The LaserPecker LP4 is a small laser cutter and engraver that works on practically any materials, however actually shines as an all-purpose engraver for etching wooden, stone and steel. The machine is marketed as moveable, however a niche within the protecting shielding means anybody within the viewing space should put on security glasses, subsequently it can’t be operated in public areas. If you wish to use the LaserPecker at craft gala’s or round household and pets, you’ll want to purchase the optionally available full enclosure that at present goes for $159.
The laser has an attention-grabbing look, like a bit of lab gear sporting a pet’s orange cone of disgrace. However on this case, the cone is your foremost eye safety. The cone is fitted with a case fan to blow smoke and fumes away from the working space, however nonetheless into the room. The vent does an excellent job blowing the odor away from the consumer, however you’ll nonetheless wish to present your personal extra air flow.
The LaserPecker LP4 is supplied with each a 2-watt Infrared laser for engraving steel and plastic, and a ten watt blue Diode laser to chop smooth woods as much as 8mm thick and darkish acrylic as much as 5mm. Swapping between the 2 lasers is completed within the software program, so there’s no equipment to dismantle between tasks. In contrast to bigger open body lasers, the LaserPecker’s head stays in a single place and the beam is directed round your challenge with fast paced mirrors.
The software program supplied by LaserPecker is lacking presets for slicing by way of supplies, so that you’ll must run your personal assessments. Presets for engraving are spot on and when you get to know the laser, the outcomes are fairly good.
Retailing at $1999, and at present on sale for $1559, the LaserPecker LP4 prices greater than many bigger open body lasers. However is paying for portability value the price?
Specs: LaserPecker LP4
| Machine Footprint | 260.5 x 218 x 283.5 mm (10.25 x8.6 x 11.1inches) |
| Engraving Measurement | 120 x 160mm (4.72 x 6.3 inches) |
| Materials | Cardboard, wooden, leather-based, stone, steel, acrylic, plastic |
| Laser Kind | Blue Diode and Infrared |
| Laser Energy | 10w and 2w |
| Laser Wave Size | 450 nm Diode and 1064nm Infrared |
| Engraving Accuracy | .003 mm |
| Chopping Platform | Included (flat and grid) |
| Connectivity | USB, Wi-fi Bluetooth, Cellular |
| Interface | Contact Display screen |
LaserPecker LP4 : Included within the Field
The LaserPecker LP4 comes with every thing you have to assemble the laser, a pair of laser security glasses and a protect. You additionally get just a few small samples of wooden and steel enterprise playing cards.
Design of the LaserPecker LP4
The LaserPecker LP4 is a compact, moveable laser that appears like a complicated laboratory software. It has a premium really feel to it, with brushed steel surfaces and tangle free cords wrapped in material.
In contrast to giant flatbed machines, the LaserPecker is a Galvo laser, the place the laser stays in a single spot and the beam is moved throughout the work floor quickly with a set of mirrors. This is similar movement system seen in laser gentle exhibits.
The LaserPecker LP4 has each pc software program and a cellular app to function it, and each are free to obtain. The cellular app duplicates all of the features of the pc software program, so that you don’t have to be tethered to a laptop computer you probably have the app put in. An optionally available Bluetooth dongle is on the market for distant operation from a pc.
The LaserPecker has a contact display screen show on the highest of the machine. This lets you flip the machine on and off, choose preloaded recordsdata from reminiscence, choose diode or IR laser, focus the laser and activate the preview, all with out a pc or cellular machine. It additionally offers suggestions, so you recognize when it’s receiving recordsdata out of your telephone or pc, and shows a useful count-down timer.
The flat baseplate has holes for screw mounted materials holders – these holes go fully by way of the plate & shouldn’t be used for slicing. A grill with a strong backside is supplied for slicing, which offers a lot wanted air movement for cleaner edges. The underside plate can also be detachable, so you possibly can place the laser on a big object for engraving.
The laser module can tilt on the stand to engrave giant objects positioned subsequent to it. It may also be fully faraway from the stand and used freehand.
The laser is hooded with a removable cone for security, however there’s a niche on the backside, so that you’ll nonetheless wish to put on the security goggles supplied.
Focusing the laser may be very straightforward. Once you click on “preview,” within the design software program, you’ll get two crimson dots from the laser. Place your materials beneath the dots and lift or decrease the laser till the crimson dots mix into one. There’s additionally a “reside preview” field that tasks a blue rectangle that represents the paintings to assist get every thing in the proper spot.
The cone proved to be fairly irritating. When it’s connected to the laser, there’s not sufficient house in your fingers to get beneath it – however greater than sufficient hole for dangerous laser gentle to flee. Additionally, there’s not sufficient clearance to slip the cone in place when supplies are on the work plate.
To prime it off, the colour of the cone fully blocks the blue gentle used to preview designs, so you possibly can’t even see it when the cone is on. This implies you have to place your materials on the work floor, decrease the pinnacle till the laser is concentrated, regulate the reside preview, increase the laser head, put the cone on, then decrease the pinnacle till it’s targeted once more. The crimson dots are seen by way of the cone, however considerably distorted. As you continue to must put on security glasses as a consequence of that small hole, I discovered myself leaving the hood off and trusting my overhead room air flow to do its job.
Assembling the LaserPecker LP4
I assembled the LaserPecker 4 in beneath 10 minutes – it is only a matter of some screws and USB cords.
Security Precautions for the LaserPecker LP4
The LaserPecker LP4 is a Class 4 laser that may harm your eyes and burn pores and skin. It additionally produces smoke and fumes whereas engraving or slicing supplies. You could take precautions to function the machine safely. Use this and some other laser at your personal threat.
The machine is supplied with a security cone over the laser module that covers the working floor. An emergency panic button on the highest of the machine will halt operation. You may set the machine to show off when the duvet is eliminated, however this isn’t on by default. One other sensor detects excessive temperatures and may shut off the laser to keep away from fires. An exhaust fan removes smoke from the laser space to enhance efficiency and the surroundings. A tilt detector will shut off the laser if it tilts throughout operation.
There’s a slight hole between the protect and the fabric. Due to this hole, you will need to all the time put on security glasses for additional safety. A pair is supplied with the machine.
The optionally available enclosure is nicely value the additional value, because it fully seals the laser from view. It additionally helps management smoke emitted from the supplies that you just’re burning.
Forestall pets and different individuals from observing the laser whereas in use. For the reason that laser is actually burning materials, by no means enable it to function unattended and have a hearth extinguisher useful simply in case.
It is a moveable laser, which suggests you need to use it freehand in case you take acceptable care.
Some supplies shouldn’t be burned with a laser as a consequence of their chemical make-up – they may soften, catch hearth or produce poisonous fumes. Dallas Maker Area has printed an inventory of secure and dangerous supplies to make use of with their laser. The listing of no-nos consists of plastics, fiberglass and sure foams.
The laser lens can get soiled from smoke and fumes. You will want to wipe it clear – whereas unplugged – earlier than every laser session. If it’s allowed to grow to be soiled, the laser will lose a few of its functionality.
Software program for LaserPecker LP4
LaserPecker has its personal software program suite and a cellular app known as LaserPecker Design Area. It’s additionally suitable with premium LightBurn software program.
Design Area may be very full and a superb place to begin for studying the right way to use the laser. Instructions are sparse, so it’s possible you’ll want to look YouTube for assistance on utilizing each Design Area and the laser.
The pc and cellular app are impartial of one another – in truth, the laser can solely speak to one after the other. I needed to unplug the USB wire from the laptop computer with the intention to take a look at out the cellular app. Instructions for each are restricted to info on establishing the software program and the way to attract with it. There’s little or no steerage in terms of utilizing the laser, and no rationalization of the right way to truly lower supplies. You will want to hold out your personal experiments on scrap supplies, then write these settings down in a word as a result of there’s no solution to save them within the software program.
In any other case, the default settings for engraving are superb and the software program can deal with numerous primary design work. I used to be in a position to pull in clip artwork, draw shapes, use a variety of fonts and curve textual content. Whereas utilizing the cellular app I used to be in a position to snap a photograph and instantly flip it into an engraving.
My solely actual difficulty with LaserPecker’s Design Area is the grid, which isn’t aligned with the machine. I may discover no solution to regulate the grid to have it make sense. For instance, these containers are centered on the work floor. Anybody with OCD could have a tough time utilizing this software program.
I used LaserPecker Design Area and the supplied clip artwork for testing.
Engraving / Chopping with the LaserPecker LP4
The power to chop or engrave supplies is decided by the velocity and energy settings of the laser. The LaserPecker LP4 has a medium energy, 10-watt diode laser that may lower by way of skinny wooden as much as 8mm in response to the producer. I discovered that it struggled slicing 3mm wooden with out charring it to bits. This machine’s finest use is for engraving.
The diode laser did an excellent job of engraving, together with this display screen seize of the Tom’s {Hardware} brand and {a photograph} of a Benchy. All enhancing was executed in LaserPecker’s Design Area. The tree graphic was from a set of clip artwork that comes with the laser. These had been executed with the laser’s default setting for Beech and look very crisp and even.
The rectangle was a precut pattern, however the circle was lower by the LaserPecker from a bigger sheet of 2mm plywood. There are not any instructions for the right way to slice by way of materials, so it took some experimentation. This lower was made with 4 passes at 90% energy and a depth of 40%.
The reside preview makes it straightforward to place the laser precisely the place you want it. I used to be in a position to etch this pencil utilizing the cellular app utilizing the diode laser on the default Beech setting. It solely took about 15 seconds.
The LaserPecker got here with 5 aluminum alloy enterprise playing cards for testing. I used a display screen seize of the Tom’s {Hardware} brand and LaserPecker’s design suite for the textual content and QR code. That is the place the 1K to 8K settings are wanted.
At 1K, the infrared laser barely etched the steel and the QR code was unusable. 2K produced good textual content and a workable QR code in simply 2 minutes and 35 seconds. 4K and 8K solely confirmed enhancements within the QR code, however took extra time: twice as lengthy for 4k and over 8 minutes for 8K.
The LaserPecker dealt with black acrylic with out issues. Once more, I needed to make a number of assessments earlier than discovering that slicing this 5mm acrylic wanted 4 passes at 100% energy and 15% depth. The etching was executed with default settings. The darkish picture used the diode laser and the sunshine picture used the infrared laser. These circles are concerning the dimension of 1 / 4. The artwork work may be very crisp, however there’s a lot element you have to squint to see all of it.
Backside Line
The LaserPecker LP4 is a really quick and versatile Galvo laser that may engrave absolutely anything because of its twin Diode and IR lasers. On paper, it may lower skinny planks of wooden as much as 8mm, however as a result of there are not any presets for slicing, you have to numerous trial and charred error to get it proper. The $1,999 retail price ticket is a bit steep for what you’re getting – a small, moveable laser that also requires security glasses, or a further enclosure, to make use of.
It’s significantly better at engraving, and right here it shines. The LaserPecker Design Area has loads of inventive instruments and the power to import pictures or clip artwork to rework into lasered artwork. This system has considerable settings for engraving and robotically switches from Diode to IR relying on the supplies you choose.
I used to be very pleased with the included software program, which might deal with quite a lot of inventive tasks with ease. Superior customers might wish to splurge on Lightburn, but it surely’s undoubtedly not required. The cellular app was additionally the most effective I’ve seen and able to doing every thing the desktop model provides.
Focusing the laser is straightforward and the reside preview may be very useful. Nevertheless, the security cone simply will get in the best way, and I ended up leaving it off and simply working with the glasses. This unwieldy security characteristic, hefty price ticket and lack of slicing capacity retains the LaserPecker off our listing of finest laser cutters.
If you would like a twin diode and IR laser that’s actually secure and moveable, try the xTool F1, at present accessible for $1519. If you would like extra room for lasering giant objects on finances, the ten watt Creality CR-Laser Falcon is a significantly better place to begin at $439. And in case you’re in search of a full characteristic diode laser to kick off your Etsy store ambitions, you must try the easy to make use of Xtool D1 Professional for $1399, a 20-watt laser with glorious help.
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