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Advanced Laser
ATOMSTACK A5 M30 Use 4.5~5.5W laser to engrave Wood, Metal, Acrylic easily and precisely, cut 3mm thick wood and acrylic. ⅓ smaller laser spot than others.
Full Protection for Eyes
Full protective cover round the laser filter out 97% UV, no need to wear goggles, no hassle while the engraving process is still visible.Easy Setup Solid Structure
Easy Setup Solid Structure
Made with full aluminum alloy metal, laser movement is super steady and efficient thanks to the use of integral screw rods integrated with stepping motor (while most others use combined coupling), so the engraving and cutting results are precise and accurate. No shaking even at the speed of 3000mm/min.
Additional function and accessories
A free stainless steel backing plate for you to protect your table, a free goggle for anyone who wants extra eye protection, newly design of adjusting knob to focus the laser even more convenient.
Wide Compatibility
ATOMSTACK A5 M30 laser engraver compatible with most popular laser engraving software including LaserGRBL, LightBurn, runs on Windows XP, 7, 8, 10, and Mac OS, Linux. Supports NC, BMP, JPG, PNG, DXF file formats and so on. Numerous material can be engraved including wood, cardboard, bamboo, natural leather, acrylic, glass, metal, PCB Board, etc.
And not very difficult to manage even for a rookie without any experience in t...More
And not very difficult to manage even for a rookie without any experience in this kind of machines.
Very good as starting point and in order to check if these machines can feet your necessities. If needed, easy updates with powerful lasers can be done.
I'm very happy with the machine and the service given by the company, the delivery was correct
And not very difficult to manage even for a rookie without any experience in th...More
And not very difficult to manage even for a rookie without any experience in this kind of machines.
Very good as starting point and in order to check if these machines can feet your necessities. If needed, easy updates with powerful lasers can be done.
I'm very happy with the machine and the service given by the company, the delivery was correct
I find this laser engraver quite capable. I have tried several other similar laser engravers. What makes this one stand apart from the others is that it has a knob for adjusting the height of the laser. That makes it much easier to work with than similar lasers where you have to adjust the laser height with hex screws. The laser does a good job an engraving details. It took me about 45 minutes to put the kit together, but I had practice from putting together a similar kit before. My first kit had about the same instructions (very limited), and it took me 90 minutes to put together. Overall, this laser engraver kit is a great way to get started with home laser engraving.
Instructions are lacking.
Assembly was easy enough.
Software is not very intuitive.
Works on several types of objects.
We're exc...More
Instructions are lacking.
Assembly was easy enough.
Software is not very intuitive.
Works on several types of objects.
We're excited to play with it more. So far it's more than adequate.
Took 40 min for this newbie to put together. If you're familiar with laser cutters, you could ...More
Took 40 min for this newbie to put together. If you're familiar with laser cutters, you could cut that time in half. The assembly directions aren't great, I relied on youtube for a couple of the steps.
The "manual" is awful because it gives you zero information beyond assembly. There are NO instructions to use this, or setting guidelines. I relied heavily on youtube - I highly suggest "Dingworkshop" and "Anthony Baltazar" youtube's videos. Anthony helped me understand the LaserGRBL program and Ding helped me understand the Atomstack.
We did have one mechanical issue, but otherwise this is solidly built. Our problem was that the arm quit going back and forth on the X axis after just the 2nd burn project test. The screws in the upper wheel, that move along the belt (pre-installed) were not tight. We tightened those and it's worked fine ever since. There was nothing in the directions to tell us to look there.
My only other negative about this is that it claims to etch metal but it's not strong enough. It's great on leather, paper and wood, though. It's only a 5w output (don't let that "30w" in the title fool you, it's the output that's most important). For 2mm balsa wood, you need 2-3 passes to cut the wood.
It does come with a couple scrap credit-card size pieces of balsa (?) wood, a few little acrylic keychain sized pieces (it'll only engrave acrylic or glass if it's painted or dyed black) and a piece of metal that's about 7.5x11.5''. There's no mention of these pieces in the manual but I found them in the last page of photos on the listing. The little acrylics and wood are for practice. The metal I got has a big chip out of the corner, but it also has that in the listing photo so it must be for a purpose that I've yet to figure out. The metal sheet is meant to keep under a smaller job so you don't accidently burn your table top. The machine can't engrave metal, so you can try on that scrap and then just use it as an under/saftey piece. And the last piece not mentioned in the manual is a focusing piece (the larger of the acrylic pieces). There's zero instructions on this, but YouTube made it easy. I mention it more in the tips below
The included light filtering glasses are also a must, well made and fit over my own glasses. But if your laser is at the right spot, the light filtering fence around it helps a LOT!
There's no cover on the machine, so make sure you use this in a well ventilated area, as it does create a lot of smoke as wood cuts and a fair amount of odor when you engrave - I use it inside, still, with the windows wide open and we're fine. Even my super sensitive smoke alarms aren't triggered. But you definitely want windows wide open.
This takes a LOT of practice. Invest in some cheap practice wood and expect to need patience. There are a couple settings to play with, plus the distance that the laser is from the project matters a lot. Settings are different for different types of material, too. And the directions offer you ZERO assistance in figuring any of that out. But you will eventually get it and then you'll LOVE it!! You can literally engrave anything you want onto wood or leather - kids' drawings, photographs, love letters, etc. Just not metal.
A few tips:
- How to adjust the laser to sit just above your work: Lay your wood/project flat, put the dark piece of acrylic (focusing piece) that comes with this kit, on top of your project. Adjust the laser down to touch the acrylic. Tighten the laser in place, then remove the acrylic.
- For balsa wood, I found the best settings are 5000 speed, 250/700 power and M4 command (default in the program is M3)
- It takes 1-2 passes to get a good engraving. I found 1 pass for photos and images but 2 passes for words seems about right for me. After it finishes, start it again before you touch the piece of you're running a second pass.
- For cutting balsa wood, I found speed 500, at 250/1000 power and M3 works well, but it still takes 1-2 passes to cut 2-3mm and does leave a little overburn for me. So I need to keep playing with it more. But that's a good place to start.
- Don't let your computer go to sleep, the laser will just stop moving and burn a hole in your work, and whatever is under it (use that metal plate the kit comes with!)
Overall, it's such a fun toy! I'm bummed it's not powerful enough for metal. But the learning curve isn't terrible, just be patient. If I can learn, you can learn, too! It does an awesome job engraving when you get the settings right for your material! (I'm still learning to cut)
The frame is a nicely machined and coated aluminum, and it's up to the task of being stable. The pictures in the instructions are pretty small. It's worth reading ahead a few steps to understand which way each piece needs to be assembled for future steps to work.
I recommend not cutting the belts and putting on the end caps until after you've had things up and running and are sure it's right. It's about the only step where a simple mistake can make the whole thing not work right in a way that can't be fixed without replacement parts.
Getting things turned on and plugged into a Windows laptop were easy. Note that there is a power switch on the cord. Software download, installation, and drivers were also easy.
You can pretty much ignore the wattage listed. This is a 5.5W laser. The larger number includes the full input power, which is unlikely to be relevant even on your electric bill.
The laser beam itself is badly out of round, probably rectangular even. This means that if you're cutting a circle, you end up with an irregular oval. It's pretty bad on small regular shapes. For larger, more freeform stuff, or straight lines, it doesn't make a lot of difference.
I much prefer the way the laser head is designed compared to the previous version. It's a little harder to see what's going on, but better designed, for safety, airflow, and durability.
The fan on mine often starts up out of balance and making a racket. Switching it on and off a few times or letting it run will usually straighten it out, and I suspect it's a standard and replaceable fan like you would find on a smaller chip on a motherboard.
That's pretty much what you're getting here, and I think it's a good value.
On to the recommended software. I've put in some years developing for marking lasers that cost as much as a good sized house, and I'm a bit at a loss. The LaserGRBL software seems to barely be able to handle vector files, but does a competent job of vectorizing raster images. Once they're loaded, there is very little you can do to change things, so most of the trial and error is trying to figure out how to give it a file it likes. Sometimes something imports blank, or doubles all the lines even though they're only a pixel wide. Settings are also trial and error, which I'm used to. Mostly, I find that if it catches on fire, I was going too slow. Speed it up and do another pass.
The focal plane seems pretty deep ,more like a laser pointer than the usual hourglass shaped focus, so it does a better than expected job of cutting thicker materials. Cardboard like your standard shipping box cuts nearly as easily as paper.
I tried it out with good results on cutting cardboard, decent results on wood, and for metals, it just barely handles removing some anodizations and coatings, but won't affect the metal surface at all.
I've also found a good set of YouTube videos on this laser and how to set it up and use it. Look for Ding's Workshop.
This one is belt driven, so the movement is much faster and smoother. The fixed-focus laser also seems to be better than my higher-power adjustable focus one.
The assembly was pretty easy, with the parts inside individual bags for each step in the printed instructions. I spent around 45 minutes assembling it. Make sure the belts are nice and tight.
If you haven’t used a laser engraver before, it takes a bit of practice to get good results. You need to find the right power levels and travel speed for each material. Watch some online videos to get some tips on how to prepare your files and how to work it.
Make sure you look at the other paper that cones with this to set up the laser carriage to the right height, since it’s shipped at a higher level.
The laser is fixed-focus, so it’s always at the same height from the material. Use the included plexiglass square to adjust the height each time.
This is a very versatile machine, and it can handle most jobs that you’d want to do with it.
The instructions and assembly. These were done surprisingly well. There were some bits of the instruction text that was not as clear as I'd like but the pictures helped a lot in those cases. What I liked the most about assembly was the parts were all bagged and labeled based on the step. It was very easy to know what you needed and when. I have put together a lot of various maker gear like this and I would say this had the most clear instructions I have ever seen. It helped that it was fairly simple too, the only tough part is the belt if you don't have the right technique. Slide the belt all the way through the beam and then put it through the wheels afterwards, I found that to be the easiest way. I think it took me about 30 minutes to put it all together.
An extra note about the belts. Make sure they are both the same relative tightness or you may have some issues with engraving. I made sure the belt was coming out both sides of the unit evenly and then put the t-nut in one side ands tightened it down. Then on the other side is where I pulled any slack out of the belt and slid the t-nut in there. Just putting the t-nut in is enough to hold the belt tightness and give you a chance to tighten it more. Careful that you don't tighten it too much.
One thing I noticed after assembly that made me think I did something wrong is there are markings on the base frame that are meant to help you measure and place things accurately. It appeared that you cannot use all of the markings because of the way they have you to mount the laser. Turns out I was using them incorrectly. You line up the markings with the side of the whole gantry, there are holes you can view the markings through. You do not line the laser head up with these markings. I had contacted support and they helped me with this very quickly. The reason it is done this way is in case you want to upgrade the laser you are able to still use the grid with the gantry.
Focusing the laser. The most stand out feature here is the fact that it has a knob for adjusting the laser height, no more tools needed. This is a fixed focus laser so the only way to focus it is to move the head up and down. Ideally the bottom of the laser head enclosure should be about 2mm away from whatever you are engraving. This is why they include a 2mm smoked acrylic sheet, you are meant to use this to distance the laser perfectly from the object. It may be the case that for some specific task you need to focus some other way but for most things you do this will be the way.
In order to use this laser it needs to have a computer connected to it at all times during the engraving. Not a big deal for me but may be for you. You can use pretty much any laptop but a raspberry pi likely will not have the graphics capability to run any of the needed programs for this. Programs you can use are LaserGRBL, Lightburn and I am sure there are more out there. Lightburn is obscenely expensive as it is on what is essentially a subscription model. You need to pay yearly for updates which is absurd. Personally I will not support that kind of thing.
Overall this is an awesome tool that I am happy to have. It was easy to put together and easy to get going with my first engraving as well. I can definitely recommend this.
The listing is showing it as a 20-watt device but you should note that that wattage is for the whole device, drive motors, fan, etc.; the laser is 5 watts. Having said that it works well. I have had best results with woodburning. The trick is to find a good line drawing to start with. (Recommend doing a Google image search for "line drawing [subject]"). On leather it did not engrave as well. You have to burn the surface slowly or you will get some smoke damage to the image. The instructions and some videos on YouTube show it being used as a cutter, but if you watch them you will see they set it to make around 10 passes to get through a thin piece of wood. I think this is better suited as an engraver.
This is definitely something you should use in the garage or outside. It will produce lots of smoke. Also, as a tip i would get a cheap USB fan to blow the smoke out of the work area. If allowed to build up the smoke will start to block the laser light and reduce the power.
Here are some ideas that i have not yet tried but want to share as examples of the usage. Phone cases, Laptop cover, wood plaques, picture frame designs, Light switch plates.
I will be trying lots of projects in the future
The laser is very easy to set up and operate. Within an hour I was engraving and cutting a variety of items. Still a novice, most of what I am doing is experimenting, and not everything that I have produced is high quality. This is not a fault of the device; rather, it is because there is so much to learn about using laser devices and their settings that it will take time to get each setup correct.
The engraver comes with everything that is needed to start engraving, except for the connected computer and the laser software (which is free). There are even sample wood and acrylic pieces included that you are able to use to test the machine. The included manual is for assembly only. In the back of the manual is a QR code that will take you to a detailed manual on using LaserGRBL with the Atomstack engraver. If you are a novice and plan to use LaserGRBL, this manual is a must-have.
Assembly is somewhat involved, but the manufacturer has made it as painless as possible to do the assembly. The instructions are clear, and each assembly step has its own separate package of fittings used in that step. This is one of the best thought out assembly processes that I have encountered. It is important that the screws are tight, but not too tight that they strip. The frame is aluminum, so be cautious. The only challenging step was the installation of the two X-axis control belts. Although it is possible to install these belts with just one person, it is much easier if you have a second person holding tension on the two belts as you ensure that each side has the same amount of tension and that both sides are properly aligned. You do not want these to be unbalanced or the quality of the prints could be affected. I secured one end of each belt to the frame, fed the belts through the mechanism, then had another person place tension on the unattached ends of the two belts at the same time as I adjusted the belts at the mechanisms to ensure that they were the same. While still holding tension, I secured the second end of each belt.
To operate the laser, you must install a program that creates the actual program code that runs the laser. I used LaserGRBL, which is a free program for the windows operating system recommended by Atomstack. The manual that I mentioned earlier does a very good job of walking you through the steps of creating an engraving using the software, and it also provides the recommended initial settings to use based on the material being engraved. It is important to note that engraving and cutting is not always easy. There are numerous device settings and options that need to be set correctly to yield the best result. Quality engraving (and cutting) is a delicate balance between the quality of the image, the material being used, the speed of the laser, and the intensity of the laser. There is a lot of trial-and-error involved with achieving a great result. I suggest that you spend time watching online videos to become educated on both the software and on using lasers in general.
I like that this laser has built-in eye protection. Lasers can be extremely harmful if not used correctly. Much like welders use a welding helmet to protect their eyes, most lasers require the use of protective glasses. This device has solid sides and a green shield in the front that extends from the laser to the workpiece which serves the same purpose. It is important to note that lasers can reflect from a surface and cause just as much damage, so be cautious when engraving metallic or other reflective objects. Protective goggles are included for those who want maximum protection.
This laser has a fixed-focus laser that does not require optical adjustments, as most other lasers require. As long as the laser is set to the proper distance from the workpiece, using the included acrylic spacer, it will perform properly. I like that there is a built-in fan that blows smoke away from the workpiece. Smoke will refract the laser causing fluctuations in its intensity, so blowing it out of the way is helpful.
Now, about that positioning knob. Disappointment number one: I thought, based on the listing, that the laser would be mounted in such a way that as you turn the knob, the laser would move up or down as the knob is turned. It does not. The picture showing the single knob system is misleading. The knob is actually just a screw that tightens against the mounting plate to hold the laser in position. Although the single knob sounds like an upgrade from the two bolt system of my 20-watt engraver, I am not convinced that it is better. Disappointment number two: The screw creates indentations in the aluminum back plate that affect the positioning of the laser. For example, when trying to fine-tune the laser’s position, these indentations tend to cause the screw to slip into them, throwing off the alignment very slightly. In addition, there are several holes drilled into the backplate that do the same thing. Perhaps the backplate should be made of steel so that it is not easily marred. I do not think that I am tightening the screw too much, but just enough to hold the laser in position. I think that over the long run, the two bolt system that my 20-watt engraver has will be better.
Aside from the failure of the mounting/adjusting system, I am very happy with the performance of this engraver. It is very easy to use, which is great for novices, yet it seems to be as capable as any other entry to mid-level laser engraver out there.
Details below...
SETUP
The engraver comes packed securely, with all the parts protected well. The parts are all good quality aluminum, and the hardware connects everything together perfectly. The instructions are some of the best I've seen. They guide you carefully, with graphics and text, through the process of putting the engraver together. I had the engraver fully assembled in about 30 minutes.
OPERATION
This laser hooks up to a computer. To control the engraver, the instructions suggest using LaserGRBL -- a free software package, which I installed on my laptop. There are lots of videos on the web that can help you get started using this software, and several videos specifically cite Atomstack engravers. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I got set up to begin using the engraver. I got the software installed, and got my laptop to communicate with the engraver, in about 15 minutes. Within 30 minutes, I was already running my first engraving project. The results are very good. The laser engraves very neatly, quickly, and precisely follows instructions on depth and number of passes.
Some cautions... Engraving wood creates a fair bit of smoke. Make sure to run this engraver in a ventilated area, or even outside if you can. The laser itself is housed in a filtered box, which is supposed to block dangerous light from your eyes. But the kit also comes with a pair of safety glasses. I'd recommend always using the glasses!
CONCLUSION
I've had a lot of fun so far with this engraver, and I'm looking forward to trying more complex projects. It's quick to set up, easy to use, and made well. Great for someone (like me) who is new to computer-controlled laser engraving. I recommend it.
I don’t like the laser height adjustment. I thought the knob would turn a geared mechanism to raise or lower the laser but all it really does is hold the laser housing in the track. Loosen it and the laser freely goes up or down, tighten it and it just pushes on the backplate of the slide to hold it in place. It feels sloppy and is the cheap way to do it I suppose.
I wasn’t prepared for the smoke this would make when burning certain materials. I thought it would be a little bit but it was a lot. You are going to need a well-ventilated area to use this. I am considering making some sort of ducted cabinet so I can use it in the house. In the meantime, I am using it out in my garage with a laptop.
It takes a while to get the hang of using this. You are going to have to seek out the available community resources and watch a few videos to get going. Then there will be a lot of trial and error in figuring things out. Also, don’t forget to wear your glasses. It might even be a good idea to invest in a better pair than what comes with this kit.
Overall not a terrible kit but it has a lot of room for improvement. Maybe I am just spoiled because I built a couple of Prusa 3D printers and the manuals and resources are excellent for them. This kit isn’t a build-and-go polished experience. I would probably recommend this as a starter kit if you are a technically inclined person with the drive to figure it out once built.
First of all, it is a diode lase...More
First of all, it is a diode laser, and is better suited to engraving than cutting materials. Cutting will require many, MANY passes at high power, and will take a long time. That said, it is excellent at engraving and can produce a nice wide variety of tones to produce excellent results.
Assembly was very easy- The kit is well put together and the hardware is bagged and labelled. It took me about 20 minutes or so to be up and running.
I use a Mac, so I use LightBurn software to control the laser. You can get a free 30 day trial of it, and after that you'll have to pay for it, but it is well worth it. I already use it with my CO2 lasers so I am familiar with it. It is pretty powerful control software that also has a lot of design features. If you're using a PC, you can use LightBurn as well, but you also have a few free options out there as well.
Once assembled, it's pretty much plug and play. Plug it in to your computer, load a project, and hit the run button. You'll have to figure out some settings like speed and power to get the 'ideal' engraving, but that's not too tough.
Overall, a highly recommended laser.
It seemed very futuristic to go from a pneumatic head to a laser, but the basic functions were all more or less the same was they were back then -- which made this pretty easy to use. I needed to spend a little time watching YouTube videos to get a better feel for what software was out there, and what to expect -- so I'd plan on spending about an hour or so while you wait for this to arrive to get acquainted.
Assembling the laser was fairly simple. The instructions were pretty sparse, but if you have any sort of mechanical inclination, you can see how the pieces go together. Setup on my system was also not much more involved than installing some software and connecting the device.
For making burns into leather and wood, I thought it was cool how you could get precise enough to work with simple line art. The speed didn't really blow me away, but for a hobbyist, it's fine. I had some melting problems with the plastic I tried out (red-on-white, like you'd use for signage) and found that on metal, it could do some light etching, but not what I'd call "engraving". For the number of passes you'd need to do, I'm not sure I would have listed metal in the materials in the item description - and that's mainly why I didn't give it a higher rating.
I didn't really use the included LaserGRBL program. I used LightBurn. Looking at the interface for both of those programs I think they are similar but LightBurn had a lot more advanced options. Though the included LaserGRBL program would probably work fine I think LightBurn is worth the investment if you plan to do a lot of laser engraving/cutting projects. If you don't know which version you need for this machine it's the G-Code one and runs $60 for a lifetime license.
I found it's functionality to be pretty much the same as my last engraver, but I still played around with some practice materials to get a feel for this particular laser's strength and abilities. The included sample materials seemed to match fairly close to the recommended settings, several similar materials I had already need some minor adjustments to the settings to get just right. I've found with both my laser engravers the recommended settings are a good base but often for best results, you need to make minor adjustments to either speed or power (not usually to both though). I didn't find this one as difficult to get it to be recognized as my last one and it doesn't seem to disconnect as much either.
On my last engraver it included a scale mat that was supposed to help you align things for precise cuts but nothing on the machine itself which actually made it really difficult to figure out the exact placement an item should be at to get the engraving exactly where you want it. This one has scale markings on the X and Y axes of frame and laser arm. I paired this with the scale mat of my other machine and that makes it so much easier to get the engraving to be precise and exactly aligned where I want it. It's best if you can have a place where you can leave the engraver set up all the time since you only have really align the machine and mat once but because the lines are on the frame it's not terribly hard to do it again. I have to move mine since I don't currently have room to keep it out when not in use but I'd love to be able to not have to do that each time I take it out and use it. Storage is a bit difficult unless you have a large space to leave it out or don't mind some disassembly each time. I really wish I could find one that could fold down or has easy dissassemly/assembly or at the very least didn't have to have the laser's moving arm so high.
I found the quality and speed to be better than my last engraver, but not by much. This one is a 30W with 5-5.5W output and the last one was a 20W with 4.5-5W output. If I upgrade again I would definitely be looking at a bigger jump to at least a 50W or maybe 60W with higher output as they seem like they would be able to do the jobs I want a little faster and a little better but at the moment I'm fairly happy with this one. If you are mostly doing things like egraving wood, or acrylic and possibly cutting thinner materials like those then this is probably all you will need. If you want to do thicker materials or more things with metals or something you'll probably want a higher watt power and output. This machine can do some of those but it requires quite a few more passthroughs and thus time to do them.
The important number to look for to determine the cutting power of a laser is the relationship between the power of the laser (5 watt) and the size of the spot. At 0.3mm x 0.5mm this is a smaller spot than some, but not nearly focused enough to cut through "thick wood" as the product description says.
The other thing that is important to understand about lasers is the hardness and color of what you are engraving determines your ability to mark on it. In the same way that a black car gets hot in the sun more than a white one, the color of what you are engraving makes a bot difference. This engraver works great on cardboard and wood but if you are looking to engrave metal or other materials you want something more powerful. A great illustration is that we first tested the laser on a white paper plate and it simply reflected the laser's beam. The same settings on a piece of cardboard it easily cut through them.
At only about $300 this is a really great laser engraver if you are just starting out and want to focus on engraving on wood. If you are looking for something to cut shapes and build things I would look for something more powerful with a more focused spot.
Overall very happy with the "30W ATOMSTACK A5 M30 CNC Laser Engraver DIY Laser Marking Cutting Machine, 410X400mm Large Working Area, Wood Metal Leather Marking Cutting Machine".
There are no real instructions on how to use ...More
There are no real instructions on how to use it, and I found setup confusing, mostly because I'm a true beginner- as in, I opened the box and was just baffled as to what I was looking at.
It CAN be done, but be ready to do a ton of research online on how to use these. It's much, much cheaper than some of the beginner-friendly devices like this out there, but your satisfaction may depend a bit on how much research you're willing to do.
Once you get it working, there's definitely a learning curve, but it works well once you get the hang of it and I can tell this is one of the better off-brand machines out there.
There is a huge learning curve but once you learn how to operate this it will be lots of fun. It is a strong laser when you consider the price point. Set up was easy but installing the driver was a little bit tricky.