20W EM-Smart MOPA Desktop Fiber Laser Engraver Review

[@EM-Smart-Laser]

Thank you for your unboxing review, our laser is a real small but powerful laser, looking forward to your next beautiful engraving video showing its capabilities. 😊

[@MrMilarepa108]

Can't you let him take it apart now, please? Just a little bit?

[@chris-graham]

what are you hiding if he cant take it apart? crap internals?

[@notsonominal]

.. technically he left most of the box on:P

[@xxxm981]

What is the minimum feature size this thing can turn out?

[@TheMessenger012]

@@MrMilarepa108 No way this compares to an actual spilt unit fiber laser... Cos the laser source is huge... We will wanna see whats inside...

[@leloctai]

I hope the lack of teardown is only a special occasion. Channel like your are the rare few places where we can still determine the actual build quality of a product.

[@notsonominal]

maybe if everyone bugs AvE to get one we'll get to the bottom of this, violence and intricate language all included..

[@arendmookhoek4314]

Unfortunately it seems our dear Reps is getting into a habit of sponsored videos lacking a proper teardown..

[@nico8273]

Wait its not a teardown video? I just made coffe and was looking towards it :((

[@thetastefultoastie6077]

Warning: I bought the non-MOPA version of this machine with a Raycus source and the usable power dropped significantly and very noticeably after only a couple of weeks. When I first got the machine it could completely ablate all the copper off the surface of a PCB, now it can't mark copper at all, it can no-longer push past the reflectivity barrier of copper. It will still engrave other materials but the settings have to be cranked up a lot.

[@MrFaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Did smoke build up on the lens?

[@frosty129]

it's junk

[@BingusBongusMan]

Was gonna say, smoke buildup and other ablated material can coat lenses and decrease output power a lot. This happens with CO2 lasers as well.

[@jrshaul]

Who's gonna take it apart and find out why they didn't want you to take it apart?

[@unknownhours]

I did not realize that lasers could do colors like that. That's really cool.

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

I think it's similar to anodizing?

[@SittingDuc]

Some metals, most notedly titanium, change colour when heated, by forming different order oxides with more or fewer oxygen atoms as they get hotter, and thinner/thicker oxide layers having different colours too. Hence a very precisely controlled laser dumping calibrated joules into an area to heat it precisely. There are also plenty of blacksmithing videos on here that exploit the effect, usually using a flame, not a laser, to make rainbow metal art.

[@notsonominal]

Who else spent 13 minutes going "I don't need a laser, I don't need a laser.."?

[@dermarshal]

I am still trying to convince me to not need a thermal cam 😅

[@MariusLuding]

So you too gave in in the last 10 seconds of the video? 😂

[@MCsCreations]

I'm doing that for the last 3 months already. 😕

[@erebostd]

@@dermarshal why not? They are Soo practical! I just replaced my old flir with these new Chinese dongles. Got a TOPDON TC001 for around 210 bucks. Plugs directly in usb c (or lightning if you are on apple) or your pc and has quite a resolution and framerate. Best part: no battery, so you don’t need to charge another thing. Sold my flir cheap to a friend and now I’m happy with the new one

[@supercompooper]

I don't need a __60 watt__ laser .... 😮😅

[@1-Nice-Guy]

Nice video, I also watched every other video to make sure I understood what this laser offered, and decided to share my experience. When I received the EM-Smart Mopa laser I purchased I was very impressed right from the start, which is good because this is my first fiber laser (I have a diode laser). It was well packed. It was very easy to assemble and equally easy to configure. I fired up EZCAD and was able to do some testing. I created cheat sheets with all the settings I use for the various items I sell, these sheets come in handy. The main reason I went with this laser was because of its compact size. I knew this laser would be a benefit at Craft Shows and it has been. I found a cheap folding 3-sided thin wooden divider that works great to shield the laser, with that setup I was able to provide custom engraved items to customers while they waited (I just made sure the spot I was given had a plug near by). If my success at craft shows continues, I will have this laser paid off in no time. All in all, I am very impressed with the laser and look forward to learning more about it and seeing what other cool items I can make with it.

[@RYU47376]

You know he's been buying used test equipment when he starts making alot of sponsored videos. Which entails more videos cause ur boy marco must buy broken test equipment

[@ionicwake]

There are worse addictions.😂

[@frogz]

Cheaper than msrp

[@benny-fo7bd]

So many reps Videos graidt, love it

[@largepimping]

Me, clicking on this video: "I'm never buying a laser engraver... should I watch the whole thing?" Also me at 12:29 - "THANK GOD I WATCHED THE WHOLE THING!!!" But of course we expect nothing less from Mr. Reps.

[@thecatofnineswords]

Me too, similarly stunned and impressed with the coloured oxide layers. That’s seriously cool.

[@firedeveloper]

For something that costs 5k USD I am expecting correctly configured software and proper support for at least the first few months. They are a joke....

[@henkkaa88]

Yeah you can actually buy a 100W mopa for the same price from finnlaser or other places

[@s8wc3]

If they are sending someone who is doing marketing for them boilerplate responses instead of actual support if I needed help i'd probably be ignored 😂

[@DouglasFish]

My heart is going to be empty when this string of Marco videos are done.

[@StormBurnX]

Definitely looking forward to the followup where you disassemble this after your "cooperation" period with them is over ;)

[@ikbendusan]

2:48 anyone interested in buying a galvo laser from a chinese vendor should heed this as a warning; if anything goes wrong with your machine or you have questions about the configuration you are SOL; you have to figure everything out yourself. (i have bought two galvo lasers from chinese vendors in the past)

[@henkkaa88]

I agree but the last one I bought was from finnlaser and they answer super fast in whatsapp if I have dumb questions.

[@misterlestari5772]

eh I bought a chinese laser from Focus Laser and it was fine, its depending on your agent really, mine is really friendly and helpful, that everything when smoothly. Your mileage may vary, its happen to a lot of company also even the good one. Communicating and doing your research helps.

[@ikbendusan]

@@misterlestari5772 yes everything goes smoothly until you ask difficult questions like "hey man i'm having difficulties getting colours, do you have any recommendations?" and the guy copy pastes his photo of some settings that don't work for you because you have a different laser source and lens

[@imajeenyus42]

Looks a neat little machine! I find it a bit strange that you need to use a negative value for the start/on tc time. This usually indicates an incorrectly set “jump delay”, which you can find under the Advance button. On mine I have the jump delay (both min and max) at 400us, then the start tc at positive 200ns.

[@reps]

Interesting, thank you, will have another look!

[@icandreamstream]

@@repsperhaps things will become clearer if you take it apart

[@thecatofnineswords]

Not allowed to take it apart? Madness!!! Seeing the insides is half the fun/learning

[@scifactorial5802]

Marco's on another binge of selling out for sponsor equipment. I understand and support it fully.

[@Jimson642]

Cool! It's an honor to see your video again, even though you've been updating it at a fast pace recently. I have a machine just like yours, but mine is a 30W EM-Smart Mopa. When I received my machine, I was very excited. It was so perfect, with all the accessories packaged nicely, including rotation, Protective glasses (which is very useful for me), and plenty of engraving materials. However, I don't understand why all the comments below are asking you to take it apart instead of admiring your video, which is as captivating as ever. This machine is really good. I saw a British person sharing his non-mopa EM-Smart laser work, and he used his 20W non-mopa machine to engrave many colors. It was also a great video. Now I have learned a lot and watched videos to learn. I think I have mastered its functions perfectly. I believe you haven't fully demonstrated its capabilities in this video, and I think I will slowly start making my own engraving works.

[@cxob2134]

No teardown, no like, very sad. But damn the frequency of videos has ben increasing unexpectedly.

[@tiborgats]

You didn't talk about the most important question: Is it usable for creating PCBs? Can it remove the thin copper?

[@_droid]

More important than that: Can it *cut* PCB's? Not that it really matters because these are priced beyond what a hobbyist can afford.

[@reps]

Yes, it can structure thin copper layers directly, but one has to be very careful not to burn the epoxy / glass fiber substrate

[@reps]

@@_droid Yes, but not great. I'll chew its way through every layer of normal FR4 stack, but it'll leave burnt, conductive residue behind.

[@BestSpatula]

I can't help but love that color effect at the end of your video.

[@WaffleStaffel]

I wonder if this device could be used as the basis of a DIY metal SLS printer.

[@wiebel7569]

Normally I wouldn't care but seeing this particular spot of a "Messschieber" beeing heat treated on PPMhub shocked me more than I'm willing to admit. Good thing they only come with 0.05mm base resolution.

[@DevilAgent]

@Marco Reps Can you please tell me if this laser can be used to make printed circuit boards? Can you make a video on this topic? Thank you.

[@notsonominal]

mopa will ablate copper, not sure if the 20w will do a good job though - and its a pain to not burn the substrate. i'd stick to using a lasered mask and etching now that we have good alternative to fecl3.

[@zaprodk]

It can.

[@reps]

Yes, it can ablate copper, but it's hard to stop the process before it reaches the substrate

[@stevenspmd]

I wonder if you can cure UV photo resist using this or similar?

[@dtiydr]

Popcorns: check! A nice sofa: check! All done for another Marco Rep video.

[@dammitjames]

I was more pumped to see the disco elysium art in here than anything else.

[@killsalot78]

4:05 yeah they won't have any issues now that you ironed the bugs out for them :^)

[@ilaril]

That actually seems like a decent laser to start with, since I'm not willing to put too much money for something I'm using while prototyping. Awesome video, even though nothing was taken apart!

[@henkkaa88]

You can get a 100W mopa with the same price and it will have the same laser source manufacturer. This is grossly overpriced. I have 100W mopa and 5W uv from finnlaser and co2 from other place :)

[@shippo72]

This laser is $6,000, not really a "starter" laser, as this is supposedly ready for commercial applications out of the box (kinda).

[@henkkaa88]

@@shippo72 i disagree as this is a super beginner laser because it is so low power. 100W mopa with bigger work area you can buy for 5K which is cheaper than this

[@pesterenan]

I know if I got a machine like that I would play with it for a week tops, but dang, I want one! xD

[@shoumikahmed6373]

Where is the PCB making part????

[@franke5478]

@Marco Reps did you sold the "Enjoywood M4" or is it still available?

[@buidelrat132]

Can you buy one and disassemble it for us please

[@Kijo21]

Can you try to make a flexible pcb with the help of those sticky copperfoils and a laser? After engraving you could stick it to some kapton tape.

[@frankfrank5042]

I like the warning at the very beginning that the laser is not suitable for pedicure.

[@PATRIK67KALLBACK]

When are you allowed to take it apart?

[@xxxm981]

Hey, could you have a look at what minimum feature size you can get with that machine? might be interesting for large scale photolithographie.

[@hsmptg]

I bet you saw the "guts" of the machine off camera! :)

[@reps]

😇 yeah it's alright. They use a little DC-DC board to convert the incoming +24V to +/-15 for the galvo and there's a genuine JCZ lite board. Lite meaning it will only work with EZCAD lite with limited features and no rotary axis. A bit perplexing at this price, but lightburn has all of the extra functions

[@jaro6985]

With the laser ablated colors, it may not be possible to protect the surface. Try rubbing a bit of oil onto it and the color should disappear.

[@darkstatehk]

You should have done some IC de-capping.

[@droneforfun5384]

Is it possible to remove oxidation, like rust..?

[@joelkulesha8284]

I did instantly fall in love with the inland empire card. I can't lie.

[@milloons2847]

Useful Saturday evening procastrination. Thank you.

[@ZElTGElST]

Now, lets proceed with the teardown video

[@reps]

soon^TM

[@SillySandwich1]

So many new videos! I love it!

[@Batmans_cousin]

Interfacing [Medium: Success] "A perfect instrument for configuring"

[@graealex]

Can you give a recommendation for safety goggles for 400nm laser engravers in Germany?

[@reps]

I'd try to find a used name brand pair on eBay, Uvex, Thorlabs or something

[@Some_Beach]

Is this like that kickstarter laser

[@LunaWuna]

The colours aee incredibly impressive

[@wheetcracker]

marco pls stop im going to overdose on all this content

[@muhdiversity7409]

PPMHub? Careful Marco, Paypal, Visa and Stripe might come for you.

[@T2D.SteveArcs]

They won't find him, he will be out picking fresh capacitors in a field somwhere ...

[@jean-lucbulteel8162]

Hallo Marco, ich suche verzweifelt nach Faserlaser Parameter für ein 30 W Mopa Faserlaser und finde nichts Brauchbares hättest du vielleicht ein Tipp für mich? Liebe Grüße Jean-Luc

[@mrs.conscious]

hello sir, thank you does this work on glass as well to color glass?

[@U.P_SCUBA]

I hope off camera you still pulled it apart

[@edumerc1]

So cool, I wonder if it could cut very thin parts? like 0.2mm brass or steel sheet?

[@henkkaa88]

Easier with a more powerful machine like 50W

[@reps]

Yes, it does that pretty easily

[@ChrisFredriksson]

Wow, what a cool laser! Thanks for showing this product, it was really cool and interesting - even if the product wasn't interesting, I feel that you could make it so anyhow. Love your videos, hope you're having a wonderful weekend this far! ❤

[@lmamakos]

PPM Hub - LOL. Now you make your own high precision laser trimmed resistor standards.

[@droneforfun5384]

Very nice video we are all waiting for the teardown later on 😊 Could you make a comparison with cloudray mopa laser please?

[@doctorpex6862]

Can't wait for disassembly video

[@rymannphilippe]

Thanks for the video. Can you give some parameters for the coloring?

[@reps]

postimg.cc/JDbnzVxw

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Any idea if the color effect works on cobalt chrome?

[@YPOC]

At work I'm using a Q-switched laser to do LIBS analysis - that is evaporating surface material and continuing to heat up the evaporate into a plasma, then analysing the spectrum the plasma emits while cooling down. Is this engraver powerful enough to do create a useful plasma?

[@reps]

that sounds like a delicious thing to investigate!

[@YPOC]

@@reps If you do, please keep in mind that the plasmas generated can emit all kinds of UV radiation. Please protect yourself and your cameras. Otherwise enjoy the noise and dirt! :D

[@Nebulorum]

Can it ablate PCBs?

[@ikbendusan]

yes, but as is tradition with pcb manufacturing it really doesnt make sense to do yourself with chinese manufactured boards being so cheap

[@Gengh13]

@@ikbendusan it's not about cost, but time. Having a prototype in a couple of hours including soldering is really useful.

[@ikbendusan]

​@@Gengh13 i genuinely don't believe that anyone who says that actually makes pcbs. if anyone does, the board is so simple that wires on a perf board would have sufficed. given the limitations of diy circuit boards i don't consider it worth my time, but to each their own. it only takes a week to receive a board from overseas; better off thinking about your design a little harder before committing to a pcb. besides, it's for a hobby, why the rush?

[@Gengh13]

@@ikbendusan not every project is complex and not every section needs extensive testing. Being able to test and optimize early saves a lot of time.

[@ikbendusan]

@@Gengh13 have you made pcbs with a milling machine or laser before?

[@massimilianogilli1164]

whats the difference from this and an atomstack engraver like the x30 for example, i mean ho do you justify 5k euros?

[@reps]

100,000 hours lifespan, pulse timing control, larger working area, higher power, better software, optional rotary axis, ...

[@janedoe6182]

Nice fiba leiza evgreiva! Where is the next video about supa precise multimita?

[@hinz1]

Well, since it's Chinesium, let us know, if it still works in 5 years....

[@das250250]

@2k not bad but there are cheaper enclosed lasers for this work ?

[@jeremyglover5541]

its 6K

[@eugennomatterr7311]

need next video with total dissasembly

[@sklepa]

Thank You for watching, keep your wurst with no burst.

[@tolkienfan1972]

Why wouldn't they allow you to do a teardown video? That concents me

[@tolkienfan1972]

PPMHub lol

[@Gengh13]

Is it any good with PCBs? I know that depending on pulse energy some of those 20w lasers can without problems.

[@TMS5100]

20w mopa is more than sufficient to remove copper from PCBs. i do it with a 20w jpt mopa.

[@reps]

Yes, it can ablate copper, but it's hard to stop the process before it reaches the substrate

[@jpjude68]

wait a sec..... if you can use a laser to make colors on steel, then would it be possible to make color or RGB images?

[@reps]

Should be possible theoretically, but not with ezcad2 software

[@BaNO3]

@Marco Reps kannst du mir bitte eine Bezugsquelle von deiner Schutzbrille nennen ? Ich könnte momentan nur bei Uvex für Faserlaser gewerblich zertifizierte Schutzausrüstung beziehen... Hättest du da eine Alternative ? ( es muss nicht billig sein) Danke 🙂

[@LaserHubPrague]

Hello . if you are interested in mopa lasers. I have a 20-watt laser with a peak of 55 kW. with a scanner and an ezcad 2 . if you want you can experiment with it

[@reps]

Sound interesting, what are you suggesting? Do you want to get rid of it?

[@LunaWuna]

I *really* want to see inside

[@DerekWoolverton]

A little less pulse power than the usual JPT M7 60W ( 1.5mJ vs 2.0mJ ), and it seems they indicate proprietary lenses on their site which would be a little worrying. Otherwise a nice package, and a bit cheaper than the current Amazon prices for similar. Maybe another round of prices wars is coming for MOPA.

[@Spirit532]

The 2mJ version is significantly more expensive. This is the YDFLP-E-20-M7-S-R, with the -E being the cost-optimized model, and it's by far the most popular now, all the way up to 60W(that's what I bought as a bare source). It came out a couple years ago and everyone has switched to it since, unless you specifically ask for the larger, more powerful option.

[@AigarsInserts]

no teardown :(

[@GustavoPinho89]

Can you make SMT stencils with it?

[@reps]

Yes, but not great. It can cut thin stainless pretty fast, but the edges are not clean enough for fine pitch SMD stencils immediately after cutting. Might need additional post-processing ...

[@critical_always]

Can it cut?

[@Produkt_R]

Did you have some videos casually laying around? I feel a void coming

[@HouseGurke]

Did you accidentally schedule all your staged videos to be released this week?

[@urjnlegend]

How much

[@infango]

20W laser without cover .. for real hardcore dudes !

[@timurakhmadaliev7739]

hardcore to the mega!

[@henkkaa88]

I have a 100W without cover...

[@fredio54]

No teardown. I immediately assumed that you'd xray it :-D

[@macmansfield-parisi5812]

Marco Reps + Disco Elysium? holy shit!

[@Gersberms]

They said nothing about Röntgen photos though!

[@Hedrix01]

so all you are missing now is a sputtering systems in order to make custom laser trimmed resistors and resistor networks.

[@reps]

ohyes ... I would even be willing to do a 2-step process and chemically etch a NiCr foil into roughly the right shape and then apply finishing touches with laser 😍soon!

[@Hedrix01]

@@reps So homemade Metal Foil it is then. Might pair well with some hermetically sealable cerdip packages from Kyocera, for that VPG-premium look. Cant wait to see that something like this might actually be made at home!

[@Sharkie1717]

So cool! More videos please!

[@frogz]

Can i have it?

[@HashanGayasri]

Magic smoke cannot be reinserted once released... Good one!

[@kuglepen64]

Marco “The Lean Mean Video Machine” Reps

[@dognoseranger]

Cool! What kind of mark do you think the laser would leave on white PLA or PETG print? I've been trying to come up with a way to "etch" trails onto a 3d printed terrain map and wondered if a laser might do the trick, and how big of a range of focus it has, the model could have 20-50mm height variations.

[@among-us-99999]

Fiber lasers have a very short range of focus I think.

[@lostangel2192]

What about pcb engraving?

[@reps]

Yes, it can ablate copper, but it's hard to stop the process before it reaches the substrate

[@xDevscom_EE]

No teardown is a disappointment ;-|

[@thobiasmartin4768]

Hey random question but I see the Welectron logo at the end of your videos, so I'm guessing you have some kind of partnership with them. Do you have any discount codes for their website ? I'm about to order a few hundred € worth of JBC cartriges and saving a bit would help x) But great video anyway and enjoy tearing down the laser now that you did the video and nobody can see you sneaking into the unit ^^

[@reps]

There is a certain marcoreps5 welectron discount code for many products ... I know it works for Brymen and most Siglent stuff, but not sure about JBC

[@thobiasmartin4768]

@@reps Just tried it, sadly it doesn't work for JBC stuff. But thank you for the response anyway, hope you're having a nice evening ^^

[@maximood-tired]

that thing is cool as heck

[@siegmundeurades5753]

I couldn't be happier with more frequent uploads, but this is getting worrisome now.

[@klab3929]

It really must be a early or late Christmas

[@Davvg]

I’m debating whether or not I want to look up the cost or just assure myself that I can’t afford it lmao oh yeah, faaar out of my budget

[@henkkaa88]

You can actually get a 100W proper professional version for the same price. That one is over priced.

[@McGutschy2]

Alter, du bist der Dude.