Review & Teardown: ComMarker B4 20W Fiber Laser Engraver

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00:00 Intro
01:35 Unboxing
02:32 Setup
03:22 Software
04:18 Focus
04:59 First pewpew
06:05 Usable Area
07:17 Goggles
09:09 Spot size
10:13 Engraving metal
11:32 Resistor trimming
12:25 Unsuitable materials
13:22 Serial numbering
15:01 Milling & Cutting
15:48 Color engraving
16:34 Rotary axis
17:47 Ceramic scoring
18:40 PCBs
20:55 Integrated circuits
21:50 Teardown
24:34 Conclusion

[@nefariousyawn]

This whole video was worth it for the custom ripple clamp. Thank you for the first audible chuckle of my day.

[@MazeFrame]

I'd rate safety "Extremely scary / 10" for this one, but the free-hand Retina-Remover function puts it squarely in the "Accident from Ebay / 10" range.

[@gcr100]

Marco, i want to see how you make your high precision resistors, i think you have almost everything that is needed, amazing projects are on the horizon

[@gsuberland]

These open frame designs are already terrifying, but that cage thing is utterly horrifying... the potential for tipping it over and receiving a kW pulse to the retina is just too high. These manufacturers really need to learn that just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[@pmcquay1]

Lasers reflect off of things? Into _my_ eyes? No, that couldn't possibly happen, I've got my safety squints on.

[@joshuavincent7884]

Yes it's quite spooky, perfect for Halloween season

[@killsalot78]

Don't ever watch a video of laser rust removal or else you might have an aneurysm.

[@critical_always]

No. People need to learn. Just because they can doesn't mean they should. You sound like the woman suing Mc Donald's for the coffee being too hot. Warn people and let Darwin do the rest.

[@pmcquay1]

@@critical_always you know whats hilarious about people mentioning that lawsuit? The coffee was proven to be kept at a much higher temperature than it should have been, so high that it fused that womans private parts together. Also, she only sued for medical bills, and the jury decided to make an example. McDonalds basically ran a smear campaign against her for bringing that lawsuit. People have basically ruined her life because of that, using her as an example of a "frivolous" lawsuit. You need to consider whether its the big uncaring corporation you want to stick up for, or the person with mutilated genitals.

[@Evergreen64]

"Should we look at a femto-second laser someday? Since I already have the goggles." Sure. Go for it. If you can get one.

[@nin1ten1do]

My country make 1PhemtoSec. Laser on planet ;) Love from Czech Republic

[@Rob_65]

The reason for the "warranty void" label on the MAX laser source is meant to keep you from getting nightmares after having seen the inside 👻. As I understand, MAX is on the cheaper side of fiber lasers. Raycus is next and JPT is top of the line of affordable IR fiber. I'd love to see both types being sent to you to take them apart all the way 😁 The EzCad 2 software is nice but I recently switched over to LightBurn (for Galvo) and that is a huge upgrade. The dxf/svg import is much better and has better path closing options. Most of the times, the trace image feature most of the times works great to convert bitmap images into good line art.

[@parkerlreed]

Love the up close and detailed shots! Amazing what these can do for the price range.

[@nin1ten1do]

For PCB do 3X more pass trought with same speed but only 27% of power there will be no overheating.-.- set freq in to 38-41Khz (copper and brass optimal absorbtion freq) if that still burn you have to shift it in to 51+kHz... When you cut ''trought'' use 2 same vector with HATCH, for example you want 3cm ring.. so set another vector with comon center with weight 3,05cm and that 0,05 gapp fill with HATCH.. that will do the cut.. Agains engrave that by fast pass with every pass rotate the angle by 3degree.. Instead of hard power cut trought and oveheat and melt that material.... i do cut silver and inox like this without overheating.,. trust me if you have any question?? PM me..

[@LesLaboratory]

Fantastic video as always! I always wanted to see inside one of these fiber lasers!

[@snik2pl]

You can put thermal paper under gogles to check if some light went. I would burn or blacken

[@hrtlsbstrd]

Ah yes, thermal paper, like our retinas are made of

[@largepimping]

I have no need for this product. On the other hand, my need for Marco Reps videos is INSATIABLE.

[@XA--pb9ni]

Holy Moly 2 Videos in two days?? Am i in heaven?? I´m just waiting for this channel to get to 200k subs.

[@GeneralKenobi69420]

I'm not even an engineer but I like to play your videos at 2x speed on my phone when I'm trying to sleep, I find your voice so satisfying to listen to

[@UntrackedEndorphins]

I feel so blessed by this ger man

[@FryChicken]

I just checked the kickstarter video. I lasted about 15 seconds before closing it. Your insight is way better.

[@Barc0d3]

Yes Marco, KEEP THE UPLOADS COMING AAAAH :DD

[@tttuberc]

Love your teardown videos. And the jokes in the videos are sure hilarious. Thanks

[@scifactorial5802]

My dream is a MOPA laser that's good enough to both ablate copper from copper clad, zap vias and cut stainless stencils. JLC who? Thumbs up for more laser content. Id love to see you mess with fempto pulses and different wavelengths.

[@garrettparmenter938]

2 uploads in 2 day! Praise be!

[@jackofalltradesmasterofnon4835]

Thank you for yet another good review! If you wouldn’t mind, I’m super curious how a unit like this one can remove rust from steel. If you have the time to test it out I would appreciate it!

[@jond1536]

Spend your time engraving rings, great video

[@damustermann]

Marco on fire! Einfach geil, wie viel du gerade rausballerst!

[@Emre-Sunay-Gebes]

another great video!

[@SF-fb6lv]

Your humor is super good!

[@tiporari]

Not sure what the expense is, but what an amazing tool. I liked the clamp. Made me laugh out loud.

[@Alex4n3r]

~3000€

[@ericlotze7724]

18:15 I love this STEM/Maker KZbin Collaboration Stuff!

[@trashpanda9433]

Hey, I just learned about F theta lenses and calibration in my masters class!

[@randomtux1234]

hilarious and really informative with quality info like no other

[@misteragony]

You have a very serious voice... I love it

[@jonhatton4354]

What a great video. So much useful info. I’d use one if these in my shop every day! If you decide to pass this prototype along to another maker, I’d gladly pay shipping to the US! 😁

[@peterwalker5413]

Very cool! I want one. I have no need for it. But, I want one. Once again love the humor. 😂

[@jakobhalskov]

Awesome review; it really makes me want one :) Looking forward to more content from you 🙏🏻

[@axelbostrom3606]

Wow, this seems exceedingly unsafe in basically every imaginable way

[@nerddub]

if this looks too scary for you to use, simply don't. These are definitely meant for people who know what theyre doing.

[@liveen]

Still not dangerous enough for Marco Reps though, nothing is

[@dmacpher]

I like it!

[@BogdanWeiss]

Perfect tool for a new employee induction - I'ed make it mandatory for all twitter employees "demanding" they be traeted respectfullly for their commie political views :-)

[@Proven88]

Just wear safety glasses. I have a 50w fiber laser and there is nothing particularly dangerous about it if you wear your glasses

[@spincast1974]

Well done... When getting my lazer, one silver screw was rattling inside. Wanted to see where it came from... Without taking my lazer apart. Thank you for the video I think I found where it might have gone. Near wiring harness hook up or the lense from the cylinder.....

[@Amasarac]

that fluorescence looks just like the europium doped glass that's used in the borosilicate industry

[@genericcheesewedge4870]

I’ve found aluminum to cut much faster than steel on mine, and on my 50w machine even 5mm deep cuts are possible with enough time. The walls however do significantly taper inwards, so a wide kerf actually improves cutting speed

[@CTCTraining1]

I’m very impressed with the capabilities but slightly concerned I’ll discover it has a eye-surgery section at the back of the manual.

[@karljolley8346]

thank you for the education. so interesting,

[@bitosdelaplaya]

20:00 : at work we have a KEYENCE laser marker, to mark tool for 5 axis cnc machine and robots. I have tested to engrave pcb, and it works fine (after finding good settings). Thanks for your video.

[@benmodel5745]

I'm sorry did you say "handholding" a fiber laser? Sounds unbelievably fun

[@imajeenyus42]

Wait till you search for "handheld laser rust removal", then it gets really fun ;-)

[@benmodel5745]

@@imajeenyus42 yeah, seen those but the price is beyond what most can afford for home use. I just wanna burn things lol

[@eviltreechop]

I found a dog tag exactly like that one engraved in the same manner on a beach near Wangerooge this summer, someone is already on it!

[@MrNoobed]

I haven't done fiber splicing for manufacture like this but I'd believe most of that slack is just there so they have something to work with when building the laser and it's just tossed in there and taped down. The little tiny circle of fiber is probably because of an unintentional twist or a short or long fiber with no other choice for slack management. I'm surprised heat sinking is necessary but I guess. Certainly any splice that's not perfect or bend that increases attenuation (usually less than a 3" radius) will burn the fiber or laser quickly.

[@AndriusKamarauskas]

20:16 in order to reduce substrate heating there is a hatching technique in which you skip every second line and then cover them with a second pass i wish it was one of the default options

[@CrashPro1]

How deep were you able to get in the aluminum? BTW, great video and very informative!

[@tolkienfan1972]

I love your sense of humour! What goggles would you recommend?

[@kenchilton]

I have waited for one of these to fall inside my budget for quite some time. I am glad to see it!

[@waitemc]

Ripple clamp genius!

[@pete3897]

Woulda been cool to see a piece of paper under those goggles when you engraved them (edit: sorry ignore that - just saw the tissue clip!)

[@ichbintoll7128]

A black piece of electrical tape maybe

[@ProjectPhysX]

15:49 can you make it print full color images in oxide layer?

[@TheDefpom]

Ripple clamp... awesome.

[@farktard2740]

+1 for the ripple clamp!

[@herzogsbuick]

That's the thing with overkill: you can never have too much overkill

[@hardergamer]

The one ring to rule them all.

[@nytrajin]

A triple beam focus system that's adjustable is really useful if trying to make a lens hotswap setup. That being said it would be more useful if they're 2 different color beams to easily distinguish between the 2 distances but better than nothing even all being the same color.

[@MrEdwinHubble]

I'm pretty sure that the 3 laser points are there because the predators had 3 laser points too on their shoulder cannon.

[@PBnFlash]

I'm sure you're aware of breaking taps channel but he does a lot of science with one of these cheap little fiber lasers

[@Ncky]

I might be asking unrelated question but that jbc station in background is driving me crazy. Im in debate if i should buy original jbc or make diy one with unisolder... Need it for hobby use but idk whats better on long run. I want it to last.

[@sandorkonya]

Marco, try Meerk40t - open-source software for galvos with JCZ controllers (which seems to be this one too). As far as i know no class 4 laser product can be imported as private person in Germany... what do you think, if i back it on kickstarter will i receive it at the end?

[@FaZuQ]

Nice Corn Maker machine

[@lazerusmfh]

If you want much better software you can buy light burn, which will probably work with that laser I use it with my fiber laser and it’s fantastic Also a mopa is capable of reducing the NS pulsewidth while a Qswitched will have a fixed pulsewidth. For example, my mopa is adjustable from 5ns pulse up to 200ns pulse Both with be capable of frequency and power adjustments but mopa source usually have a wider range, mine adjusts from I think 10khz to 1500khz

[@gilaraujo]

Need to give Lightburn a try ;)

[@Krzys_D]

Hey Marco, my fiber laser here at work has the same software, could you share that file for the color engraving? I was gonna go thru doing all the pen colors with different settings but i never get the time.

[@BraCra]

Sooooo.... What are the alternatives here in Germany for a small one-man-shop that wants to add to a portal-cnc-mill? I do really like the concept of this one as my main scenario would be metal and (now preferably darker) wood. The rotary axis is an absolute must! Love it 😀 I also thought about a laser-head for the portal-mill owever there are not so many for a beginning shop.

[@imajeenyus42]

Very nice review - I've actually been asked to do a review of a similar machine so I think I'll take some pointers from how you've structured your review, as it's the first I've ever done ;-) Also very interesting to see inside the insides of the actual laser source. Regarding cutting metal, some thoughts. Aluminium is actually much faster to cut than steel because it's cleaner - steel produces a lot of burnt rubbish which tends to clog up the cut. For cutting anything thick, it's essential to use either "wobble" or an offset hatch, rather than just trying to use the beam itself moving around the perimeter. Both wobble and offset hatch essentially thicken up the beam, allowing it to reach deeper. The wobble settings are under the "Advance" button under the pen settings. On my 30W laser, I would use a wobble diameter of 0.5mm and a spacing of 0.03mm to cut 1mm aluminium, with a speed of 1000mm/s and power 90%. Your 20W won't be as fast, but I'm confident it will still cut in a reasonable time.

[@reps]

Ah thank you for the hints! I've actually seen someone perform such a cut by engraving a thick ring ... and here I was wondering why 😁

[@imajeenyus42]

@@reps JefferyJ has a good video demonstrating the wobble option - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaWcdGmoochlpNE

[@fischX]

Do you plan a test of the LumenPNP? That would right fit into the electronic manufacturing manufacture :)

[@jimsvideos7201]

What do you suppose is the narrowest line you could get on anything metal? Finely engraved radial markings and a USB microscope make for a pretty good, cheap, indexing solution.

[@SinanAkkoyun]

Hey, thanks for the video. Can you cut silicon wafers with this thing (like breaking taps)? Danke!

[@flikflak24]

What about hacking up that optical laser booster to it? Wouldn't that increase the power of it somewhat?

[@hinz1]

Looks great for prototype PCB along with other things. What's the price?

[@charleshines2142]

If you must use it with minimal safety, keep it locked in a room so that someone can't walk in and get unexpectedly blinded. That is a good idea even with proper safety too. It is just one more layer. If you are worried about a fire, just make sure the floor and walls are concrete or some other material that doesn't burn. The idea is that you want stuff that ordinarily never would burn.

[@ShadowCraftEnterprise]

the 3rd beam is for cylindrical items on the rotary devices.

[@CNCPRINTBLOGSPOT]

Richtig gutes Video, Fa. Haberstroh nutzt auch eine modifizierte Version der SW 🙂

[@MrMilarepa108]

But how many ppms does it have? And does it have more digits than a clock? Doesn't matter, you had me at laser.

[@nerotek7347]

even for a prototype that soldering is shocking, hope they step up the game for the later products

[@douro20]

You could have Dr. Vleggaar measure that F-theta lens to see how good it is.

[@wacekjalczak2134]

Great...

[@st3althyone]

Thanks for the wonderful laser content, I can’t get enough of the pew, pew’s. It’s always a load of fun watching you wax poetic about these wonderful and sometimes scary laser products. Now we have confirmed racist lasers. Thanks for that eye-opening information, Marco. 😂😂

[@nefariousyawn]

I wonder if the complete pcb etching would have been cleaner if it was performed in multiple lower power passes.

[@nefariousyawn]

Further exploration of the comments reveals someone else explaining how to do this. I feel validated.

[@molitovv]

Looks like there is two focal length guide lasers and one from the galvo for alignment.

[@scifactorial5802]

Has anyone tried how the laser works on white powder coated parts? Can it char them, does it work for a serial number? Interesting that white PCB worked but white paper did not.

[@riffshyperion]

4:50 - three laser points to account for tilted surfaces?

[@nophead]

I wouldn't call carbonised PCB substrate "leakage"! It is generally a low resistance and if a power rails goes through it it will burn while the power source is there, even when the substrate is V0.

[@legobuildingsrewiew7538]

Ah finally

[@thedanyesful]

I really wanted to see you burn some paint off your drywall when you picked up the laser module or handheld use.

[@mastermoarman]

How well does it remove rust? Could be a good cheap alternative to laser sand blaster?

[@Proven88]

It will easily remove rust but the work area is very small

[@Mr.Leeroy]

V-cutting alumina was impressive for some reason

[@ultimatdestroier427]

Another video?! Is it christmas already?!

[@blapty]

Why did my mind go immediately to nipple clamp? 13:09 🤣

[@skeggjoldgunnr3167]

Do a dental xray machine for PCB trace routing diagnostics on multilayer boards!

[@hanswurstusbrachialus5213]

Einfach immer herrlich deine Videos. :)

[@TristanKingly]

I read Corn Maker. Would pop a few kernels I'm sure.

[@alexlofka360]

Thanks for a humor dose, also would shill for lightburn here but basic stuff is possible to do with supplied software >_>

[@3v1Bunny]

that ripple clamp ... can we get a tutorial on that ? and how/when to use?

[@ArnaudMEURET]

The third dot was just to ressemble your channel icon. A late idea hurriedly implemented by the community manager right before closing up your shipment. ☝️😅

[@MrNoobed]

Oooh. How about a demo cleaning rust off sheet metal or some dried on tarry goop off of glassware like a test tube or slide? Probably an unreasonable request on the machine and a lot of work for your exhaust system

[@BraCra]

What are the alternatives? Same or more power? Around the same price point of ~2k€?

[@robadex8043]

I have tons of ideas what to engrave with one of these,, but they are still a bit out of my budget Maybe one day

[@_droid]

The label on the laser says MFPT-20M and that is in fact a MOPA laser. Or it's suppose to be anyway.

[@BeefIngot]

Out of curiosity at 12:50, you mention that it wont work on your skin tone, but would for others. Would I as a black person get burned? Is that colour difference past negligible in this context? Was this a joke or... In my half assed 2 minutes of searching I did not find an answer.

[@frosty129]

Let's just RRROLLL with it! lol