Beambox meets the class 1 laser standard and is safe under all conditions of normal use. The Beambox model uses a 40-watt laser tube and comes in a convenient size. Or how about buying leather scraps and using them to make custom bookmarks, or use beamo to engrave personalized leather notebook covers. I tested beamo using lightweight wood, paper, cardboard, and leather. (image shows also incomplete cuts, see the depth of single passes). No pass through slots; Pros. Using the camera to align my vector art onto my Kindle Voyage leather cover. At 25% power level, you can achieve more detail but the laser power starts to fluctuate, some areas are darker than others. Software and firmware are intuitive and practical, but not flawless. I’m also not understanding why they decided against using the relatively standard 40W 700mm tube in the Glowforge, Dremel, and Chinese 3020. They offered to send me TMC2208 drivers that will fix the banding problem! The Pro model uses a high powered 50-watt laser tube and offers a spacious work area. Remember to account for the laser beam width! Flux has 2 Beambox models, the Beambox and Beambox Pro. Starting with a giant etched image of the moon. I ordered mine yesterday and my main hesitation was the power. Here’s a picture of the webcam and the illumination LED, which is mounted next to the laser focus lens. Since its using RPi, are there any issues when there is a sudden power outage? Beambox and Beambox Pro. Bring your ideas to life with a BeamBox! Posted by 7 months ago. Great review but from others I have read I am still conflicted. Key features: Large work area - cut or engrave materials up to 40 x 37.5 cm Powerful 40w laser - … Those tubes have gotten quite cheap in recent years and even available on Amazon Prime. The Pro model uses a high powered 50-watt laser tube and offers a spacious work area. It is a 40 Watt laser cutter and engraver that has more workspace. Label says it’s a MYJG40W model. On the back of the unit, you’ll find 2 USB ports, an Ethernet port, the power connector, and an exhaust fan vent. Thanks for writing an intensive review. 7 years experience. This can be compensated for by editing the artwork beforehand. Check out my instructions for making a Traveler’s style notebook cover. Their laser burns or melts material away in a selective manner, following specific instructions. This card is used by me to check which size to design with when I need parts that slot together. I have confirmed that dithering is done internally by Beam Studio. Straight cuts and some curves on 3mm thick acrylic shown below. Here are some pictures of example cuts and etches I did. SPECS $ 4299. Their GRBL firmware refuses to flip the direction. Their tone suggests that it’s an improvement that’s under test and may end up being shipped by default. I’m tempted to purchase the beamo, as 30 watts is enough for me. The software, Beam Studio, is nice looking, written in Electron.js so it looks modern, it’s not perfect but intuitive enough for me to do a project without reading any help. There are material presets, just the perfect amount, covers most usage cases while not being overwhelming. It generates a few thousand volts, and the power level is controlled by a PWM signal. I probably wont be doing anything mass scale though. The thickness of the materials you can cut will go up to 10mm thick (depends on the material). Great write-up. With a laser … Control and monitor your Beambox at your fingertips with the touch panel. Cutting Area. Note: most of the work here is done with other software, it’s not a part of Beam Studio as of right now. Can you take the bottom off and engrave your desk, or maybe a large piece of wood? I investigated into the maintenance of the Beamo. additive manufacturing). It is the tool you’ve … Check out the Beambox Pro! Laser engravers/cutters use subtractive manufacturing technology (contrary to 3D printing, a.k.a. Extremely helpful for niche tools like this! I plan on getting this upgrade ASAP but nobody has it in stock yet. beamo can also engrave on anodized aluminum and stainless steel, but the power levels are not enough to cut these materials. After using the Glowforge personal laser cutter for six months, Jeremy and Norm talk about the projects they've done, the lessons they've learned from using the machine, and caveats of its operation. The laser is then aligned to that fence in software so that you have a point of reference when placing artwork. I run the machine outside on my balcony, so I am lifting and moving it frequently. If you need the most powerful laser. Cutting power was set at 18% (default is 15%). A camera is a great way to bring the target object into the computer digitally instead, so a preview can be overlaid on the screen as a preview. When it does come time to replace parts, you can go directly through FLUX or a 3rd party. Is it just the power supply and space that determines how much power you can add? Integrated ventilation device prevent the materials from catching fire and extracts smoke and fumes. The community for the Beamo/Beambox is on their Facebook group. User account menu. You can also subscribe without commenting. The preview camera might be found if you look hard enough on AliExpress, I found one result that might fit. I also want to point out the block of foam around that air pump motor, that’s to suppress vibration noise from the air pump. The FLUX Beambox Desktop Laser Cutter and Engraver was created with a single goal in mind – to make it easier than ever to bring your ideas and designs to life. The CO2 laser, lenses, and mirrors should last for 1 year with normal use and longer with good maintenance habits. Flux has 2 Beambox models, the Beambox and Flux Beambox Pro. Camera preview works but calibration can be improved. Estimated delivery Oct 2018. Beamo is a Powerful Laser Cutter Made Compact and Simple FLUX proudly presents beamo, a powerful laser with the smallest footprint ever. It uses linear ball bearings, one on each side. They can’t just let the webcam use its own auto-exposure because the end result will look inconsistent across the many stitched images. I have examined the machine in detail. On the Cubiio, you have the option of running the laser in preview power. Your email address will not be published. The integrated water cooling loop uses a 240 by 120 mm radiator, the kind found in custom computer cooling loops. Flux Beambox comes with a carbon dioxide laser that works in the 10,640nm wavelength. This shows that the 15% power level can achieve “ok” detail, and the laser power remains consistent. Check out the Beambox Pro! FLUX support offered to remotely access my laser to help me… and instead of letting some guy in Taiwan operate a god damn laser in my own home over the internet, I decided to just flip all the stepper motor wires. Fun toy, especially the vector cutting. Contact Tracing; Why Beambox? The fume extraction and cooling is impressive for such a small machine. This spec is something I had trouble finding, as usually a 30W tube is 600mm long, and a 20W tube is usually 450mm long. Looks pretty cool, Julie. The Y axis rides on two linear rods, looks about 12 mm or 0.5 inch diameter rods. Either the laser itself or the laser software will have a trace function. The capabilities of the laser is supposed to be enough to cut and etch clear acrylic. Interestingly, bumping the power up to 100% does not make any difference in the depth of each cut, so don’t try it. This means I can’t use it on my carpeted floor, I need to use it on a table, or else the airflow is blocked. The Glowforge is one that uses cloud software. The FLUX Beamo CO2 laser cutter was made to fit “any” home, office, or classroom at 24.2 x 17.52 x 6.97-inches and puts several high-end features in an affordable package. It is designed for shared or all-day use. The optical alignment process looks straight forward, every component have three adjustment screws, I shouldn’t have any problems. FLUX Beambox … The lens is the brass looking tube that is pointing down towards the work surface and one of the mirrors is above it. A place to share your laser cutter creations, tips, questions and other laser cutter related information. This is really helpful to understand the difference between the different types of engraving. Their engineers have offered me upgraded stepper motor drivers. Additionally, are there any modifications that can be done for improvements? This Z axis stepper motor is controlled through USB. Installation . There’s no G-code control possible, according to them… Their file format doesn’t look like G-code either. It doesn’t seem to cut any faster. It’s well made, versatile and incredibly easy to use. It seems to be a 540mm long tube, and with an advertised 30W optical output power. Pledge $1 or more About $1 Get Beamed Up Receive backer updates, virtual high-five from the FLUX Team and be part of the BEAM. Also, I have not experienced any flare ups (fire) with both etching and cutting. I appreciate the lighting very much, as an owner of an Ultimaker 2, it’s a lovely detail. The calibration involves cutting a # shape onto paper, and calibrate to the 4 corners of the center square. As mentioned above, to get shading effect on materials that do not respond well to modulated laser power, dithering can be used. That’s so cute! The size of Beambox Pro is relatively bigger. Even if this was fixed, this is just not enough machine for the money in my mind and wallet. WiFi is provided by an external USB dongle (internal WiFi signal probably sucks). Price: $1899.00 How have the trinamic drivers been working out? Or would it cause other probs? I’ve seen their engineers offer other people customized firmware to solve their issues. With a laser cutter and engraver, you can add a personal touch to almost any item or make your own customized objects. I made this purchase after some research and comparisons against other options. Rebooting the whole machine solved these issues. FLUX Beambox Pro (50W) Laser Cutter has a rating of 4.7 stars based on 3 reviews. Archived. REVIEW – Crafters, makers, and DIYers will be excited about the beamo CO2 laser cutter/engraver from FLUX which is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. If you’re a maker or crafter, beamo would make a great addition to your workshop. Review automator - We have a pretty good local reputation anyway, but as any business does, we get the odd not-so-good review. All the materials that I tested were easy to use except maybe for the leather because it had been rolled up and didn’t want to lay flat on the honeycombed workspace inside the unit. Adding this autofocus upgrade is technically adding a USB hub, along with a microcontroller that controls the Z axis. Best Desktop Laser Cutters for Leather . Beamo laser cutter review: Cut and etch almost anything without emptying your bank account Beamo is a fantastic addition to any maker-space, including home and schools. It also means you need to be careful while lifting the machine from the bottom, you don’t want to damage the radiator. This wouldn’t be a problem if I just leave the machine on a table. Using a beam combiner is prohibitively expensive. There are some wrapped Javascript functions for everything using WebSocket. Even if I hack the GRBL32, Z axis move commands wouldn’t even work. The FLUX Beambox Compact is a powerful desktop laser cutter and engraver with exceptional features, including a powerful 40W CO2 laser, smart camera capture, intuitive software, ready-to-use material … Log In Sign Up. It’s also difficult to lock in just one exposure because they won’t know if that one exposure works for the entire work area. There’s no readout for the laser tube electrical current either. The Beambox and Beambox Pro. My first impression was “oh my god this is heavy, how am I going to haul it up to the 3rd floor?”. To get shading, I would need to pre-process the image to use dithering (a good tips video, click here). Less . There is a temperature sensor, and you can check it during maintenance mode. The microcontroller is on a custom PCB though. The FLUX Beambox Pro is a powerful desktop laser cutter and engraver with exceptional features, including a powerful 50W CO2 laser, smart camera capture, intuitive software, ready-to-use material … When you import a raster image, the default setting would make it use threshold mode, which doesn’t do shading, shading mode has to be selected by the user, I find this annoying. The Glowforge definitely has its limitations, but being able to easily laser … Get up and running with Beambox in minutes. It will escalate the capabilities of your makerspace to a whole new level. Beambox desktop laser cutter/engraver brings your ideas to life with its 40w CO2 laser and its large work area Looking for a larger, more powerful Beambox? This never-before-seen design marries cutting-edge technology with their trademark simplicity, maximizing quality and functionality. But, it’s not like a Glowforge or Ultimaker where they put plastic to hide that kind of detail from you. The settings available are power, speed, and repetition. Have we heard anything about the ‘hybrid’ laser upgrade? This cutter is one of the best choices for those who are looking for a versatile and reliable commercial grade laser cutter. "Few inches of z height to work with". Beambox and Beambox Pro. Doing this will involve some 3D modeling and processing of the 3D model outside of the Beam Studio software. It looks like without changes to the Python back-end, I cannot get a temperature sensor reading to the front-end Edit: it looks like they did update the back-end to include hw_laser_temp to the status JSON object being sent over! Tool-path generation and file transfer over WiFi is much faster than my Duet WiFi (my 3D printer), so fast that I didn’t bother measuring the time. When done correctly, this will minimize parallax and distortion issues. If I were the developer, I would just set the exposure for the center of the area, and offer a retry button if the user isn’t happy. The Glowforge definitely has its limitations, but being able to easily laser cut in our own homes has changed the way we think about making things. Then you tighten the nut and rotate the clear plastic bar out of the way again. User account menu. Nice to see cheaper alternatives like this. The FLUX Beamo was revealed today as a compact, easy to use CO2 laser cutter and engraver. 12x20 workarea. I wouldn’t recommend it for that job. I really wish that it could automatically just choose the machine if I only have one machine. My fears were completely unjustified because using beamo is crazy simple. It can cut up to 12mm of material and compared to the Glowforge, it is cheaper and also more powerful. The Beamo is a small 30w CO2 laser engraver, so the obvious first comparison is with the classic K40-style laser. Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. The Beambox and Beambox Pro. Using these wrapped functions, I can even send it basic G-code commands. Haha, what could go wrong with someone halfway around the world blasting lasers around your living room? Anyway, glad to hear it worked. Laser cutters for etching signs, designs, and photos into wood, plastic, and metal are powerful tools, but they're also very large and expensive. I can issue G-code commands now! Let’s take it for a test drive. This mirror is fixed and does not move. You might noticed that there’s still small misalignments, but let me tell you: the calibration only allows for changes in steps of 0.5mm. As I mentioned above, the power supply looks like a standard CO2 laser power supply. It can also be upgraded with a “autofocus” attachment, and a rotary attachment. You don’t even need a focus distance measurement tool, it’s already attached to the head. You can add a laser pointer to something like the K40 but those are inaccurate as the IR laser and red laser beams are not truly aligned. EDIT: I have contacted Beamo’s support staff. It’s perfect for your home and creative use. I did this cut at both the default 15% power level and then again at 25% power level to be able to get more detail. You don’t want to use beamo in your bedroom or some other small room in your home unless you can direct the fumes outside a window. If Flux goes out of business and stops selling replacement laser tubes, then I would need to modify the case of the laser to fit in a 600mm long tube, or maybe downgrade to a 20W tube (power supply might need to change to accomplish this). It can engrave materials, such as glass, marble, titanium, and even stone. Here’s what I think of it…. CO2. Being able to deflect these from going online and instead enabling us to put more effort into a retention strategy has been amazing. The preset for cutting 5mm thick acrylic works for 6mm thick acrylic as well, which is 2 passes at 55% power level and 5mm/s speed. It’s perfect for your home and creative use. Out of the box, it worked, I didn’t even read the manual. Why would you need multiple layers? FLUX Beambox Pro 50W CO2 Laser Cutter Review … The next step which you have to do every time you change materials is to adjust the focus. Clearly, my review machine is not going to be the full experience. Happy hacking everyone! With more power and more workspace, there are more things you can do. You can see both the focus lens and one mirror in the image above. Makers Muse Review Laser Cutting a Tensegrity Structure From Your Biggest Ideas to Your Greatest Work Beambox offers a maximum work area of 60 x 37.5 cm2 (23.6" x 14.7") and cuts up to 12mm … As is typical with all engravers and cutters, there are some consumables with this device. Maybe also have to enhance the cooling system then? So you’ll definitely not be using the full 30W at all times. Getting a $300 K40 laser might’ve made sense except I really didn’t like how the cooling system is a garden fountain pump and a bucket of water. It also claims to be able to etch glass, and even stainless steel if you coat the steel with a special coating first. All All of our laser … It works, from the image above, you can see how accurate you can expect it to be. But, running tests is super annoying, for example, if I press the button to turn on the water pump, the only way to know that the pump is actually ON is to listen, the button doesn’t change colour. The chassis is short, if you want a more powerful laser tube, you will need to cut a hole in the chassis. TMC carrier boards, SilentStepSticks, are a direct replacement to the Pololu boards that are installed in the Beamo. This device has an 11.81 x 8.27-inch work area and cuts with a CO2 laser … Their laser burns or melts material away in a selective manner, following specific instructions. This machine has an extremely efficient 45W CO2 laser tube. When the machine boots, it runs at a low speed, so I thought it was just a computer cooling fan… NOPE, start running the laser and it becomes a jet engine. Laser Power. All the art was imported as vector, so the resolution performance is pushed to the limit. Imagine using beamo to quickly cut a bunch of tags for gifts by recycling cardboard boxes. While 3D printers work by creating shapes out of filament, laser cutters can create flat objects quicker and it is a process of subtraction. Muse vs Glowforge: Which Laser Cutter Is The Best? There is a list of parameters to choose from for the material that you’re cutting or engraving. Camera system to aid alignment. The first thing you have to do is calibrate the beamo unit by placing a piece of paper on the workspace below the focus lens. First Task), https://support.flux3dp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000948955-II-Unboxing-beamo, Your email address will not be published. 10 articles in this collection Written by Callum Short and Libby Anderson. If you need a bit more power than the Muse or Glowforge, check out the FLUX BeamBox Pro here. I’m wondering if there is any way to upgrade the laser at all? My instructions were not in English and a lot of the features are being worked on, so this is not a review of the beamo, but a first-look. It also advertises to be capable of 1000 DPI of resolution, meaning each pixel is 0.02mm, which is half bull****, the stepper motors are capable of that sort of resolution but the laser beam itself is larger (depends on focus and settings and the area of material being melted), all CO2 lasers are like this. I really like the camera feature that lets you see exactly where the artwork is going to be located on the material before you start the engraving or cutting process. The app will then draw/burn a tic tac toe shaped grid on the paper. Do you think upgrading power is a viable option?? You need to use this cutter/engraver in a well-ventilated area due to the fumes and smoke that result from the engraving and cutting process. I guess the best thing to do is to add a new user instead of changing the old user password. All the belts have easily accessible tension screws. However, a known shape can be sliced into layers, so at least you can use this upgrade to work on complex 3D shapes, just not as quick as other methods. EDIT: OK, the groups becoming rasters is definitely a bug. Beambox made this effortless with the social logins, we're sitting at just over 12,000 data profiles currently. The way it works is that the laser reflects a high powered beam into the mirror on the rail which then reflects into the mirror above the focus lens and then as you have probably guessed, the laser beam is then directed down onto the material on the workspace. The rest of the parts are very jelly-bean (easily obtained), like limit switches and stepper motors. This means that they’ve changed their update mechanism at some point in time to avoid delivering source code. Once you establish a workflow and figure out all the gotchas, a somewhat complex project like this is totally possible. So you can have one layer as the actual artwork and another layer can be used to cut it out. All the wires are protected by either a drag chain or spiral wrap. The master power switch is at the top, a glowing metal button that’s very satisfying to press. Beambox desktop laser cutter/engraver brings your ideas to life with its 40w CO2 laser and its large work area Looking for a larger, more powerful Beambox? It can also separate layers by object groups if you are using SVG. Didn’t know how long the laser was or if It would ‘actually’ put out 30W. Yep, it’s all websockets, with some wrappers. I’ve built tools with JavaScript to do these conversions: https://github.com/frank26080115/flux-fcode-tools. The work-around solution is to un-group it after import and the vectors will be treated properly. It’ll be easy to achieve a very good workflow. Still cool though! An optional add-on auto-focus attachment will be available at some point that will make this step no longer needed. I really like how fast the process can happen with laser etching, and how accurate the lasers are. When I was offered the opportunity to review beamo, I was excited but slightly worried that I would have a hard time figuring out how to use it since I have zero experience using machines like this one. Max Thickness. With 2 larger bed sizes than the Beamo, offering professional and hobbyists a step up. It’s also pretty hefty at 48.5 lbs. I really don’t think it’s worth the effort of cutting the chassis. Since there’s a lot for you to read, here’s a table of contents: It’s a nice machine and I am happy with it. The images below are 20 megapixel! beamo uses a laser that has C02 gas inside an encapsulated glass tube inside the unit. The “autofocus” upgrade adds a Z axis motor to the focusing lens. I wouldn’t worry about it. The firmware files are also available for the STM32 and AVR microcontrollers. 50W. Has all the features I'm looking for. I would personally just build a bigger box but put in the Beamo electronics. The problem is that installing it flipped the motor direction. We created 2 models. While the Professional Beambox model uses a high powered 50-watt laser tube and offers a spacious work area, designed for shared or all-day use in businesses, schools, maker spaces and more. 1. The fume extractor fan is no joke. That’s what the included vent pipe is for. The series of slots, squares, and circles, all have size increasing by 0.05mm. Touchscreen EStop is weird. You can see a few samples above on wood, leather, and cardboard.