CORRECTION: I showed in the video that camera calibration was really bad. I changed two things and recalibrated and it is **WAY** better now: 1. I added a 400x400 honeycomb bed on top of the slats, approximately centered with the cuttable area. I'm not sure if this alone made a difference, but it helped with the next step (though it does raise the work surface, which might help...?) 2. I performed the calibration moving the calibration card ONLY WITHIN THE 400x400 work area based on the honeycomb bed, instead of to the very edges of the machine. The camera distortion is much less severe in the work area than at the edges of the machine, and means it collects data directly from the parts of the bed you actually use. I didn't try re-measuring the error, but I'd estimate it's down to 1-2mm error now at the edges, nearly perfect at the center of the machine.
Have you considered reaching out to the lightburn team to suggest improving the camera calibration routine? Thanks for sharing the slat stabilizers gong to go get the file now to improve my 40W version.
Thanks. Nice job. And thanks for the stabilizers too. I'm cutting them now. Maybe you are the guy that could come up with a push style clamp for the warped boards???
Like you said -Ditch those slats and use a honeycomb bed. The blade slats were a “cool” idea but in reality the honeycomb provides the much needed stability. I’m still dialing in my settings for deep relief 3D greyscale engravings and almost there :) I’m still very happy and impressed with the Falcon 2 Pro and its capabilities. Cheers
@@coolguy21420 There's a link in the description for the official creality honeycomb bed. You can also get one cheaper on Amazon, as I did -- a 400x400mm bed with rulers along the side that I find particularly useful.
Marking spray has silica in it. You are basically putting a ceramic coating in when it heats it. The stuff is permanent and lasts travel to space. NASA uses it. If you can rub it off or remove it chemically you didn't get it hot enough. I've worked with cermark a lot it's great when used right. Just dial in the settings. Tempra paint and glass let's you do engraving in clear glass. I made a video on it a few years back. These machines are coming along but I'm still convinced co2 is the only way to go. Thanks for a great review.
Good to know! I rubbed it pretty hard and you can see that there was still quite a bit of unaltered squares left in the lower right corner where the most laser energy went into the markings. I assumed that it would come off eventually too, but maybe not. I will add this knowledge to my toolbox: cermark + aluminum + diode can work! I haven't spent that much time with lasers, most of my time has been 3D printing and CNC machining. If I were to get another one, I would definitely want to go CO2 so I can do acrylics. But for the price, I can live with the limitations of this machine, and the diode laser still achieves plenty of accuracy and reliability on things it does cut/engrave. Thanks for watching!
Hi Alan, I just received the Falcon2Pro 40W but LightBurn doesn't want to see the Camera. It seems that it doesn't install it at all. Can you help me? I contacted support but they don't answer. Can you help me? Do you know what the drivers are for the camera? Thank you so much and compliments for the video. (I have WIN11 Pro as my OS and I use LightBurn 1.7.03. Thanks again.
There's no special software or drivers you have to install. It is literally a USB webcam embedded into the cross bar in the top of the frame. You need a separate USB cord to plug in to the top of the machine on the right side, to a second USB port on your computer. Lightburn gives you the option to select any connected USB webcam. In hindsight, it makes sense, it allows you to add a camera easily to any machine even if it doesn't come with one. Hope that helps
@@ObsessiveEngineering Thank you so much for your help the problem is that I changed the cable 2 times but nothing at all my PC does not recognize it. I do not see the camera in the Win 11 Pro settings and consequently not even lightBurn can see it. I really do not know what to do also because the customer support does not answer me. Do you have any ideas Thank you very much.
I mean, I bought a 40w K40 for $400. And it can cut/engrave far better than this thing. I spent another $300 putting it into a frame that ended up giving me a 16"x12" volume to work with, and I'm still cheaper and more capable than this.
Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of experience with consumer laser engravers, so I may not be the best person to debate this with you. I will say I'm surprised to see so many inexpensive 40W CO2 lasers out there. But it sounds like you ultimately ended up with a DIY laser machine build, which of course is going to lean cheaper. The Falcon2 required some assembly, but it's a complete machine. I wouldn't call it a DIY machine. It looks like the key differences are (at least compared to the OMTECH k40-based machine): * Falcon2's 22W can cut up to 10mm wood (20mm for 40W). K40 claims only 3mm cutting depth (probably really short depth of focus). I'm not 100% on this point thought * Integrated overhead camera in the Falcon2. * You say you put your laser into a frame, does it include the eye-safe panels? Is it "really" safe & sealed? Is it "really" enclosed so it's easy to vent? * There's a lot of safety features on the Falcon2 Pro -- particularly the door sensor that turns off the laser and pauses it when opened. Also, the e-stop button on the front, and the fire and lens obstruction detection directly on the laser module. * The volume on the Falcon2 is a bit more generous. I'm not trying to bash your system by any means, just pointing out that I believe there is an actual value proposition behind the Falcon2, as a mid-range laser option. You might be right to argue that it's still too expensive, but I'd argue it's not excessively overpriced. I also see plenty of CO2-based machines that cost way more.
CORRECTION: I showed in the video that camera calibration was really bad. I changed two things and recalibrated and it is **WAY** better now:
1. I added a 400x400 honeycomb bed on top of the slats, approximately centered with the cuttable area. I'm not sure if this alone made a difference, but it helped with the next step (though it does raise the work surface, which might help...?)
2. I performed the calibration moving the calibration card ONLY WITHIN THE 400x400 work area based on the honeycomb bed, instead of to the very edges of the machine. The camera distortion is much less severe in the work area than at the edges of the machine, and means it collects data directly from the parts of the bed you actually use.
I didn't try re-measuring the error, but I'd estimate it's down to 1-2mm error now at the edges, nearly perfect at the center of the machine.
Have you considered reaching out to the lightburn team to suggest improving the camera calibration routine? Thanks for sharing the slat stabilizers gong to go get the file now to improve my 40W version.
Thanks. Nice job. And thanks for the stabilizers too. I'm cutting them now. Maybe you are the guy that could come up with a push style clamp for the warped boards???
Like you said -Ditch those slats and use a honeycomb bed. The blade slats were a “cool” idea but in reality the honeycomb provides the much needed stability. I’m still dialing in my settings for deep relief 3D greyscale engravings and almost there :) I’m still very happy and impressed with the Falcon 2 Pro and its capabilities. Cheers
Do they have a honeycomb bed for this machine?
@@coolguy21420 There's a link in the description for the official creality honeycomb bed. You can also get one cheaper on Amazon, as I did -- a 400x400mm bed with rulers along the side that I find particularly useful.
Marking spray has silica in it. You are basically putting a ceramic coating in when it heats it. The stuff is permanent and lasts travel to space. NASA uses it. If you can rub it off or remove it chemically you didn't get it hot enough. I've worked with cermark a lot it's great when used right. Just dial in the settings. Tempra paint and glass let's you do engraving in clear glass. I made a video on it a few years back. These machines are coming along but I'm still convinced co2 is the only way to go. Thanks for a great review.
Good to know! I rubbed it pretty hard and you can see that there was still quite a bit of unaltered squares left in the lower right corner where the most laser energy went into the markings. I assumed that it would come off eventually too, but maybe not. I will add this knowledge to my toolbox: cermark + aluminum + diode can work!
I haven't spent that much time with lasers, most of my time has been 3D printing and CNC machining. If I were to get another one, I would definitely want to go CO2 so I can do acrylics. But for the price, I can live with the limitations of this machine, and the diode laser still achieves plenty of accuracy and reliability on things it does cut/engrave.
Thanks for watching!
@@ObsessiveEngineering Yeah, for the price really can't beat it. Few issues but as you pointed out easy to get around.
Hi Alan, I just received the Falcon2Pro 40W but LightBurn doesn't want to see the Camera. It seems that it doesn't install it at all. Can you help me? I contacted support but they don't answer. Can you help me? Do you know what the drivers are for the camera? Thank you so much and compliments for the video. (I have WIN11 Pro as my OS and I use LightBurn 1.7.03. Thanks again.
There's no special software or drivers you have to install. It is literally a USB webcam embedded into the cross bar in the top of the frame. You need a separate USB cord to plug in to the top of the machine on the right side, to a second USB port on your computer. Lightburn gives you the option to select any connected USB webcam.
In hindsight, it makes sense, it allows you to add a camera easily to any machine even if it doesn't come with one. Hope that helps
@@ObsessiveEngineering Thank you so much for your help the problem is that I changed the cable 2 times but nothing at all my PC does not recognize it. I do not see the camera in the Win 11 Pro settings and consequently not even lightBurn can see it. I really do not know what to do also because the customer support does not answer me. Do you have any ideas Thank you very much.
I mean, I bought a 40w K40 for $400. And it can cut/engrave far better than this thing. I spent another $300 putting it into a frame that ended up giving me a 16"x12" volume to work with, and I'm still cheaper and more capable than this.
Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of experience with consumer laser engravers, so I may not be the best person to debate this with you. I will say I'm surprised to see so many inexpensive 40W CO2 lasers out there. But it sounds like you ultimately ended up with a DIY laser machine build, which of course is going to lean cheaper.
The Falcon2 required some assembly, but it's a complete machine. I wouldn't call it a DIY machine. It looks like the key differences are (at least compared to the OMTECH k40-based machine):
* Falcon2's 22W can cut up to 10mm wood (20mm for 40W). K40 claims only 3mm cutting depth (probably really short depth of focus). I'm not 100% on this point thought
* Integrated overhead camera in the Falcon2.
* You say you put your laser into a frame, does it include the eye-safe panels? Is it "really" safe & sealed? Is it "really" enclosed so it's easy to vent?
* There's a lot of safety features on the Falcon2 Pro -- particularly the door sensor that turns off the laser and pauses it when opened. Also, the e-stop button on the front, and the fire and lens obstruction detection directly on the laser module.
* The volume on the Falcon2 is a bit more generous.
I'm not trying to bash your system by any means, just pointing out that I believe there is an actual value proposition behind the Falcon2, as a mid-range laser option. You might be right to argue that it's still too expensive, but I'd argue it's not excessively overpriced. I also see plenty of CO2-based machines that cost way more.
What brand did you get?
Not sure if this is the right place, but I’ve got a small automation project-let’s connect if you’re interested!
Lol. Did you starve to death
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