Will the F1 Ultra Laser and Conveyor Save Money?

[@owdoco5657]

Help! Got Xtool F1 ultra. When I Frame on a product the framing is in the correct position. But the finished lettering has moved below the framing box. Any help would be appreciated

[@SteveMakesEverything]

It sounds like your alignment needs some tweaking. Did you do the calibration when you set the laser up? xTool has done at least three different procedures for this in XCS, but the most recent calibration was the one that finally made my F1 Ultra perfect.

[@75keg75]

3d print a hopper that you load and the conveyor moves part out a set distance and as long as hopper is loaded - you’re good.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

I’ve thought about doing. Might make an interesting project

[@75keg75]

@@SteveMakesEverything it would be pretty easy to do. 3d print or laser cut acrylic sheets to make the chute.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@75keg75 I'd like to make some sort of auto feeder that I can drop a stack of business cards in and push the start button. Getting cards to drop onto the conveyor consistently without intervention could be an interesting challenge.

[@chrisr1241]

I also ordered the f1 ultra but rethink of cancelling it . Everyone talks about metal business cards or dog tags… in reality there is close to no demand for these type of products. And in Germany we have more than 100 companies who offer that type of products. So hard market with price dumping involved. I don’t think it it possible to build a business with such standard products… but thank you for the video. I see the software problems as well. I would also like to use is with something like a batch process where each piece changes a value automatically like a serial number or even text from a list…

[@SteveMakesEverything]

The things I created here are just what I use as giveaways for my own business, but this certainly wouldn't apply to anyone. You can easily create your own volume items from wood or metal, but by definition, this isn't going to appeal to a huge audience. I use engraved business cards because people will often ask what a laser can do and I typically respond with "Here, take my card." You bring up something that I ask for as well - the ability to make changes for each item engraved. I see the best use case for a conveyor option as something that can engrave serial numbers on metal plates, or different names on wood cards. Without this ability, conveyors are relegated to creating craft fair parts, and I don't think that's a highly profitable market - at least not for me.

[@chrisr1241]

@@SteveMakesEverything Thank you! I truly agree with you. And I think so many youtuber try to sell lasers with that claims like "build a easy laser business" with this laser... but in reality, nearly every laser business does not make any money. I hope to see the conveyor features soon...

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@chrisr1241 No matter what, you will never hear me say create a laser business (or any business is easy). Products like the F1 Ultra and Conveyor might help with success, but it's always about hard work regardless of the tool that are available.

[@BeamMeUpLaserEngraving]

I was watching clacks new video steve and had an idea. They should make a chain mail style honeycomb bed instead of the plastic conveyor belt and have a metal protective layer underneath it to protect the internal components of the conveyor belt. Then the machine can truly shine. They missed the cutting side of this machine. Do you think it would work?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

It would probably work.

[@kimzaspel5430]

Can the F1 Ultra cut 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch plywood?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

1/8” would be easy. 1/4” should be doable with the right settings. Keep in mind though that the F1 Ultra is ideally an engraving machine

[@gregparker5732]

What is the degree of accuracy? Will it put a .750" circle concentrically located on a 1" round piece? And then if you put it back on would it put a .500 circle in the center of both?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Since the last update this improved greatly. With the first release I had one wooden keychain the was misaligned. But with the most recent update everything was perfectly aligned. However if you want to reprocess the pieces by rerunning them on the conveyor, I don’t think you’d get the accuracy you’d want. It’s probably +/- 1mm of accuracy.

[@dian3145]

Thanks for the recap! A couple of questions.. When connecting the more rigid hose to the extractor, how did you get a tight fit at the top of the extractor? The clamp doesn’t seem to seal on the adapter with the bubbled profile. I added the silicone sleeve, but that doesn’t seem like right answer either. Have you questioned them about a mail merge function for use with the conveyor? I asked, but they haven’t responded to that question, I understand they are like one armed paper hangers at the moment! Someone on FB said that LB can do it, but my understanding is that you cannot use LB with the conveyor. In case you are tracking it, I used your link for the ultra.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

I’m not sure what hose scenario you are describing. If you are talking about the end that fits into the laser, it fits perfectly. The other end is unterminated and I just press mine onto my external exhaust fan inlet to vent it outside. Most people, including I, want the ability to engrave from an input file like a name list. I haven’t asked Xtool about this yet because I have them focused on another issue at the moment. You can post to their Facebook group with this request though and see who else upvotes this. I have a feeling almost everyone wants this.

[@dian3145]

@@SteveMakesEverything Hi Steve, sorry, I thought you were using the fume extractor. I did post it on the FB group, no responses…didn’t check on likes.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@dian3145 I do have the large xTool Exractor, so I can give this a try.

[@BeamMeUpLaserEngraving]

How's the smoke extraction going while using the conveyor belt?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

While I had the cover open for recording most of this video (wearing laser glasses of course), the smoke extraction worked great even with the cover up. Even wide open I watch the smoke get quickly sucked into the fan at the back.

[@BeamMeUpLaserEngraving]

@SteveMakesEverything That's Good news. Can the average person actually repair one of these themselves if they break down?

[@SteveMakesEverything]

@@BeamMeUpLaserEngraving This is a good question. It's obviously in xTool's best interest to allow this, but I don't know the answer

[@TTC1940]

If one is starting out $4500 is a bunch. At the same time if one already has a diode, why not buy a fiber laser such as a commarkeb4r 20w for $1800

[@mtz3843]

i was thinking the wecreat for 1300

[@SteveMakesEverything]

Yes, this is the challenge xTool will face with the F1 Ultra, though there a number of interesting projects you could make where you would want both a diode and fiber in the same project (not for the conveyor though). I like the F1 Ultra specifically for some of the projects I outline in this video, and I will always use the F1 Ultra for these. But I personally don't have a volume use case other than these at least until I can engrave things like different names or numbers on each item going down the conveyor.

[@SteveMakesEverything]

The Wecreat is probably my favorite diode laser.

[@mrgrinch61]

great video thanks

[@SteveMakesEverything]

You are welcome!