Cleaning Your xTool P2 CO2 Laser cutter

In this video, I will show you how to clean the mirrors, the lens, and more.
▬ Contents of this video ▬
0:00 Intro
0:12 Cleaning Material Needed
1:08 Basic Surface Cleaning
2:23 Back Cover Removal
3:56 Rear Mirror
5:40 Back Cover Reinstall
5:56 Gantry Mirror
6:30 Laser Head Mirror
7:09 Laser Lens and Nozzle
12:31 Inside Exhaust
12:49 Rear Exhaust
14:26 Slats
16:11 Final Thoughts
▬ Products Shown ▬
Product Shown in this video:
xTool P2 - 55W C02 Laser Engraver: bit.ly/xTool_P2_LaserCutter (my Affiliate Link)
Powered Mini Screwdriver: fanttik.com/products/e1-pro-m... (my Affiliate Link)
Zeiss Lens wipes - amzn.to/49gQ8tJ
▬ Additional Lin
My Personal Material Settings: bit.ly/MWW_P2_MaterialSettings
xTool Website: bit.ly/xTool_Website (my Affiliate Link)
xTool Materials - bit.ly/xTool_Materials (my Affiliate Link)
P2 Dust Cover (Amazon Find) - amzn.to/3YOyR60
My xTool P2 Video Series: bit.ly/My_P2_Journey
▬ Monkey Woodworks ▬
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*** About Monkey Woodworks and More ***
Monkey Woodworks and More is a channel about reviews and how-to's. The products and ideas here are mostly centered around Monkey Woodworks, along with some gadgets and home use products as well. We are a home-based husband and wife team that specializes in yard art, stove covers, porch signs, and home decor for all occasions.
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[@asdragasd]

Just cleaned mine for the first time. Thanks for the walk through. Many of us have anxiety around dismantling a machine like this but your video puts us at ease that we won't break anything.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@joehimes9898]

Wow. You are a good teacher. Xtool should take note. Your style makes you a good candidate to do their English language tech videos.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Than you for your kind words!

[@cosmicmedium]

Thank you for creating this. Especially about the mirrors.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

You are welcome.

[@saltwaterfit2753]

Thank you for this video! You are a blessing!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

You are so welcome!

[@christinar435]

Extremely helpful!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Glad to hear it!

[@thesquinty1]

Thank you very much. You are an excellent teacher.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Thank you! 😃

[@michelehawley2326]

Thank you so much! I am very new to lasers so this has helped me a lot. All your videos have

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I am glad to hear it was helpful!

[@Zentient1]

Very nicely done

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Thank you!

[@rodriguezp5150]

Great video nice to know you don't need special tools 👍

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I agree!

[@air12345567]

Thanks for a great tutorial! Just got our P2 last week and have been working it like crazy! Cleaning tomorrow!!!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Glad it was helpful to you. Good luck!!

[@ronndaphillips5087]

Thanks for the video!!! Cleaned mine for the first time today and had this video right next to me and followed your instructions to a T!!!!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Congrats on a successful cleaning!

[@Pharmkitty]

Thank you!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

You're welcome!

[@triciawegmann2521]

Thank you so much for this video. I was TERRIFIED of doing this, but your video helped ease my mind!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I am so glad to hear it was helpful!

[@protozee]

Thanks, a great job

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Thank you. Hope you found it useful!

[@user-uo5vx7cd7o]

Thank you!!!! I did my first cleaning today! Your video was ever so helpful. Followed the video step by step and just got done! Fantastic video, keep up the good work! You are truly helping us greenhorns!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Awesome! Glad you found the video helpful.

[@malmoore6837]

Nice vid. May now purchase a P2

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

It's really fun to use.

[@Nonameandme]

Thank you so much❤

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

You're welcome!

[@airwolf08]

Thanks for sharing that with us but I like the idea of mirrors without the groove in them so can I ask where did you get your mirrors from? Many thanks

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Those are for xTool's P1

[@anthonymoraes3251]

Hello Sir and THANK YOU for your awesome content on the P2. I have learned more from your channel than any others out there and I have watched many at this point as I get ready to hook mine up. I just received mine and so excited to get it going. I do have one question that maybe you can help me understand better. I placed my P2 on a desk in my house as I was worried about saw dust if I had it in my garage wood shop. I am confused if I need to purchase an additional exhaust set up? Being that the P2 has an exhaust fan and air assist, can I just run the exhaust hose out the window by the desk or do I, or would you recommend, I purchase an additional blower motor to suck the fumes out? I've watched videos on people hooking up hoses with an ACFinnity motor or I know XTool has an air purifier, etc.. It's all pretty vague if I need to "help" the smoke and fumes out or will the machine do a good job on its one just running the hose out a second floor window...???

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I keep my P2 in the woodshop and really do not have issues. It does get sawdust on it but nothing a leaf blower cant handle haha. Plus I cover it with a moving blanket when not in use. The trouble is, my shop is not climate controlled. As far as the exhaust goes, the built-in fan on the P2 does a good job at pulling out most of the smell/smoke out of the window. However, from what I have seen others post, it will not get exhaust all of it. There are two issues with the stock setup. One issue is the default exhaust port is only 3 inches and the opening is smaller than the exhaust fan of the P2 causing a large airflow restriction. To get around that, people have started 3d printing 4inch (or bigger) exhaust ports (I recommend you check out Lakeshore3D on Etsy. Mike is a big contributor to the xTool community and a top-notch guy). I personally have a 4inch port and use a dryer hose and it does a great job at venting out my open garage door. The other issue is the built-in fan needs more horsepower. It is a good fan but not a great one. Adding an inline fan (4inch minimum but 6inch is recommended) will drastically help the exhaust process. You will want to have the fan PULL the air more from the P2 rather than pushing it away from the P2 so put the fan closer to the window if possible. Also, on the hose routing, you will want as few bends as possible to get the most out of the airflow.

[@luisolvera9168]

Thanks for the explanation friend, and sorry, what tool do you use to dismantle the rear fan?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I forgot the exact size but the rear fan requires a smaller allen wrench than what comes with the P2. I have a swiss army knife type allen wrench set with multiple sizes. One of them fit it but i forgot which one. I know it is metric, not SAE.

[@jenniferfitz1067]

Hi, great video! Have you ever cleaned your gantry? Mine seems to be making a strange noise now after a bunch of projects. It's almost like it's dirty or off track a tiny bit. Please let me know if you have any suggestions! Thank you!

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I clean my P2 regularly just to keep the dust down inside preventing build-up. I have not cleaned my belts. I have cleaned the chrome bars that are inside the unit once or twice by wiping them down with a microfiber cloth and used a little sewing machine oil on my finger to lube them.

[@jimcurnow4538]

I noticed that you have a camera mounted on the front of tour P2. I'm assuming this is for Lightburn. Do you have a video on how you did this and hardware that you used? Ive been looking for something like that with NO LUCK. Thanks in advance. Jim Curnow

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Actually, the camera is for.video making only. That way, I can record inside the P2 from overhead when needed.

[@jimc31]

what camera do you have mounted on the lid? You using it for lightburn?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

No, it is just an old camera used for top-down views used when making videos about the P2.

[@GallerWorks]

How often do you suggest to clean it? I have seen a few different answers.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

It really depends on what your using your machine for. Wood makes a mess and lots of smoke and dust are involved, whereas acrylic is clean. My rule of thumb is if the back left vent of the P2 (under the gantry) is getting pretty dirty, it's time for a clean.

[@shellyjorgensen2441]

How often do you need to clean the laser. I have only cut a few things and right now I don't have a business.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Honestly it depends on how much use it gets and what material your cutting/engraving. No matter what you will need to clean it. I clean mine when it is visually dirty and have only cleaned the mirrors/lens once (during this video actually).

[@Blazelaserengraving]

Any tips of things to double check for? I just did this steps and my laser is not shooting out. It is capturing the photo, it is moving accurately except the laser part.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

The most common issue I have seen in that case is the mirrors are not fully seated. Go back and make sure the notch of the mirror is around the screw (not shown in my video). Then put your finger on the mirror and wiggle it around, it should not move if it's seated properly

[@Blazelaserengraving]

@@MonkeyWoodworks thanks for the tip! The mirror inside the magnet box where the electrical components are at doesn’t seem to lock into place- it just keeps spinning not locking. By the way, I have to recalibrate the mirrors. Somehow the second mirror is uncalibrated. Didn’t had a chance to mess with it more but I will this evening and hopefully that is the fix

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I dont think the last mirror in the laser head locked down when I first got my P2. It is hard to remember honestly. I am using the P1 mirrors in my P2 so none of my mirrors lock. As long as they are flat in place and centered, they should work.

[@Barbarashouse]

lots easier than the M1

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

it sure is!

[@terrytharrett9033]

Do you use the mirror next to the tube to align? My P2 is out of alignment and I am having trouble lining up the mirrors. I can't get the beam to hit the layer head. Right now the alignment shoots low by about 5 inches. I cannot get it to rise using mirror 2 adjustments. I can get it in line but it is low. I was wondering if you would use the first mirror to adjust the height of the shot. I am getting frustrated as I have been trying to get alignment for 2 days without success.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

You actually have to align them one at a time, making sure the laser hits as close to the center of the next mirror until it finally hits the center of the lens. Personally, i only had to adjust the mirror on the left side of the gantry to align mine. xTool has a nice video showing how to check and adjust the alignment on their support page. I will say to take care when adjusting. These are locking screws holding the adjustment screws in place. Make sure you loosen the locking screw before trying to adjust otherwise you will strip out your screws! When performing the laser test, use 2-3 layers of tape to make the test marks easier to see.

[@terrytharrett9033]

I got it done finally. Took 3 days of tinkering. The locking screws on my machine were hotglued in place so I ended up stripping one. The only way I could align was to take the entire mirror assembly off the printer and the loosen the adjustment screws. It was a nightmare. Once I got the adjustment tools working I moved the gantry a little at a time and press the test button and then align. I finally got it centered. I am going to see if xtool will replace the number 2 mirror assembly as a result of them hot gluing those tiny screws in place and making it impossible to losen. The thing is, my machine wasn't in need of cleaning but I wanted to avoid any problems.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Definitely reach out. They have great customer service as long as your patient

[@neilrisley6667]

Where did you order your replacement mirrors from and why did you replace them? Do you know where to order extra spare lenses too?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

This was a pre-production machine that had some issues when I received it. To resolve my issue, I was sent a new set of mirrors and they did in fact fix a particular issue. These are the mirrors that fit the original Laserbox engraver from xTool. The only difference between the two are the notches and color of the mirror. I did have to remove a small screw from two locations on the P2 to allow these mirrors to fit. I am unsure if the production machines have notched mirrors or they went with the same mirrors as the Laserbox.

[@neilrisley6667]

@@MonkeyWoodworks thank you for replying, so xTool sell the mirrors/lenses? (I can not see them for sale anywhere on their website?) What issues did you have? It would be nice to know issues in advance please

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Yes, they sell a laser lens pack for the Laserbox and I am sure they will for the P2 as well. My P2 arrived wet from the inside. Nobody knows for sure but we believe it was from them shipping it with liquid inside the coolant reservoir and the lid to it was missing the rubber seal. The liquid had antifreeze in it and corroded a few parts of my P2 and messed up my original mirror set. Again, it was a pre-production machine so hopefully the production versions were treated with a bit more care before shipping them out.

[@willn-houston8186]

Great job Michael, I really appreciate the details!!

[@mathieubaker1548]

What type of lense wipes are you using?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Zeiss lens wipes. I also added a link in the description. amzn.to/49gQ8tJ

[@mathieubaker1548]

Awesome! thank you!@@MonkeyWoodworks

[@timn9300]

How often do you clean your P2?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

At least once a week. If I am doing a lot of cutting, I'll stop and clean it between batches. It's better safe than sorry, plus it keeps the performance up on the laser.

[@eloiseramos8876]

My machine keeps saying air pump expansion and it stops cutting or engraving

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

See if this link helps: support.xtool.com/article/820?from=xTool+P2&url=/product/4

[@eloiseramos8876]

Tech support is helping me now thank you

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Great!

[@DianaWalker-os1fo]

After how many hour of use should you do this?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

I am not 100% sure but if it is anything like my M1, some parts get dirty really quickly and others take much longer. The nozzle and exhaust fan come to mind. It all depends on how you use your machine. The entire process is very fast once you do it 1-2 times

[@DianaWalker-os1fo]

What about refilling antifreeze/water? Do you know if the machine warns you if the level is low?

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

If I recall correctly, it will not run if the machine is too hot or the coolant level is too low. I do not think there is a message on the screen of the computer. I believe the ring light around the start button on the P2 turns red when there is an issue. I suspect xTool will improve this and in one way or the other in the future. I do wish that the water tank had a water level indicator to show the min and max fill range.

[@briansooy3125]

@@DianaWalker-os1fo Since it is a closed circulation system, it should not get low or should take a very long time. In one of the official xtool videos they say to fill it up into the neck of the jug, too. Like, almost completely full to the brim. Probably does not hurt to keep an eye on it from time to time, though! Maybe even make a little mark of your initial fill level so that you can immediately tell whether anything has changed. Not sure how often we should change it. They show how to empty it out in that same video I am mentioning, it is the initial setup video or the unboxing video, one of their more recent videos.

[@christiansnyder2633]

I followed all the cleaning steps you took and my laser no longer fires!!! Please Help

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Oh no! Make sure your 3 mirrors are seated properly. If they are not, it will look like it is not firing because it cant make it to the lens.

[@Dhayloern]

Did you get it to work? I just ran into the same thing.

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

Does your laser run through the motions but doesn't fire or is it dead?

[@Dhayloern]

@@MonkeyWoodworks it runs thru the motions but nothing fires, wood's blank

[@MonkeyWoodworks]

@@Dhayloern I would triple check that mirrors are flat against the holders and perform a path test if necessary