FLUX Beamo REVIEW - Compact 30W CO2 Laser Cutter

For ages, I wanted a CO2 because it's a great addition to my shop that allows me to cut and mark materials with minimum effort and mess. FLUX offered me their compact 30W CO2 laser Beamo for review. Let's find out what it's capable of at a price starting at 1995€ and also take a look at their air filter, the Beam Air!
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:17 Unboxing of the Beamo
04:06 Unboxing of the Beam Air
05:02 Setup and Software
06:30 Cutting Tests
10:15 Beam Air Verdict
10:58 Beamo Verdict
13:51 Outro

[@CNCKitchen]

CO2 Laser Cutter! Great addition to the shop or just an overrated piece of equipment?

[@vihai]

You may want to fix the price, $15000 seems too much :)

[@umbratherios5614]

co2? somewhat outdated. the co2 tubes do not last nearly as long as fiber laser diodes and are, often times, more expensive than fiber lasers. ok, I may not be totally sure about the price, but the longevity of the co2 laser tubes puts me off a lot.

[@ProtonOne11]

How is the noise-level of the machine running? And what about the filter unit? I was hoping you would cover that aspect in your video too. And how long is that laser tube going to last, before it needs to be replaced?

[@sacrificialrubber779]

That’s awesome!!! Want! Curious about carbon fiber!🤔 I build rc airplanes, this would be incredibly handy!!!😲😲😲🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@billkaroly]

@@umbratherios5614 fiber lasers are way way more expensive than a CO2 laser.

[@frollard]

From plenty of laser work at our makerspace - we started with an 80 watt china rabbit laser. It's fairly excellent in it's terrible way. After we fell in love with it, we dropped the big money on a Trotec speedy laser. It has a solid state infrared laser...but it has 80 Austrian watts, instead of 80 china watts. It's literally twice the machine for power and precision. Things that we've learned; 1) you are right, try to set the focus to midway through the material or you will end up with angled drafts on your parts (acrylic cuts that won't stand on edge because of the angle) 2) More passes at lower power is good. The total power spreading over 2-3 passes is the same as the instantaneous single cut power overall, but there is way less heating as the part has a chance to cool between the passes. Like you say when using any tool - let the tool do the work. Don't push too hard on a saw or it will bind, same(analogy) with a laser. 3) DO NOT EVER LEAVE IT UNATTENDED. Our makerspace got our first laser donated on the grounds that we had to completely refurbish it after a it burned down the previous owner's shop. He cut several successful pases of a project in foam core (paper+foam laminate - cuts like butter but extremely flammable). He hit go on another pass then went to the bathroom. A part being cut out fell into the mesh below the work piece and received an extended zap of unfocused beam causing it to heat, melt, and immolate. These things are to making what helicopters are to flying - they are trying to kill you every chance they will get. 4) I wouldn't trust the plastic vent hose. If there is a fire, it will melt and catch fire itself. Stick with metal flexible duct. Consider adding a smoke detector just outside the lid. If the fan fails, you have a fire with enough smoke to leak out of the machine (or melt the lid), and you ignored number 3 - you will want to know ASAP. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby. If the lid on this machine is acrylic, a small fire inside the machine will HAPPILY ignite the lid. An acrylic fire is extremely energetic. 5) The fumes from most cuts are particularly toxic with high combusted fume, and ablated particulate offgassing. Definitely filter if no other option, and recommend even some filtering if you're venting outside, as you wouldn't want a commercial operation polluting raw waste into the atmosphere, even small scale adds up if everyone did it. 6) You say it shipped with the mirrors in alignment - Most mirrors won't stay that way. Don't mess with them unless you have to, but definitely learn how to adjust the mirrors and the telltale signs of misalignment (cutting spot becomes a cutting 'cone'). 7) Keep the gallium nitride lens immaculate with specific lens cleaner (no industrial cleaners or windex). A tiny soot buildup will gather a large chunk of your 30 watts on the lens, heat it, and crack it in no time. The air assist through the nozzle will help but it's not perfect. Consider (if this machine doesn't have it) to add a filter to the intake of that air pump so that room air dust doesn't get blown onto the lens. (was an oversight on our machine). Edit: 8) others asked below - what about metal. No. It doesn't have the power and will reflect off of anything metal. It will etch the anodizing off of aluminum really nicely leaving bare metal colour underneath. Highly recommend checking out a product called Cermark. It's a molybdenum ceramic coating that you spray on, let dry, then laser etc. It gives indellible black markings on metals - you've probably seen products made with this kind of marking before. It's expensive for the spray can but it goes a long way on small projects. Edit again 9) Some acrylic parts will benefit from annealing in an oven to relieve the stress after laser cutting. This stress can cause 'crazing' (those countless microscopic cracks you see in cheap plastic dinnerware that has been through a dishwasher after a few years). Enjoy!

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks for the incredible amount of information!

[@frollard]

@@CNCKitchen You're welcome - thank you likewise for always sharing as much as you do. Since you put so much effort into it, I figured I could toss in a few lessons we learned!

[@mrskwrl]

How do I save a yt comment?

[@frollard]

@@mrskwrl copy paste? :)

[@frollard]

@Secret Sense Jewelry engraving steel without spray is probably exorbitant expensive. Infrared mostly just bounces off at these power levels. I think you would need a yag fiber laser $$$$ instead of an infrared CO2 laser $. Whatever you search for just remember in the end you get what you pay for. For hobby work the cheap solutions might be okay... For production work you don't want a laser repair hobby.

[@douglasswright484]

The ink tank system appears to be much better than the cartridge system kzbin.infoUgkxciSwynMJ7PnUvvx11rewiu-yFBkZTl53 and a lot cheaper to run. The machine was easy to set up. A small point but I thought they'd be a USB cable included to help with the set up but there was none. I've been using it now for a few weeks and it seems like a good product and superior to my previous printers which were all troublesome HP machines.

[@DC-ox4rc]

I once engraved a glass with a CO2 laser and 5 minutes later, just standing on a table it exploded violently. Take note of that.

[@JustTechGuyThings]

There is no such thing as engraving glass, you're basically causing micro fractures on something that can cause explosions.

[@CNCKitchen]

Good to know.

[@DC-ox4rc]

@@JustTechGuyThings yup it probably had some internal stresses that have been disturbed while "engraving".

[@The_Mimewar]

Thermal stress. Gotta keep the glass a stable temp. Usually involves warming it slightly before lasering and then tempering it slowly as it cools

[@JamsterJules]

I've etched hundreds of glasses without any exploding. Low power, and smear the surface with washing up liquid - thats the key.

[@YunFuriku]

I will remember this video for long time. When people ask me "What were you doing when the results became official and you heard about it? I can answer "Watching CNC Kitchens FLUX laser cutter video!"

[@AlexCell33]

The results aren’t official yet

[@jhvnhjifgvbv8126]

@@AlexCell33 nope, they were official. Im from the future and can confirm

[@honestlyraw]

Great honest review Stefan. We are retailers in Portugal for Flux and you just touched the right buttons. The Beamo is a great maker machine and it speeds any workflow if used wisely. The bigger Beambox and Beambox Pro are generaly faster and the bigger cut/engraving area helps.

[@acolize8883]

Love the new music, it really added more vibrancy to the video!

[@suivzmoi]

PitmasterX uses it a ton. Eyes saw CO2 laser by nose and brain thought of BBQ

[@oneclutchman]

Thank you! Hope to see some interesting and useful results using this machine👍🏻

[@diegopiumatti1086]

I'd like so badly to have a machine like yours.. I'm full of ideas about what I could make with such a good and reliable laser cutter! A whole world in my hand! Sadly, this is definitely not a price tag for an hobby.. and I can't afford to spend this amount of money just to enjoy myself and to make objects that actually are pretty uselless. This is gonna remain a dream I'm afraid, but thank you very much for such a good video, it keeps me dreaming!! Greetings from an italian neighbour, in love with Germany since I was a kid

[@anthonyrich1592]

So we've got a new sound to replace screen peeling: expanding vent tubing! :) Thanks, Stefan, it was interesting to hear about the wavelength difference between diode lasers and CO₂ lasers. I'd always wondered why there was a difference in their materials handling (ignoring the reflectivity of metals).

[@donrozwick7367]

thank you for the review. I wish I had waited for this one.

[@shyamdevadas6099]

Fabulous video! I'm a Glowforge owner and have never been happy with it. I think this thing is better for me. Thanks!

[@ericboyle1754]

Thanks for this review, Stefan. I am looking for a laser cutter / engraver currently as I watch this. Believe it or not I was already checking out the Beamo when I caught your review. Answered almost all my questions. I think I will bite the bullet and get one.

[@hanshubert6675]

wow, i had no idea that you can get co2 laser as a mere consumer. what a time to be alive :) although the most interesting part about those things is cutting glass which this one cant do -.-

[@ruleslawyer]

They have been around for ages. For around $400 you can get a k40, which is a bit of a project like cheap chinese 3d printers, but way more doable in price for a hobbyist.

[@choschiba]

I really wish I cut give this laser cutter a try. I guess the size of the working area would be quite okay for most of the stuff I would use it for. I would use it for decorative things and jewelry. The variety of materials you can cut is really nice. So many possibilities!

[@agepbiz]

Great review! This looks like a nice machine

[@richiethebartender]

I love your very German sense of humour! Great video, dude - you have a new subscriber! :-)

[@BertNielson]

Thanks. This looks like a great unit. A great ecosystem, even with a higher price tag, is the reason I recommend Prusa printers to those less interested in the tinkering aspect of 3D printing. Too often people overlook the long term costs of their time in making a hardware purchase. I'm not in the market for a laser cutter/engraver at the moment, but I'm certain I'd rather benefit from something like this instead of a fiddly less expensive unit. An auto focus sounds ideal!

[@IstasPumaNevada]

That's the exact reason I got a Prusa. I didn't want to fiddle around to get it working properly, I didn't want to save hundreds of dollars only to then spend hundreds of dollars on upgrade parts to improve its performance; I just wanted it to work well from the start. And the i3 MK3S that I got lives up to that expectation admirably. (Benchy printed out great, first time.)

[@Tombsar]

I chose Prusa because I wanted to support people actually designing machines rather than copying other people's. That and a power supply with CE mark and the correct plug fitted. Never trust unbranded power supplies.

[@GoingtoHecq]

We have a co2 laser in our hackspace. Works well. I don't use it much but these machines are incredibly useful.

[@android4cg]

Great review! Having also a camera for alignment is a great advantage compared to some cheaper laser cutters.

[@lio1234234]

Thank you CNC kitchen as always! I'd love to see it cut some other plastics and if possible pre-resined carbon fibre sheets. Or maybe just normal carbon fibre sheets, who knows?

[@frollard]

carbon fiber doesn't laser to save its life. Fiberglass fabric can cut but the instantaeous heat creates a crunchy 'cratered' edge where the microscopic fibers fuse into more macro beads on the end. Not advisable. Cotton fabric with the right power settings cuts nicely, but can ignite in a slow-burn that burns imperceptibly so it needs to be monitored closely. polyester blends cut similar to fiberglass sheet, where the edge becomes crunchy as the fibers fuse.

[@GrandWalkingTours]

great video and full of details , what is the rough time of say laser sketching onto metal that is about 20cmx20cm ? not the full size fully lasered but a nice pattern ?

[@Tomaskom]

For thicker, harder to cut materials, I'd try two or more passes, adjusting the focus between them (through running the same job multiple times). There'll be a limit to this as the walls of the cut groove will eventially block most of the beam getting into the focal point, also maybe degrading their quality, but I'd be curious how far it can be pushed!

[@MakenModify]

I have an heavily modified K40 which is a death trap fresh out of the box. Would not recommend it to people who don't know what they are getting them selves into, there this product seams to be a better alternative. To the filter: At university we had a big commercial CO2-laser with an even bigger filter and as soon as you started to cut acrylic you knew that that filter might help but that that still is nothing that you want to do in your office or living room. So I think your filter works (just as bad as most other filters). Great video :)

[@Komaru.89]

I really appreciate this review, and it's what pushed me to purchase by own Beamo. However, the Beam Studio software runs terribly slow, and often just does strange things like rotating pieces when I ungroup them, insisting that one path is for cutting while another path is for engraving. Do you run into similar issues? Do you know of any other software that can be used with it? Sorry to bother you on KZbin for help, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of community for these cutters that I can find : (

[@aminzayani3055]

great review! thanks:) How's the dimensional accuracy of the cut parts?

[@matteomigliorini9070]

Can you engrave the glass to initiate the crack for cutting it? Also, can you cat any very thin metal at all?

[@vincentbarkley9121]

Great review.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

I don't know the difference between IR and thermal vision wavelengths, but the clear materials you reference are reflective at thermal wavelengths. Almost like a mirror when I was doing thermal scans for work.

[@basicmods]

Just a note, you currently have an extra 0 in the cost listed in the description. Currently says $15000. Edit - already corrected! Stefan is on it!

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks, fixed! Been working too much today ;-)

[@basicmods]

No worries! Completely understandable and easy mistake to make. Great video as always. I have been looking at a laser cutters and this unit seems very well setup right out of the box.

[@zelimirfedoran9720]

Price shows as $1899 in the store for me? Where is the 1500 coming from?

[@pauld8747]

@@zelimirfedoran9720 1500 with a handie

[@cda32]

I see anything from 1500 to 3000 in the EU. What the heck is going on? :P

[@BusStopWilly]

Beambox owner here, love mine.

[@littlesandbaubles8033]

Where did you buy yours at? Does it cut 3mm wood and acrylic with ease? Is it fairly easy to Integrate with software?

[@emraef]

Can you not do multiple passes but have some time inbetween for the wood to cool down? Like do half of the whole thing first, then the last half.

[@Guffy1990]

I would LOOOOVVVEEEEE to see if you could make a 3D ornament, ones made in glass (or acrylic) that have a light under them to show the image on the inside! I feel like some modding would have to happen, or having the rotary attachment as well as defocusing the laser (dynamically? Or raising/lowering the work piece?) to engrave the image on the inside of the piece.

[@atokor]

Great video, thank you! I'd really like to know if the Beamo (or a cheap hobby grade laser) could be used to effectively cut rubber gaskets. Like silicone and neopreme. I find myself in the position of needing to make some rubber gaskets but have found very little in the DIY/home shop arena that tackles making gaskets. Perhaps not the most exciting type of part but critical for many applications.

[@TurkishLoserInc]

the answer is very likely

[@lalaikas]

Is this laser suitable for 316 stainless steel marking ? if not , what laser could be suitable for that ? Also, the pieces would be tubes. Is it a must to have a revolving holder ?

[@gandhizehner]

Filling with inertgas (Argon) would help against burning?

[@klave8511]

I think you’re quite correct about the users, if you want a laser that works out of the box then the price is reasonable. If you have to spend time modifying it then what is your time worth. A business will rate your time at $50 to $100 per hour, at least, so the time spent modifying the laser is time not earning income for the business. I would definitely buy this laser for a production environment where safety is mandatory and you can’t spend time tinkering. The size may be a restriction but a business will know it’s products and I think the size is actually a good one. A hobbyist will always want a bigger, stronger one but it will never pay back the time and money invested, it’s a hobby after all. As 3d printing people know, if it’s too big, print in 2 pieces, I’m sure the laser will suit most people if they know how to work around those occasional issues. I too was disappointed to not see some hooks being made for strength tests ... :-)

[@wowatri2890]

Moin Stefan, wäre es möglich, dickere Birke zu lasern, wenn man mehrere Druchgänge (nacheinander, ggf. mit Anpassung des Focus) einstellt? Danke für das Video, gucke mich schon länger nach Laser, auch wenn nach eher günstigeren, um!

[@blazerculj2701]

What is the amount of smoke and noise? Can you use it in apartment? What about if you use it with the air filter from Flux?

[@brene.p]

Do you get to keep the review unit or send it back? Good review anyway. I don't know what the different laser types are but don't expect a comparison run down in a review video. Possible topic for another video if you haven't done so already. Cheers

[@LucasHartmann]

Can you recirculate the filtered air back into the machine?

[@SpeaKaNRW]

I like the flexible hose👍😁

[@stevedon9970]

Can you Engrave and cut 1.2 aluminium? Would it be a good machine to have to create Vin plate or tag plates Out of aluminium 1.2 mil thick?

[@CraftySven]

Great review. You might get better results with laser PLY and laser MDF. You mentioned getting plywood in hardware store and that's usually not the one that is laser friendly. Even 120W metal/ceramic cartridge can struggle with standard ply/ MDF. Thanks for the video

[@CNCKitchen]

Good tip! I'll check that out.

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

I bought and modded a 40W CO2 K40 from China, well worth the money for £270 at the time.

[@keenheat3335]

This might be completely out of left field. I was wondering if you use the co2 laser to perfectly caramelize a steak's surface that just been sous vide-ed ? I image the with precision of the laser, you can perfectly crisp every inch square of a steak without overcooking the meat beneath it.

[@peterzingler6221]

Won't work with a Co2 laser. Lasers are racist the coulours need to match

[@Framidan]

I would love to have one of these machines, but what are the cheapest options?

[@santiagoblandon3022]

Pretty cool! although... Idk about the price... it is usually pretty cheap to have stuff laser cut, and considering the limited lifespan of the laser tube... as you say.. it is worth doing some math to figure out if buying one is justifiable

[@VorpalGun]

Does laser cutting have any effect on mechanical properties of the cut object compared to cutting the same material with heating methods, such as CNC milling? I'm slightly disappointed there were no strength tests. :/

[@CNCKitchen]

Laser cutting has a slight influence on the surrounding material why it's also not often seen in aerospace applications, where waterjet cutting is preferred for example. Sorry for no strength tests 😉

[@frollard]

It's hard to know for sure on acrylic in particular - acrylic is insanely brittle to begin with. The flame-polishing that occurs giving the nice clear edges for laser acrylic seem like they would have fewer stress rises compared to the numerous score marks from saw teeth doing the same work. From my reading a decade ago when we got our laser cutter it was advised that you could anneal laser cut acrylic to reduce the likelihood of it crazing.

[@reverse_engineered]

With acrylic I do sometimes have issues with crazing where things have been engraved or with many, small cuts. For large outline cuts, it's not a concern. I haven't had a chance to try, but I did buy an oven to try annealing it to relieve the stresses. Crazing seems to happen more with certain brands/sheets than others; possibly old stock that's not kept dry or has been exposed to a lot of light? But I've made many acrylic ornaments and most turned out fine.

[@EnsignRedSquad]

Does it need special venting or a BOFA filter? What kind?

[@geekemedia]

I've been looking for a video comparing this to the glowforge but I can't find any :'(

[@sworley1956]

How does this compare to the glow forge?

[@MrArmanrezaee]

Danke Schon Stefan. Can you please test engraving on PLA and Nylon from one of your 3D printed objects? That’d be fantastic. Danke Sehr

[@phibre1772]

I would love to see a 1on1 comparison with the glowforge...maybe write them too 😉

[@jennyruiz431]

I want the glow so bad cause it has a wider cutting space

[@jennyruiz431]

And way bigger

[@Elektronaut]

Ich bin auch gerade auf der Suche nach einem Laser Cutter - danke für das Review! Könntest du mal probieren Graukarton/Buchbindekarton in verschiedenen Stärken zu bearbeiten?

[@puerlatinophilus3037]

Please make a video on PLA Ethyl Acetate smoothing! I'm dying to know what you think about it!

[@polytimostr]

Hello. I am wondering if you can use the laser engraver to create a new platform (by engraving a material) for the base of the 3D Printer for better adhesion.

[@CNCKitchen]

Thought about that already - custom textured glass might be cool.

[@flux_europe]

You can engrave metal if you use a Cermark spray: cermarksales.com. Only engraving is possible, not cutting.

[@certified-forklifter]

nice to have an case.

[@santhoshpadaparambil4391]

Thank you sir. 13:22 what kind of material it is?

[@terrybrockhoff8168]

I have had the beamo for 1 month and i have the same thoughts, the lack of working space , I wish I would have spent the extra dollars and bought the Beambox pro, take care

[@CNCKitchen]

Great to hear other experiences.

[@TurboSunShine]

very cool, did you try any metals?

[@TurboSunShine]

@@kommentfloh8425 haha, sorry ^^,

[@LorneChrones]

Requesting metal engraving tests and other thin plastics (hdpe, polycarbonate sheets?)

[@DDMetzler]

And test rubber sheets please

[@nukularpictures]

Poly-carbonate does not cut well with a laser. Nasty fumes and burned edges. Everything above 0,5mm or so is basically impossible. Made that mistake once before when I accidentally ordered the wrong material. HDPE cuts okish. The problem is it melts too easily. So if you do not have enough power it will just start to melt the edges instead of cutting it cleanly. You need multiple fast passes with reduced power to get acceptable results. With rubber sheets it depends on the material. There are special rubbers for laser cutting (LOR). Those work well. Others just burn.

[@LorneChrones]

@@nukularpictures Noted! I haven't gotten a clear answer of if PC is CO2 laser cuttable or not. What other plastics are laser cuttable? What about PETG films?

[@nukularpictures]

@@LorneChrones Well like I said. PC is not really cuttable. Thin foils work, plates are basically not possible. At least that is my experience. I have not made any experiences with PETG. Sadly I am not at home right now so I can not test it. But from what I have heard from other people it should work fine and be similar to PMMA.

[@frollard]

Infrared won't touch anything specular like metal - it just reflects off. At best at 1% speed and 100% power you can barely dimple mild steel - but all the reflections will put a huge amount of heat back into the lens possibly damaging it. HDPE melts, and polycarbonate burns black without cutting well. Tonnes of black sooty smoke from laser. do not advise. thin PETG cuts relatively nicely if you move fast to prevent too much melting. Other replies here, Rubber sheet is good and bad. Latex smells atrocious and gets a sticky gum residue on it (like the latex de-vulcanizes). The gum washes off eventually with soap and water. marketed 'laser engrave' rubber sheet for making stamps is amazing. You engrave the negative and end up with very high precision stamps.

[@dr.johnh.watson2444]

I wish I had one of those. would make my scratch sailingship building much quicker and better looking.

[@hidudehello3270]

Dont get this look up k40 laser

[@mintzbuck]

I've had a 50watt CO2 laser for several years. It is a great thing to have around for hobbies and making pieces to sell. I think they are pretty essential machines to have and open up a lot of possibilities for what you can do in a shop. It sounds like a good package for $1500. Has a lot of nice features it sounds like. The bigger issue for me would be the power, 30watts just isn't very much. But if that much power is enough for the materials you use and can live with the small size, it seems like a really nice package.

[@Travis_Yu]

More powerful laser needs more powerful cooling. I'm not very sure but I think water-cooling system can't handle 50watt laser so it will need a chiller, which will add significant volume.

[@mintzbuck]

@@Travis_Yu The bigger problem with a higher water laser is the tube itself is longer. I'm guessing that is a big reason why this thing is 30W. I have an external chiller but it barely runs the actual chiller. You could probably get away with running a 360mm computer cooler radiator.

[@Travis_Yu]

@@mintzbuck Turns out beambox pro from the same company use 50watt laser with water-cooling system. Can I ask you did you run full power with your machine for a long period of time?

[@mintzbuck]

@@Travis_Yu We usually run a mix of engraving and cutting for several hours at a time without any issues. But only a few times a month. With any of these, if you are going to run it a lot you would definitely want a chiller. We have the chiller because it came with the machine.

[@Travis_Yu]

@@mintzbuck Thanks for your information!

[@JK47SG1]

What about silicone? Would this be too powerful to cut silicone sheets?

[@fehmihan64]

Guten tag Stefan, I love your videos and how seriously you tackle every aspect each consumer would like to learn about. Keep up the good work! As an Industrial Design Engineer based in the Netherlands, am I currently working on a laser alignement project and got inspired by the mirror allignment setup shown on 2:04. Can you help me making the right step in my process by sending close-up pictures of this mechanism from different sides? Thanks in advance!

[@user-sm5qz3oc6l]

Hello Mr. Milan.I am also a CO2 laser cutter professional.I know the particularity of your major. Maybe we can exchange whatsapp[phone]. I will send you some detailed pictures online that you need.You can also tell me your needs and I will picture for you

[@ChiralSymmetry]

If you etch the glass with the laser, can you use the etch-lines like score-lines for cutting glass? Manual Cutting of glass: (1) Score the glass with a glass cutter. (2) Carefully tap/bend/snap the glass along the score line. In other words, can (1) be replaced with the Beamo laser? My guess is probably not. But maybe worth trying.

[@easaspace]

You can. I have tried it. Run 4-5 passes over it and it easily breaks where you want

[@CNCKitchen]

I think you can. Read that this is done in industrial applications to score glass vials.

[@frollard]

It can be done - and with the rotary attachment you can do cool stuff like curved lines along a bottle. It's hard to pull off as the stress wants to break the glass, but with practice (as all glass things are) you can get some neat cuts.

[@plc_memes]

I can cut 3/8" acrylic (~10mm) on my 45W Epilog at decent speeds even with a severely degraded laser tube. Either your focus was off or the advertised power on the laser is optimistic.

[@panaxion]

Epilog's spot size is much finer, so more energy density

[@eefchristiaens4215]

Did you already try precious metal? Is it possible to engrave? I think about engraving gold filled jewelry.Thank you!

[@Section59.]

Much more expensive than even a fully upgraded k40, which I already have. 1500 gets you a much bigger cutting area, grbl conversion to use lightburn, air assist, a proper cooling system etc.

[@TheLouisEric]

Would it cut carbon fiber prepreg textile ?

[@Max3DDesign]

Guten Tag! I'm always thinking about laser engraving machine, can you tell me please, is this machine capable engrave on aluminium or eve stainless steel? Thank you. Max

[@angy101rulz]

Any CO2 laser is not able to engrave metals. They can only remove any coating on a metal surface such as paint or powder coating. You can also use a special spray to "print" onto a metal when the laser passes over it. For metal cutting you'll need a plasma cutter.

[@heavenburnt9055]

Can you use Coreldraw or Illustrator with this laser?

[@hansformation]

Hello Did you try to engrave/cut epoxy electronic pcb ?? Thanks

[@reverse_engineered]

Fiberglass does not cut well, especially PCBs which are fire-resistant. They tend to melt and burn without cutting.

[@hejolli]

Hello Stefan, did you tried to cut&engrave faux leather? Thanks!

[@AndyRRR0791]

What's the lifespan of these things? Does the laser have a limited useful life and expensive consumables at all like laser cutters of the big boys do?

[@tyler345100]

is the beamo good for engraving and cutting wood...or would i need something stronger

[@CrkdLtrN]

Did you even watch the video?

[@1ricekake]

Made me consider it after watching, thankyou for an excellent review. Any idea why it’s almost $500 more when you get directed to a USA reseller?

[@frollard]

Probably import tariffs

[@davidpolacek4902]

can it cut thin metals?

[@nhansgoofyvideos7581]

Would you mind do a test run with anodised aluminium?

[@figofagonagoitis]

Can you cut out little details in 5mm plastic ABS for example.

[@eskilwennerstrom4133]

What 3d printer do you have?

[@richardharrison762]

Hey, great video! Have you tries engraving stainless steel on your beams please?

[@jennyruiz431]

I wana know can I print a big 3D project in that small space of the laser?

[@MegaTraxxas]

Nice machine

[@majstor76]

can it mark steel?

[@EwiPoland]

Hello. Its possible to cut silver mirror plexi 3 mm ?

[@aerball]

So basically, you find that the price tag reflects additional premium features and service. Let it be known that you can still get the same level of output quality on a cheaper $400 K40 with some very minimal upgrades. I designed a linear rail system for my K40 and I can engrave at 500mm/s no problem. (Yes I realize that due to the kinematics of these machines you never really reach that true speed.) And it uses a small radial fan and not an air pump. Like everything, it comes down to what you are willing to put up with as a user. I dont get any customer assistance or warranty so if anything goes wrong, its totally up to me.

[@DuskPoser]

Would this cut 10mm Acrylic if I did 4 passes?

[@TheDgdimick]

You can build your own using an Ender 3, or any 3d Printer for less then $200. My next project is a 10Watt system. Not as nice, yet a lot cheaper to get into a Laser system.

[@desmondhow343]

Is it possible to cut thin metal sheet

[@thetruthexperiment]

My guess is the slack in the belt and the non parallel situation is part of the math that drives the thing. It’s plastic. You don’t want it too tight. If it’s working that means it’s compensating for the slack right?

[@haraldhimmel5687]

A lot of horrible solutions can be "working" until they don't but maybe they did put thought into that. It's not like that carriage has to carry a cnc spindle. Plastic pulleys sound a little cheap though considering the price of that thing. Sure they might work fine but what would have been the harm in going for metal?

[@helgemoller5158]

Stephan. please explain the security issues of this thing! The clear Plexiglass is a no go, that needs to be coloured to filter the light of the installed Laser. So, ich hab schon einige hier auf YT angemeckert ( Phillips 3D Druck, Pommes Man wegen Ihren laxen Umgang mit den Ortur Lasern) An einer Nozzle meiner 3D Drucker kann ich mir vll, die Finger verbrennen. Aber selbst diese Diodenlaser könnten dir das Augenlicht nehmen, wenns blöd läuft..

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks for the comment. Do you have any sources that the clear plastic does not protect against the 10600nm laser? I totally understand your concern for the ~450nm blue diode lasers though would think that the cover is fine for CO2. Will research that as well.

[@lawrie83]

Colorless Plexiglas® sheet (aka acrylic, PMMA) is entirely opaque to infrared wavelengths from 2.8 microns up to 25 microns in thicknesses of 0.118" (3mm) or greater. Eg see plexiglas.com optical and transmission characteristics.

[@TrueThanny]

It's an infrared laser at around 10K nanometers. Plexiglass is entirely opaque to that wavelength. Though you can see through the lid, to the laser it's no different than a solid sheet of metal.

[@MrNursi]

Great review Stefan. I'd very much like to see how it handles aluminium sheet.

[@CNCKitchen]

I guess that nothing is going to happen, because aluminum will reflect most of the energy. You'll probably be able to engrave dark anodized aluminum or painted metal.

[@easaspace]

It does engrave anodized aluminum without problems. Any color. But cutting is out of the question with only 30w

[@mintzbuck]

If you want to cut metal you need a fiber laser.

[@IstasPumaNevada]

It'd be a shame if you didn't at some point use the Beamo to laser-cut/engrave BMO from Adventure Time. :D

[@ImaginationToForm]

No room for a belt tensioner so you don't have to take the machine apart?

[@Waltkat]

I'd love to add this to my workshop but the current price (as of 11/8/2020) is US$1900 at Matterhackers for the basic unit. Ouch! Not happening.

[@b5a5m5]

Why do laser cutters have a focal point? Why not columnate the beam at the focal point to have a very tight column beam of power instead of an hour glass shaped beam? Limitation of materials? Do we not know of a material that can handle that much power in a small area? Or is it really expensive?

[@michaelgonzalez8863]

Very good

[@CUBETechie]

Can you please test it with sand? It would be a very interesting for lasers sintering/ metalic 3D printing 🤔