Is Glowforge Dead? FLUX HEXA 60W Laser Review

[@makeorbreakshop]

Quick update: since releasing the video Flux let me know they have a Lightburn integration in the works, so keep an eye for that and I'll do an update once it's fully integrated.

[@wileycovington4497]

Nope, no lightburn. I was told they can't because the motherboard processor uses raspberry pie.

[@sorenac]

@@wileycovington4497 He is saying that Flux has it in the works = ISNT AVAILABLE at the moment ;)

[@Sutojl]

@@wileycovington4497there is an adapter

[@CorneliusCreations]

I am a huge fan bro! Thank you for comment earlier! P.S. I love watching your videos, top notch quality with your setup and articulation of points!

[@barryfriesen8062]

I was pumped on desktop model, working size, 60 watt all exactly what I am looking for but no Lightburn means no go from me and I suspect hundred or thousands of other potential customers out there! Thanks for the review!

[@makeorbreakshop]

yeh the Lightburn piece is hard.

[@dbtest117]

For someone having no idea, what is Lightburn?

[@barryfriesen8062]

@@dbtest117 It is design and operating software that controls your laser.

[@Samcraftcom]

100% AGREED!

[@sureshmaurya2597]

Nice one. will you be doing a video on xTool P2: Smart Desktop 55W CO2 Laser Cutter?

[@makeorbreakshop]

yep, soon!

[@erikfelton5228]

I would like to see the HEXA compared directly to the P2. From marketing materials there appears to be a lot of overlap, and if the P2 supports LightBurn and has passthrough I feel like the 55W power will not be an issue.

[@johncheek07]

No Lightburn support is a non-starter for me. I guess if you're coming from glowforge then any amount of control feels "good enough".

[@Aerogrow]

yep; same... goes back to xtool vs omtech...

[@LifeIsALie0]

can you do a review of the muse titan? its the most powerful desktop laser at 100 watts and also has the largest desktop workspace at 48x24 which is crazy

[@alnilam8933]

Are you going to be covering the new Xtool equivalent?

[@makeorbreakshop]

yep

[@Invaderjason123]

Over 6k... yikes and no lightburn support. Hard pass

[@makeorbreakshop]

just found out that they are planning on adding it, not sure when though

[@Omnivolv]

Yeah just saw that

[@wileycovington4497]

​@Make or Break Shop Yay!!! I'm sick of Raspberry pie.

[@longitudes]

I had an hexa. Was a horrible machine. No lightburn and very crappy software also bad cutting and many other issues. A big garbage bin honestly

[@BigLRestInPeace]

We have the Beam Air filtration unit. It does an OK job to extract fumes, but we struggle with strong smell when cutting acrylic. This seems like more of a design limitation of the Hexa, since we can see smoke seep through the sides of the lid. The Beam Air starts by itself when you start cutting. Is easy to open to change filter, and looks nice. Build quality feels a bit cheap, but ok enough. I definetly recommend extraction fumes outside, but it works fine if you can accept some smell when cutting acrylic.

[@longitudes]

The hexa is not compatible with its the beam air. I had the hexa and the beam air connected. When I call flux to tell them that the beam air did not have enough power for the hexa they told me it’s only a dust extractor not a fume extractor… anyway at the end of the day they refund the money for the beam air but it was a nightmare. Also the hexa had many flows. Looks like a good machine but after a couple of months the laser power increases and decreases and other software and hardware issues.

[@peteanddrake4242]

10 years ago I was selling base model 40W lasers from Gravotech for $25k. Amazing to see what a hobbyist can get for the money these days...

[@Samcraftcom]

Very nice to see another competitor in this market -- competition drives progress! I love the speed of this machine, the onboard controls, power bed lift, and bed size. The downside is the flimsy lid, lack of Lightburn support. BUT their website shows compatibility with other professional design software: AI, Photoshop, Autodesk, Sketchup, Solidworks, CorelDRAW. Great overview video as always Brandon.

[@makeorbreakshop]

Thanks man! Good point on the software, I didn’t dive too deep into it but I’m guessing they mean you can import vector graphics so you can use any of those programs to make it

[@longitudes]

Very bad machine. You can import form those programs but it’s tiny when you save files in .beam (their own software can’t even open them.)

[@longitudes]

“WARNING “ Don’t buy hexa I used to have an hexa and I just sold it very bad machine. The machine has an issue with power compensation sooner or later the issue will show up. No matter what you’ll do this issue will ruin your projects. In the other hand if you are looking for detail or very light cuts or engraving. You won’t get have it with the hexa as the min power is 10% of the full power making details and small engraving impossible to engrave. The machine looks good and actually I can say it’s really fast. Be carful if you want to buy as flux will not refund for your purchase and you’ll struggle trying to fix the machine by yourselves. Good luck

[@BigLRestInPeace]

Anyone who have the Hexa have any experience with smell? Our Hexa has strong odor when cutting acrylic, its almost like the fume extraction is not good enough?

[@longitudes]

Yes very bad smell. Honestly I had to sell my hexa was a very bad machine in glad I could get rid of it.

[@RoJuSk]

Did I miss the actual price of this in the video or was it never said?

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yeh sorry at the end, its $6300

[@RoJuSk]

@@makeorbreakshop oops totally missed that, thank you!

[@LetsGoTrue]

That official NASA t-shirt makes this review so much more brainy believable and scientific.

[@harleyhaynes]

Would you consider the Full Spectrum Titan a Desktop unit? Pretty expensive compared to these units.

[@makeorbreakshop]

I liked the Muse 3D in that line, they are more expensive but the 4x2 ft work area is pretty wild for a Desktop laser. Hoping to get my hands on one to check it out

[@TheCraftyCatsman]

Great videos, love the effort that you put into these review. I noticed that your point system didn't include the xTool P2. I assume that's because this was shot before you had the chance to really dive into the xTool P2. You gave the Polar a 4, what would you give the xTool P2?

[@makeorbreakshop]

Stay tuned for an upcoming video!

[@TheCraftyCatsman]

​@@makeorbreakshop awesome. Very interested to hear your opinion. A lot of people will, considering the deposit purchase cutoff is quickly approaching (April 18th).

[@TheCraftyCatsman]

​@@makeorbreakshop thanks! Message sent to your IG (likely in your "requests" inbox)

[@neilrisley1321]

​@TheCraftyCatsman shame there's not been many reviews before that time 😒 Makes you wonder if there's a reason why 🤔

[@TheCraftyCatsman]

@@neilrisley1321 unfortunately, I agree. On paper it looks stellar (and I've said as much on my blog). As someone who was in the top 10 of Amazon reviewers, I saw the effect of companies giving away free units. While many kept things critical, a lot were swayed into holding their breath when a product didn't meet expectations. I like M(B) because his affiliate profile covers the spectrum. That being said, I have to hope him and others keep things honest. Only a few more hours until that window closes up. Hoping to see a last minute review/response !

[@cheshirecoatings]

Saw a glowforge up close in a shop selling it in the UK. Could not believe how small a machine the desktop plus is selling for over $6200! And the Pro selling for over $8700 What a rip off!

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yeh pretty expensive

[@court2379]

They really diverged from their original goals on the Kickstarter. Didn't it start at around 1500US?

[@MikeyouLikey]

Does a laser in this class need air assist?

[@standingmhollow]

The lid is actually poly carbon. At least most laser lids are. For your cut tests I recommend extruded acryllic. cast is less true to width

[@MyllerSWE]

Its most likely a polycarbonate door on that. It gets scratched easely but its opaque for the laser. Maby an acrylic door would work as well. 🤔

[@PMBRICOLEUR]

Great review 👍 Thanks for sharing your experience. Hello from France 😉

[@makeorbreakshop]

Thanks for watching!

[@MrJollyU]

Great review👍🤗 but if u have 2 minutes when doing the editing, then please include metric system, so other then US can relate to all the numbers - we are not familiar with the imperial system, so we cant convert the numbers on-the-fly🙏 Ps, isn't metric the offical measuring system in the US anyway?

[@donm1025]

no

[@jimc31]

Do you have a Xtool P2 Review on its way??

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yep, it was actually just out of the shot during the review, review coming soon!

[@BaliAgha]

Need link to Beambox's Marketing Ad video please

[@bclp52]

Can you do a review on two trees ttc 450 cnc

[@Nosferatuklown]

I've been wanting to engrave surf boards and skateboards, is there a functional pass-through on this unit (better than the gewike or omtech)?

[@longitudes]

Go for the xtool the hexa sucks

[@jordymoors]

While a top speed of 900mm/s sounds nice on paper, the weight of the head means that the accellerations are slow, which more often than not makes a bigger difference. The example engraving you showed wasn't nearly large enough to make use of the speed. That is, as soon as it gets to the engrave, it should already start slowing down. Now, to bypass that, there's the overscan area, which is this case is excessively large because it needs a long time to reverse that heavy head. Long story short; Top speeds are nice and all, but pretty meaningless without high accelerations to make use of it.

[@makeorbreakshop]

the acceleration piece is a good point. I did a few tests off camera of a large engrave but if you are mostly working with smaller things or cutting then there won't be a massive change in time between machines.

[@longitudes]

The speed of the hexa is very good unfortunately you cannot go to top speed. The actual speed it can goes is 300s. I tried 900s once and the hexa could handle it.

[@mikiauto73]

I add a XtoolP2 and sold it after two months to buy the Hexa Flux.

[@mrcampbellforChrist]

Waiting to see your test on the xtool co2 please....😁😁

[@makeorbreakshop]

Coming soon

[@ShyneflowLC]

Xtool p2 is a 55w that shares many of the specs

[@makeorbreakshop]

Stay tuned, that review is coming very very soon...

[@mikes.8278]

@@makeorbreakshop Brandon, when you review the P2, could you also give your opinion on these new desktops CO2s vs. somethin like the stationary Monport/OmTech 60W's with autofocus (assuming space is not an issue)? Which would you buy (desktop vs. stationary) if you wanted a 55-60W CO2?

[@quietdropsedit]

But HEXA is so expensive bro. It's insane that price. I think Polar from Omtech or maybe P2 from XTool better desktop option for the price.

[@Silent-G]

Yup

[@neilrisley3443]

Decent comparisons...altho imo missing out the xTool P2 is a mistake

[@makeorbreakshop]

Stay tuned for the next video. There is one in my shop just out of frame…

[@neilrisley3443]

@makeorbreakshop I placed my order for the P2 yesterday...so hopefully you have good things to say about it 🤞 Look forward to hearing your impressions 😏

[@wileycovington4497]

I have a Flux Beamo and I love it. I'm eyeing the Omtech Polar, but that bed on the Hexa is drool worthy. I do have a question. Do Glowforge owners not have to align their mirrors or change their water??

[@paulshircliff]

but can you even get a Polar???? colleague wants to but not available yet

[@Todestelzer]

I would rather build a oversized Voron 3D printer with a laser module and add a good exhaust fan to it. The lid isn’t made out of glass to block the laser wave length. (Probably 😅)

[@youruniquehandle2]

That's a slick machine but the price? Ouch.

[@ronnietanner5313]

xTool P2 55W CO2 Laser leaves them all in the dust!

[@JohnGAChannel]

I cannot consider a CNC laser that does not support Lightburn or requires constant internet connectivity at this price point. It is an instant dealbreaker for me.

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yeh the Lightburn piece is hard, I do like that this one doesnt need the internet, the program can run local on a computer.

[@jakelots]

At that price, just go with a Thunder Nova 24 or Aeon Mira.

[@wileycovington4497]

And you can trace. Look at the software a bit closer.

[@bigcheesevirus]

I'd fold this up in my glowforge and cut it in half 😂 job done.

[@KamelBohhayouf]

ما اسم هده الآلة بالتفصيل

[@longitudes]

It’s very bad machine don’t buy it

[@berkshireembroideryprintin8956]

$6300 for a 60W laser. That price needs to come down by $3000.

[@BigLRestInPeace]

Definetly. It's quite a cheap build feel, with off the shelf components.

[@wileycovington4497]

You don't have to scan the whole bed. Lol!! You can pull the Square out to the area you want to cut and then put your image in the square.

[@longitudes]

Yeah but the hexa is not very accurate and very slow

[@wileycovington4497]

@longitudes it's definitely not going to be accurate if you've updated to the new version this past week. I had to uninstal and factory reset to get my machine to work again.

[@longitudes]

@@wileycovington4497 I found the hexa to be a very bad machine. I bought an xtool p2 and it makes me feel that hexa is just a piece of garbage compared to with the xtool. Better in all aspects. I regret very much baying the hexa.

[@I-LOVE-EARTH]

No Lightburn support...LOL! Pass.

[@BigLRestInPeace]

It's coming.

[@longitudes]

Even wi th lightburn this machine is garbage

[@Ipsissimus]

This machine is very... Very.... Overpriced.

[@longitudes]

And it’s garbage

[@AlexGreen1991]

Lol that marketing video. You would think they sell those lasers for clubs and festivals.