News

Best Laser Cutters and Engravers of 2024 – CNET

January 28, 2024 Admin

Updated Jan. 28, 2024 5:07 a.m. PT

James Bricknell

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Why You Can Trust CNET

The size of your workshop

What materials you want to cut

Access to ventilation

Best overall laser cutter

xTool P2

View details

View details

Best in-office laser cutter

Glowforge Aura

View details

View details

Best small-scale CO2 laser cutter

Flux Beamo

View details

View details

Best walled garden laser cutter

Glowforge Pro

View details

View details

There are many ways to make your artistic creations come to life. I love using the best 3D printers to create art, but I also enjoy using laser cutters — sometimes called laser etchers or laser engravers — to work with other materials. Etching designs onto glass and leather, or cutting through wood and acrylic, can create objects that are simply stunning.

Russell Holly/CNET

Being creative has never been easier than it is right now. More and more people are identifying as makers, people with a desire to create, and entire industries have sprung up around homemade creations. Machines like 3D printers, vinyl cutters and laser cutters are now available at prices to fit just about any pocketbook. They allow people to bring their creations to life in new and interesting ways. You can even turn a profit on stores like Etsy and Shopify if you have the right materials and machines.

Photo Gallery 1/1

Show expert take Show less

The Glowforge Aura is the company’s first consumer laser cutter aimed at the entry-level market. It’s smaller than the other models, with a less powerful laser, but it works amazingly well on smaller projects. We’ve made beautiful carvings, etchings and other laser-cut projects on the aura, and all of them have been excellent.

<div content="X – LIST ITEM" superlative="Best small-scale CO2 laser cutter" description="

The Beamo is the smallest of Flux’s impressive lineup of CO2 laser cutters, but don’t let the small size fool you. The 30-watt laser, while weaker than some on this list, is still powerful enough to etch glass, though you may need the additional diode laser to etch onto steel. It will happily cut through wood, leather and acrylic though.

The Beamo also comes with a handy touchscreen on the device, making it much easier to control from your workshop without a computer plugged into it directly. Flux even has an app that’ll let you control the Beamo directly from your phone.

” page-position linktext linkurl can-collapse=”false” collapse-on-page-load=”false” can-truncate=”false” truncate-on-page-load=”false” offer=”{"id":"e7d229a0-a72b-4910-97e7-bad2107871bd","label":"FLUX Beamo 30W CO2 Laser Cutter and Engraver. Portable Desktop CNC Machine w/ a Working Volume of 300 x 210 x 45 mm. Designed for Working w/ Wood, Acrylic, Cardboard, Leather, Fabric, Glass.","slug":"flux-beamo-30w-co2-laser-cutter-and-engraver-portable-desktop-cnc-machine-w-a-working-volume-of-300-x-210-x-45-mm-designed","edition":["us"],"imageId":"","imgUrl":"","imageHeight":0,"imageWidth":0,"typeLabel":"Product","objectType":"content_product","icon":""}” techobjectinfo=”{"uuid":"e7d229a0-a72b-4910-97e7-bad2107871bd","slug":"flux-beamo-30w-co2-laser-cutter-and-engraver-portable-desktop-cnc-machine-w-a-working-volume-of-300-x-210-x-45-mm-designed","name":"FLUX Beamo 30W CO2 Laser Cutter and Engraver. Portable Desktop CNC Machine w/ a Working Volume of 300 x 210 x 45 mm. Designed for Working w/ Wood, Acrylic, Cardboard, Leather, Fabric, Glass.","productType":"PRODUCT","updateType":"PRISM","mod":1706297560435}” overridecredit=”Beamo” overridecaption=”” imagegroup=”{"imageData":{"id":"0bb195a9-4d4b-4992-87b7-dd0bcbb9b08d"},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageDateCreated":"2024-01-16","imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” usepricing=”false” ng-block=”{"id":"hw641mikyj6zy29","type":"cross-content-listicle"}” edition=”us” data-key=”cross_content_listicle__e9d4076b-98a7-443d-acb0-10d5792eb201″ imagecredit=”Beamo” tagslugs contenttype=”Best List – Precap” isbestlistredesign=”true” filtershortcodetypes totalfilteritems=”0″ pagelayout=”Best List – Precap” showdetails=”true” tocheadlineitem=”[object Object]” class=”c-bestListProductListing” readability=”5.8863905325444″>

Photo Gallery 1/1

Show expert take Show less

Diode lasers are often low-powered, with no enclosure to keep you safe. The S1 solves both those problems by having a 40-watt laser that can cut through 18mm of wood in a single, albeit slow, pass. It also has a fantastic enclosure with a green lid to filter the laser’s light and an active exhaust to blow away any smoke. The basic kit has air assist — something all lasers should have — and a honeycomb cutting surface to help reduce scorching on the underside of your material.

The S1 doesn’t have a camera — I think it should — so everything is handled very manually. But that’s true for most diode lasers.

<div content="X – LIST ITEM" superlative="Best walled garden laser cutter" description="

Glowforge has made it clear its mission from the start has been to ensure anyone can use what it calls "laser printers," and the Glowforge Pro is a shining example. A fisheye camera gives you a view of the cutting surface from a web app, which lets you effortlessly click and drag the things you want to engrave or cut. And if you pay for the extra filtration system, you can use this laser anywhere. Of all the systems tested here, the Glowforge’s focus on ease of use is a world apart.

With that ease of use comes some limitations you won’t find elsewhere. Many features that make the Glowforge Pro great are available only if you pay a monthly subscription. If you’re not using the Glowforge-made Proofgrade, the process of identifying the correct settings for engraving or cutting becomes quite manual. Additionally, the fisheye lens that Glowforge uses can occasionally cause accuracy issues when you’re cutting or engraving on small, perfectly centered surfaces.

” page-position linktext linkurl can-collapse=”false” collapse-on-page-load=”false” can-truncate=”false” truncate-on-page-load=”false” offer=”{"id":"b4e97e3b-e6db-461b-a1cc-f7838baa9b53","label":"Glowforge Pro Laser Cutter – Create 12x Faster with Wood, Leather, Metal, and Stone. Ultimate Power and Cooling, with AI Prints up to 50 ft. Launch & Scale Your Business or Transform Your Classroom.","slug":"glowforge-pro-laser-cutter-create-12x-faster-with-wood-leather-metal-and-stone-ultimate-power-and-cooling-with-ai","edition":["us"],"imageId":"","imgUrl":"","imageHeight":0,"imageWidth":0,"typeLabel":"Series","objectType":"content_product_series","icon":""}” techobjectinfo=”{"uuid":"b4e97e3b-e6db-461b-a1cc-f7838baa9b53","slug":"glowforge-pro-laser-cutter-create-12x-faster-with-wood-leather-metal-and-stone-ultimate-power-and-cooling-with-ai","name":"Glowforge Pro Laser Cutter – Create 12x Faster with Wood, Leather, Metal, and Stone. Ultimate Power and Cooling, with AI Prints up to 50 ft. Launch & Scale Your Business or Transform Your Classroom.","productType":"SERIES","updateType":"PRISM","mod":1706297560415}” overridecredit=”Glowforge” overridecaption=”” imagegroup=”{"imageData":{"id":"97cb977c-8c77-4ca3-bf1e-23ee505cc0f3"},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageDateCreated":"2024-01-17","imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” usepricing=”false” ng-block=”{"id":"byapktknvzz8wlo","type":"cross-content-listicle"}” edition=”us” data-key=”cross_content_listicle__cc832af1-53e5-44e9-8713-a0180733a21c” imagecredit=”Glowforge” tagslugs contenttype=”Best List – Precap” isbestlistredesign=”true” filtershortcodetypes totalfilteritems=”0″ pagelayout=”Best List – Precap” showdetails=”true” tocheadlineitem=”[object Object]” class=”c-bestListProductListing” readability=”5.9281974569933″>

Photo Gallery 1/1

Show expert take Show less

Xtool P2 Glowforge Aura Xtool S1 Fluxx Beamo Glowforge Pro Laser power 55 watts 6 watts 40 watts 40 watts 45 watts Laser type CO² Diode Diode CO2 CO2 Work area 26×14 inches 12×12 inches 19.6×12.6 inches 24×17.5 inches 26×14 inches LED display No No No Yes No Enclosed Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Precision 0.01mm N/A 0.01mm N/A 0.025mm Max speed 600mm/s Unknown 600mm/s 300mm/s Unknown Max material thickness 20mm 5mm 18mm 5mm 13mm

Speed is tested with a good old-fashioned stopwatch. I created a simple CNET logo design that can be cut on multiple materials. We time how long it takes to complete the cut. We use 3mm basswood, 3mm black acrylic and 3.5mm cardboard for our testing materials, to give us a good overall view. We then compare the speed with the software to see how accurately it calculates the cutting speeds.

Engraving is done with an image of my beautiful dog Indiana Bones. I import that image into the workspace and use 3mm basswood for the material. I use the standard engraving settings from each machine to engrave Indy onto the wood. My CNET colleague Russell Holly and I then examine the etching for image quality. We’re looking at contrast, the level of detail captured, and how grainy the image is, as well as considering our opinion on the overall quality.

Share

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.