Will this Feature Change Lasers Forever? Gweike Cloud RF Laser Review

[@makeorbreakshop]

I got the work area wrong and gave you the machine dimensions and NOT the work area, it actually is: .08" (510mm) x 11.47" (290mm) x 2" (51mm). Sorry about the confusion!

[@Antonis_Fronimos]

How can you change the rf unit when the 20000 hr lifespan ends? No replacement unit at Gweike's site. Nor a 55w co2 tube

[@Samcraftcom]

Wait whaaa.... new shop space?! Or just different camera angles. Either way I was distracted by all those cubic feets of air in the background. Hahaha All the same, another wonderful production, Brandon! Oh and the laser are cool. :)

[@makeorbreakshop]

Thanks man! It is a new shop space, I need to do a proper tour but it's way bigger than my garage. Not sure who is more excited, me or my wife ha!

[@blondefoxcreations]

Sweet! I was just about to pull the tigger on the OMTech Polar... I might wait now.

[@makeorbreakshop]

Both are good options! Only drawback is the Polar isn't shipping for a few months.

[@blondefoxcreations]

@@makeorbreakshop I bought the RF model today. Thank you!

[@ruftime]

Never had an issue with glass in my large format 60/130w reci/Cloudray home machine and industrial units…..unless your plain careless……but ultimately, tubes are consumables. Avoid cloud only machines. ❤️Lightburn, regularly upgrading features😎

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yep, but if RF costs come down they could be a great option. Also Gweike runs local, both their software and Lightburn. Their name just makes I’m confusing…

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

Very cool, Brandon. What about actual time to complete an engrave job? It's twice as fast but the laser is 1/3 as small. Does that equate to it actually being slower??? I imagine the cutting is just faster since it's not having to fill in a design.

[@makeorbreakshop]

Hey Brad! So even with the laser dot smaller I could still run both machines using the same DPI resolution on the image. The Star Wars Aztec design used the same resolution so it would up being about twice as fast since it was running at 1000 mm/s vs 600. Diode lasers will also get in the same laser dot range but I haven't run into issues of them taking longer just because the laser dot was smaller.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

@@makeorbreakshop cool, makes sense. It's be interesting if you ha e one specific design, like the Aztec that you run on every machine you test so you can compare them all across a similar output. Almost like a benchy for 3dprinting. Love seeing the new tech!

[@ChordOfC]

Shown at 9:31, the RF laser seemed to produce much more continuous and progressive gradation of marks on the wood than the CO2. Can you confirm this is usually the case?

[@reeves29456]

The main difference I've seen between the Gweiki and the OMTech is that the OMTech comes with an off the shelf Ruida controller with separate stepper drivers and the Gweiki has a Gweiki built Ruida controller with drivers (TMC2208) mounted on the main controller board.

[@F57771]

I cant find any info regarding the max cutting depth of the RF have you done some test for this too?

[@wittworks]

Huge fan of the new space

[@makeorbreakshop]

It's been a blast having it!

[@lensherman6242]

Would like to see a more detailed cut comparison between 38W RF vs 50W glass. How much cutting ability is lost with the RF model? Was thinking that having the power concentrated into a smaller spot size might make up for lower power.

[@makeorbreakshop]

The cutting tests towards the end show a direct comparison on a few different materials. The 50W glass is stronger but not a crazy amount. Plus I've liked the engraving results from the RF tube vs the glass.

[@neilbunn]

I agree, I'd totally like to see this in detail. It isn't clear to me if the size of the laser dot compensates for the power to a degree. I'd love to see acrylic and balsa tests of one vs. the other in terms of single pass cutting. I think a lot of people struggle with understanding the capabilities here.

[@AnnaKaraka]

Is it possible to use only distilled water for cooling? The machine is in a warm house +25 throughout the year.

[@makeorbreakshop]

They actually recommend distilled!

[@digiital]

You may want to CORRECT ::. You said the work area is 38x22(timestamp 1:33) , thats the size of the machine not the size of work area which is 20x12"

[@makeorbreakshop]

Shoot! I thought I had fixed that in the edit. Thanks for pointing it out

[@mattshack6183]

Your back view of the RF only showed air cooling fans and the pass-thru slot. Is there an exhaust port?

[@blondefoxcreations]

So what's weird... and I'm not sure if it's entirely true, but according to the GWeike Cloud RF user manual, only 2.4 GHz wifi is supported. 5Ghz is not. That really sucks.

[@mr_tantrum5051]

I like your review and now I have even more to think about as I consider purchasing one of these machines. The primary question I have if and how well the RF laser cuts clear acrylic which I know the CO2 laser can easily handle. I have a specialized need to cut and engrave both cast and extruded clear acrylic ranging from 3/32" to 1/4".

[@SteinErikDahle]

I'm managing a makerspace with two GCC Spirit GX (60W) and one Spirit LS (30W) laser cutters, all with RF-lasers. They all cut acrylics with excellent results.

[@neilrisley6667]

I currently own a Ortur LM2 with both the 20w SF & LF lasers. I would like to improve speed with both engraving & cutting (I mainly engrave ceramic tiles, slate & mirror, but also glass & stainless steel) & would like to cut 4-6mm ply/mdf/acrylic. Would the RF CO2 laser still get similar quality on engravings at a much faster speed & would cutting be a lot better with the glass tube C02? Also, when engraving ceramic/acrylic/glass etc do C02 lasers still need the various paints to mark/burn materials? Thanks for this video btw (been waiting for your opinion)

[@henrymach]

Russ (SarbarMultimedia) already spent half a dozen videos dissecting and testing (it's really worth the watch) one of those RF lasers and came to the conclusion that they're not as good as tube ones.

[@terryevans1976]

I was going to mention Russ's tests also. I believe he thinks RF tubes make great engravings but as not as good for cutting. As with all things Russ he goes into all the detail you would want (and more) on why that is.

[@makeorbreakshop]

Russ is a great, if you want deep testing he is always my go to.

[@mcrorietube]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpe0Y6ydZ956jcU Great video on RF vs Glass Tube; thanks for mentioning it.

[@maracs9314]

Are there any differences at all between the Polar and the basic gweike cloud Laser Cutter & Engraver CO2 (50W) ?

[@stevespringer8385]

Does the RF still,use 3 mirrors and is the mirror adjustment as challenging as with the glass tube?

[@makeorbreakshop]

From what I can tell the everything is the same once the beam is generated from the laser tube. So still all the mirrors/adjustment process

[@baraBober]

What about eye protection? Is it just as bad as CO2 laser?

[@makeorbreakshop]

You don't have to worry about light in the same way as a diode laser seem the beam is invisible. But the biggest safety advantage you get with a CO2 machine is they are full enclosure so it will contain any reflections of the beam that might come off the material.

[@Basement_CNC]

what do you expect, its a fricking laser, but the borst by far are diode lasers, co2 can cut acylic and "clear" materials so youre save behind the acrylic with co2 lasers and i think so with rf lasers as well

[@rexrr5919]

hmmm... at the time of this message, you posted about 20 hrs ago. With that said, the Test File is not available ("The Laser Test File Workshop Offer Expired"). I just thought you might want to know since you have the link live!

[@rorylaubscher3208]

Hi Brandon. Good review, but you made a big error in the beginning - you've got the work area incorrect.(at 1:33) The dimensions you listed are the physical dimensions of the unit. The actual working area is 20.08" (510mm)*11.47" (290mm)*2(51mm). The dimensions you gave would have been awesome if they were correct :) Just thought you'd want to know so you can correct it.

[@makeorbreakshop]

Shoot sorry about that!

[@kevinrowe4430]

Looking to purchase a laser to make personalized tags, it is a dual color tag. I have a friend that used her CO2 Omtech machine and she said that it took about 5 min/tag. I am very new to the laser world, any suggestions. Thanks.

[@cw4608]

I heard a Chinese person pronounce it gway kuh. Thanks for the review. Very informative.

[@e.gauthier]

Is the cutting ability about the same even though the wattage is lower on the RF model tubes?

[@markdavies7928]

Isn't the Omtech polar made by Gweike under contract to Omtech?

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yep

[@davebauerart]

Great info on this new laser thanks!

[@makeorbreakshop]

You bet!

[@PaulMarlmountWoodcrafts]

Hi, I’m a hobbyist woodworker. I have never had or have any experience of a laser cutter. What model would you recommend for a beginner like me.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

k40

[@Duraltia]

@03:15 So... _This_ morning at around 02:00am I was in chat with the G·Weike Support Guy(s) trying to get some questions asked about my regular G·Weike Cloud with the very first question having been what the Units Network IP Address is in order to hook it up to Ethernet - Normally you'd use a to the RuiDa Controller attached Screen Panel to SET the Network IP Address but with these Units not having a Panel there's no obvious way of setting it the usual way hence my question towards the Support. *Their answer:* _"Don’t worry. Currently, our motherboard does not support Ethernet control machines."_ Soo... Did YOU manage to hook it up via Ethernet and if so, HOW? 🤔🤨

[@mcrorietube]

Another great video, thank you! I appreciate you pointing out "lifetime costs" associated with ownership - that said, can the RF be recharged as mentioned in another comment?

[@sorenac]

The only thing keeping me from getting the RF/Glass version.... Is bedsize.. :) I usually do sheets of 24x12, so now I have to trim those down to size and lose material. Or open the passthrough and do a few pieces in one end, trim the excess of and then put it in normally 😁 But other than that, it's a good machine 😁

[@PPSFerfax]

Where is the machine you listed? The bed sizes you talk about don't match the specs on the website. It's a 20x12 work area.

[@makeorbreakshop]

I misspoke about the bed size, I actually said the size of the machine overall. Sorry about that!

[@atrunco]

Are you aware this RF model has already been discontinued? I ordered it last week and this week they said they’d make mine, but they have discontinued the model. Do you have any insight on this?

[@robertfousch2703]

I'm on the website right now and is not discontinued. No idea where you got that from.

[@acrobatjones]

I’ve seen people questioning the cutting saying the glass tubes are better,my question is how does the RF do with leather engraving and cutting? I’ve seen the cloud pro and I’m tempted to get it but then I saw this review and now I’m questioning wether this is worth getting or just going with the cloud pro…. Omtech polar was another option but I don’t want to wait for shipping and although glowforge seems like a great choice the price and cloud based software put me off Sorry for the long rant I’d just love to hear if the RF is that much better or not Thanks and love the content

[@FurreFurre]

Usually higher power is better for cutting, getting cleaner cut on thicker material. That being said, I've found that vegetable tanned leather is one of those materials that will char no matter what you do to it; Likely you'll see little to no difference between the choices you listed, you're going to be sanding the edges of the cut leather either way. The ability to turn air-assist from full blast to minimum when engraving however is quite helpful to avoid marking the leather with smoke around the engravings, but I don't think any of these desktop machine have that option unfortunately, so again, likely no difference. Hope that helps! (Just avoid glowforge basically....)

[@acrobatjones]

@@FurreFurre thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to message me back! I’m still on the fence about what I should get, glowforge is definitely not going to happen but I’m stuck between wether I go for a diode or co2 laser, I have ventilation where I’ll need to be more on the quiet side and in my garage I have no ventilation other than opening the door in which I can make more noise, so It’s coming down to the wire on what machine, but it will be a learning curve regardless and I’ll be starting to use lightburn and learning all about how to use the program Thanks again! You’re the only person to reply to my comments so far, have a great day and all the best 🤟

[@FurreFurre]

@@acrobatjones Having used both diode and Co2 lasers, I highly recommend that you go Co2 if you can afford it. Normally speeds with a diode lasers are mentioned in mm/minute, but with Co2 we normally mention it in mm/seconds, it's simply more capable especially for cutting things. With Co2 lasers you also get a metal enclosure with viewing window that's easier to keep your fumes where they belong, and you dont need to be as careful as around diodes where you pretty much need to wear protective glasses all the time (blue light). It is however more complicated with watercooling etc, but there are smaller machines similar to glowforge, like gweike and omtech polar available nowadays with cooling integrated as well into the units, competitor machines for the glowforge pretty much.

[@sherritwilleger5353]

Do you have a discount link?

[@hoocli]

What about glass engraving quality?

[@rscsltd]

Kinda nice review, BUT Brandon I never see any technical info about the machines you review. I’d like to hear about finer detail RF/Glass wattage comparisons, stepper motor comparisons, belt tensioners, power supply output, guide rails shift and judder under different speed and job load? Anything technical really?

[@makeorbreakshop]

Great suggestions! I use to get more into the technical side but have started to show more examples of what it can do practically. I'll do a better job pointing the specifics out in the future though!

[@rscsltd]

Wasn’t a nock at what you are doing! Glad you’re here👍

[@erkful]

What about cutting?

[@PhilippinesDarrellCheeks]

Air cooled is awesome!

[@makeorbreakshop]

I love it!

[@terryevans1976]

Biggest benefit in my book.

[@terryevans1976]

The biggest benefit's as I see them are: air cooling, no freeze worries in cold climates (because of air cooling), RF tubes can usually be recharged (not sure about this one.

[@dougcochran8525]

Man, I usually trust you, but I got so excited about this video that I went straight to the Gweike website to immediately buy this printer and noticed that you were SIGNIFICANTLY off on your measurements of the functional workspace just in time!. Please be careful before you buy this😬. It is actually: 20.08" (510mm) x 11.47" (290mm) x 2" (51mm).

[@makeorbreakshop]

Yeh I tried to update it in the description. I don't know what I was thinking but gave the machine dimensions and not the work area, sorry about that!

[@dougcochran8525]

@@makeorbreakshop well, it's to your credit that i almost jumped gun - your videos are very helpful.

[@thomasherzog338]

I think the glass tube will last longer than 1-3 hours, hopefully 😉

[@EGOSDP]

600mm/sec??????

[@robinbiggs3577]

Take a look at the wiring inside this water reservoir next to power supply it’s a fire hazard even when turned off if you love your family stay away as you never know when this is going up in flames

[@carmineriganti2333]

Nice video but comb your hair lol

[@makeorbreakshop]

hahah!