great job with cutting and engraving. The only difference with the 40w would be faster cutting and more efficient cutting with thicker material. But the 20w will engrave a finer level of detail. I almost never cut more than 3mm stock, so it ends up being fine for me.
Great video. I also have the 20W, and picked it over the 40W. Don't get too hung up on the 40W being more powerful for cutting. Although that is true, the difference is relatively small. The focus point size of the 20W is so much smaller than the size of the 40W, the effective power applied per area of the dot size makes the 20W only about 17% less power applied to the work surface than the 40W. But the 20W is much better detailed too.
Just ordered my S1 20 waiting for delivery, I planned to put it on a husky adjustable table from Home depot, it has a wooden top. Is that ok or does it need to be metal?
The Husky table is perfect. The bottom of the S1 is metal, so it should be just fine. I have my S1 on top of a large wooden structure as well. Thanks for watching
It's probably not safe to cut PCB board with the laser given the material, The S1, at least with the 20w or 40w can't etch copper- only an IR or Fiber laser can do that. ... I will have to look into the die boxs
Interested in buying a laser. Almost pulled the trigger on a glowforge this weekend until I saw your video on them. Are you using a purifier in this video? Also, I think you said it won’t cut clear acrylic, but I read elsewhere no acrylic.
I am not using a purifier, I have the machine venting out a vent in my garage wall. As far as the acrylic goes, it will cut dark and opaque acrylics. I engrave and cut black acrylic in this video.
@@GeekBuildersNetsorry. I’m trying to watch a bunch of videos on this so I can decide before the sale ends. I can’t remember who did what in their videos 🙃
Completely not necessary. You only need to mark the area you plan on cutting/engraving. Sure you CAN mark the entire material section, but in no way need to as you still are only going to put your image within the pace you intend to use anyways. By only marking the area you plan to use, it will only show that area in XCS and makes it easy to prep.
For the software as of the last build, it only wants you to mark opposing corners and then draws the work area. They have an update coming soon for circular objects
The board part should be fine, but my concern would be the plastic coating. I think the laser would cut through it, but the only way to be sure is to test it. It looks like the unisub board is designed for laser cutting, so it should in theory cut fine.
Don't know for sure, I don't have the conveyor, but there might be a slight issue with the conveyor system blocking all of the laser reflection, the goggles might just be a better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
No matter how they spin it, no camera is a huge mistake. The 2-point positioning will NEVER be as fast and efficient as a camera, and their excuse of not including it because it would add $1000's to the cost is not remotely accurate. They claim the 2-point is more accurate than a camera, then why does the P2 have "2" cameras...LOL!
First about the camera. The cameras used for lasers are a nice luxury and convenience, but have declining accuracy when moving towards the edge. The twin point positioning is more accurate. Watch Justin Lasers video comparing the S1 and P2, he does a good job demoing this. As far as the P2 having a camera... don't know, I don't work for XTool
Very informative! I recently purchased the S1 20W, but have not had time to get to learn it yet (currently in the process of building a trolley for it, so I can move it away from my Workbee cnc router). I look forward to seeing more of your videos about the S1! Rod
I have the 40W. To engrave clear acrylic, get a 16 gauge steel sheet at Home Depot in the size you require. I got the 12"X18". Don't get galvanised or stainless steel. Get a spray can of rustoleum grey primer paint. Degrease the steel sheet and prime. Place the sheet on the honeycomb bed and acrylic on top. When you engrave the laser will burn the primer and also engrave the acrylic. If you have writing be sure to reverse the image. Works great. Power I use is 15% and speed 550.
I’ve used similar methods for other engraves, I should have been more specific that it does not natively do clear acrylic.
Great tip! 👏Thanks. My only hesitation to buying the S1 is that you need to change the modules and switch heads mid-work to IR engrave ( I do 2 passes on my tumblers - Diode, followed by Ir Laser). Currently have the F1 and switching between Diode and Ir is just a click of a button.I Wish S1 had this too...
@@fruitloops68 Why 2 passes, out of curiosity? I've done about 1000 tumblers on 10 and 20w diode and they turn out great?
The Diode for initial scratch off, Followed by the IR to kinda polish it off - so I do not have to work hard ( # lazy ) to reveal the shiny side ... @@GeekBuildersNet
That is an interesting process@@fruitloops68
Thanks for testing and doing a demo of the S1 20W. i had just ordered a 20W (it hasn't been delivered yet) , but then i keep seeing most people use the 40W version and it made me thinking if i made the mistake. after watching your video, i think it calmed me now. i do hope for more videos. thanks and have fun.
That feeling is understandable. Luckily enough, that 20w does a great job with cutting and engraving. The only difference with the 40w would be faster cutting and more efficient cutting with thicker material. But the 20w will engrave a finer level of detail. I almost never cut more than 3mm stock, so it ends up being fine for me.
Great video. I also have the 20W, and picked it over the 40W. Don't get too hung up on the 40W being more powerful for cutting. Although that is true, the difference is relatively small. The focus point size of the 20W is so much smaller than the size of the 40W, the effective power applied per area of the dot size makes the 20W only about 17% less power applied to the work surface than the 40W. But the 20W is much better detailed too.
Surprisingly- after using the 20w for a while, I don't feel like I'm missing the 40
Ive been back and forth on the 20W vs the 40W. this helped Thank you!!!
Excellent video. I would love to see a detailed comparison between the 20W & 40W.
I would love to do that comparison as well. As soon as I can get my hands on a 40w, I will make the video @xtool
Just ordered my S1 20 waiting for delivery, I planned to put it on a husky adjustable table from Home depot, it has a wooden top. Is that ok or does it need to be metal?
The Husky table is perfect. The bottom of the S1 is metal, so it should be just fine. I have my S1 on top of a large wooden structure as well. Thanks for watching
Please do a video of the S1 cutting a PCB board, etching copper, cutting Die Boxes .3mm thick.
It's probably not safe to cut PCB board with the laser given the material, The S1, at least with the 20w or 40w can't etch copper- only an IR or Fiber laser can do that. ... I will have to look into the die boxs
@@GeekBuildersNet i just received an Xtool F1 Ultra and it does have a fiber laser and the company says it can etch and cut metal.
@@culser1242 Yes, the F1 Ultra can, but the S1, featured in this video cannot. Hope you enjoy the F1 Ultra, I hear its a pretty impressive machine.
Interested in buying a laser. Almost pulled the trigger on a glowforge this weekend until I saw your video on them.
Are you using a purifier in this video? Also, I think you said it won’t cut clear acrylic, but I read elsewhere no acrylic.
I am not using a purifier, I have the machine venting out a vent in my garage wall. As far as the acrylic goes, it will cut dark and opaque acrylics. I engrave and cut black acrylic in this video.
@@GeekBuildersNetsorry. I’m trying to watch a bunch of videos on this so I can decide before the sale ends. I can’t remember who did what in their videos 🙃
@@kimby333 Not a problem, I'm willing to answer any questions you have.
@@GeekBuildersNet not knowing much about this, do you think there will ever be a work around to be able to cut clear acrylic?
@@kimby333 There is a work around, but I have not had the chance to test it yet. I cannot speak to its dependability at the moment.
6:20 - I think the fire risk is more when cutting certain materials which may be flammable. I don't think the machine itself poses much of a fire risk
That was my intended point. I did not make that clear.
Yes Thank you to test the 20w Power version :-)
Thanks for watching
Actually, pretty sure you mark the entire surface area corners, then place your design at the location within in the box that is created in xcs.
Completely not necessary. You only need to mark the area you plan on cutting/engraving. Sure you CAN mark the entire material section, but in no way need to as you still are only going to put your image within the pace you intend to use anyways. By only marking the area you plan to use, it will only show that area in XCS and makes it easy to prep.
For the software as of the last build, it only wants you to mark opposing corners and then draws the work area. They have an update coming soon for circular objects
Do you know if this will cut unisub sublimation board? I would like to make my own sublimation earring blanks.
The board part should be fine, but my concern would be the plastic coating. I think the laser would cut through it, but the only way to be sure is to test it. It looks like the unisub board is designed for laser cutting, so it should in theory cut fine.
You didn't mention in your video if they provided the S1 to you to review or if you purchased it?
They provided the machine. I referenced it at various points, but it may not of been clear.
They say the S1 is a Class 1 and does not require the use of goggles, then why does the conveyor come with a set?
Don't know for sure, I don't have the conveyor, but there might be a slight issue with the conveyor system blocking all of the laser reflection, the goggles might just be a better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
That does look like a Bad @$$€+ laser. 😊
It is. There is alot more to test though
No matter how they spin it, no camera is a huge mistake. The 2-point positioning will NEVER be as fast and efficient as a camera, and their excuse of not including it because it would add $1000's to the cost is not remotely accurate. They claim the 2-point is more accurate than a camera, then why does the P2 have "2" cameras...LOL!
First about the camera. The cameras used for lasers are a nice luxury and convenience, but have declining accuracy when moving towards the edge. The twin point positioning is more accurate. Watch Justin Lasers video comparing the S1 and P2, he does a good job demoing this. As far as the P2 having a camera... don't know, I don't work for XTool
Overpriced crap.
What would be your machine of choice