Now onto the fun part of actually working on my planned material-engraving and cutting tests. We are starting with wood as it is one of the most popular materials for laser users.
After completing the wood-engraving test matrix and a second bit of testing on a spare piece of bamboo, my first project was a Bamboo chopping board, which will go to my daughter's family for Xmas (don't tell them).
I'd put together a nice vector illustration of a family crest, with a heart for each child and a paw print for 'Noodle' the dog. Thankfully, the work came out exactly as on the old test piece, and I was happy with the appearance, engraving density, and color depth.
I'd note that there was a bit of residue around the edges of the logo engraving due to heat. This might have been better with more passes at lower power. More testing and experience help you tune such things. Nevertheless, a little fine sanding and or a sharp card scraper can minimize residue, and I was happy with the finished article. It might even improve with age.
My next adventure in wood was to engrave and cut a pair of Halloween lamps I'd seen in the software presets area, before the machine was delivered. Given the time of year, it was hard to resist the urge to try this project.
While cutting the last pumpkin box side, I experienced one of the aforementioned cutting head crashes, with a half-hanging piece of wood getting in the way. Though an alarming event, I'd later return to the project to output only the affected box side —no issues.
During this job, I first noticed that the 80W CO2 laser cut 3mm basswood ply extremely quickly. However, the engraving speed didn't really benefit from the powerful laser. Machines like this are well beyond the wood-engraving power/speed sweet spot. So to avoid things like scorching and jitter, more sedate settings must still be used. In this Pumpkin example, the whole process took about 41 minutes, with 39 minutes of engraving time, and just 2 minutes of cutting time. See my lantern photos, above, for the results.
I also wanted to try out one of the built-in xTool Studio applications called the Box Generator. This machine is great at plywood boxes, as I'd found with the Halloween lamps. Using this built-in app to create any size box with fancy tops, sliders, hinges, and more was a breeze.
With minimal engraving — mostly cutting — the work was output quickly. Then it just needs gluing. All the joints were perfectly sized and positioned. When using the generator, one of the important parameters you input is the material thickness. I'd moved to thicker 3.6mm ply for this job.
I'd read about and considered the maximum wood-cutting thicknesses on this machine. Since it has a lot of power, I decided to see how thick I could cut a softwood plank and a hardwood board.
I determined that cutting 15.5mm pine was possible with 90% power and a 5mm/s feed rate (1 pass). For less scorching 90% power, 20mm/s, and four passes seemed to be a good configuration.
For a piece of seasoned hardwood I had, I could only cut to approximately 10mm deep with these same settings.
The last little bit of laser woodwork I did was a large ~20-inch-square AI-generated Japanese temple scene artwork. Again, this can be generated within the xTool software.
Even though I doubled the speed and laser power from xTool's recommended settings for the project, the job took an hour for a single pass, for a total of 2 hours. Some scorching is evident, and it was possible to pick some of this 'burned sap' away, but it still looks pretty good. For a better job, you would probably stick to the recommended lower speeds and power levels, and perhaps add another pass for greater depth of detail / contrast. Napkin math suggests such a task could easily take 5 or 6 hours, though.
Engrave test. Wood engraving isn't a strong point of this machine (Image credit: Future) Someone is getting a chopping board for Xmas (Image credit: Future) Perhaps needs a bit more sanding or scraping around the engraving? (Image credit: Future) Engrave and cut mix Halloween project (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) Cutting 15mm pine tests. Using 90% power and 5mm per second would have done the trick. (Image credit: Future) From the box making app (wizard) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) Nice AI generated scene from the software (Image credit: Future) Part 2: Adventures in acrylic If you buy a P3, acrylic might be one of your favored material choices. xTool seems to think so, too, as it sent me two big acrylic swatch packs with easy-order reference numbers, as well as a trio of 12 x 12-inch clear and colorless 3mm acrylic blanks.
My first project with acrylic was one I'd planned for several days in advance. As a guitar design fan, I had previously bought custom pick guards (or scratch plates) for guitars. And I thought this was a great opportunity to make my own, for a Stratocaster-style axe.
In the images, you can see the original white one fitted, and a red tortoise-shell effect one I'd bought, routed for a humbucker bridge pickup that I'd used for several years. I decided to clone the latter and then cut it precisely in transparent orange acrylic.
To get an exact copy of my existing scratch plate, I scanned it on my trusty scanner connected to my PC. Sadly, the scanning area was just a little bit smaller than the object, so it needed Photoshop stitching. Then this was taken into Illustrator so I could carefully trace the design's curves and place the pickup routs, screw holes, dial holes, and the switch slot.
I exported this artwork as an SVG and a DXF for xTool Studio (to see which format imported better), but neither import format retained the precise sizing, so I had to enter the dimensions as the extremes of width and height from eye/ruler measurements.
My plan was to quickly cut paper on the xTool P3, overlay it on the original sample to pencil in required tweaks to the artwork, and repeat until everything was perfect. It was only really the screw hole positioning that seemed to have drifted. Nevertheless, it took until 'version 4' of the paper outline before I was happy that it matched the actual bought scratch plate.
Wouldn't it be good if the xTool Studio software could 'scan and copy' objects like this? It could have saved me hours.
After a quick orange perspex cutting test, which confirmed that xTool's P3 presets were spot on, my first cut seemed to have come out perfectly. I was worried when I saw one of the pickup slots see-saw after being cut out, but the laser head didn't bump into it, ruining the job.
Overlaying the laser-cut scratch plate with the bought sample, and on the guitar, assured me it would be a great fit. I'm awaiting two new single-coil pickups to make a completely new scratch plate assembly, so it is quick and easy to swap over.
I've thought about whether being totally transparent is a good thing for such a product. If I don't like it, I think I can wirewool the underside so it is opaque, or engrave it with a dense pattern for the same effect.
Now I have three pick guard options (Image credit: Future) Scanning the source for tracing (Image credit: Future) Cool, it is basically the same thickness as my acrylic sheeting (Image credit: Future) making a trace vector image in Illustrator (Image credit: Future) I did four paper tests. I had to keep nudging the holes for screws (and other hardware) until they were perfectly aligned (Image credit: Future) paper next to source, when overlaid matched perfectly (Image credit: Future) Cutting the acrylic at last – this was almost as fast as cutting paper (Image credit: Future) My three pick guards and the last paper test (Image credit: Future) I haven't fitted the new transparent orange plate yet, waiting for two new single coil pickups… (Image credit: Future) Xmas trees
Here's another project straight out of the online library in xTool's software. Another seasonal one. I tweaked this to remove the text, which was too fine to print at these dimensions. Moreover, I added some orange stars, as the 'trees' were far too boring in clear colorless perspex. I've hit them with a laser beam for the effect shown in the picture gallery below.
This output took about 40 minutes. As I mentioned previously, engraving at a necessary low-output energy remains slow on machines like this. Despite my tests, the photo came out too weak to show most of the family's faces.
Keeping the power level the same to avoid melting the work, I might chance a slightly slower head speed, or add a pass. Alternatively, I could work in Photoshop to adjust the levels in the upper part of the image, where details seem to have faded.
Happy Xmas (Image credit: Future) This took ages but wasn't the best result. (Image credit: Future) Don't sue me big N (Image credit: Future) Nice key fob that the wife requested I make (Image credit: Future) Key fobs – Mario and Taiwan island
In some spare corners of used material, I decided to output some fun tags and key fobs. Both engraving and cutting here looked just right in the finished work. I used the xTool present power/speeds.
Grandkids photos weren't as punchy (Image credit: Future) Seasonal slate scene (Image credit: Future) Engraving the seasonal slate scene (Image credit: Future) Pretty good painted aluminum business card engrave (Image credit: Future) I think the xTool CO2 laser isn't quite as fine quality as the UV model used to do the purple card (Image credit: Future) Part 3: Slate and metal mastery Slate coasters
I had some spare slate coaster blanks to test the xTool P3 on. It did a very good job, I think, with generally appealing levels of contrast and acceptable speed at the single-pass power levels I chose.
With the family photos, you can see that all are pleasingly clear and have decent contrast on the slate. I output them one by one to tweak xTool's suggested settings going forward, but I actually think the first one was the best — probably because of the tonal variance in each picture. On the P3, each coaster took about 15 minutes to process. Then you should wash it and let it dry to see the finished article.
My final slate test — the stock Christmas scene image on a slate coaster — shows that a better-adjusted, more cartoony graphic can look like it was made with the xTool P3.
In my last test, it was interesting to see how finely the xTool P3 could engrave on painted aluminum business card blanks. I'd been hugely impressed during my ComMarker Omni X review of that UV laser's fine output on all things metal (with its touted 0.0019mm resolution). So how did the xTool P3 compare? Very well, I'd say.
The xTool output is shown on the black card. Firstly, it was far easier to align the laser output with the work on the xTool, thanks to the camera-based imaging and positioning system. So I got it exactly where I wanted it — bleeds and all — without double-, triple-, or quadruple-checking.
However, if you look closely, you can see that the Omni X UV laser delivers better detail and a cleaner finish. There isn't a lot in it, though, and at normal viewing distances, the xTool output seems to be of a similar quality. This is a 'horses for courses' thing, where some laser technologies are better in different scenarios on different materials. Remember, I'd received the xTool P3 with just a general-purpose 'M' lens. The firm also offers a slightly finer 'S' lens, which is promised to engrave finer detail, at the expense of cutting depth/performance.
The xTool P3 is a powerful CO2 laser with plenty of modern convenience and productivity-focused features on both the hardware and software sides. Its price tag, starting at $6,999, invites a potential buyer to thoroughly scrutinize its features and capabilities. This is beyond most folks' idea of a hobby purchase.
For those more on the prosumer or small business side of the market, however, the xTool P3's size, capacity, performance, and neat software with wizard apps and AI features make it an attractive choice. I think many businesses will appreciate P3-favoring factors like saved time (performance, various project generators), saved materials (great previews and the smart nesting function), and the expansive bed size (opening up very large project possibilities), all of which come together in this device.
Moreover, those with specific plans to work on even larger projects can purchase (or bundle with) the optional Intelligent Conveyor Feeder (for lengths up to 59 inches). Similarly, there's a Rotary MagSwap RA3 module for vases, trophies, cups, and other cylindrical work projects. While the powered IF2 extractor is standard, the SafetyPro AP2 Max Air Purifier could be important for those positioning their laser without access to outside venting.
I was very impressed by the wood and acrylic cutting performance here, as well as the accuracy, safety features, and clever software. The P3 laser can work well with other materials, too, and you should check my comments above on a per-material and per-project basis.
Probably the nearest comparison model in our laser review history is the xTool P2, from the same firm, of course. That's why we talked about the P3 through the lens of the P2 all the way back in the intro. Though, the key point is worth repeating: you can take many of the best vital statistics from the xTool P2 and double them for a rough approximation of what the P3 offers.
Several cherries on that performance-enhanced cake include the improved safety, by default. xTool's Automated Creation System (ACS) brings this device a step forward with features like dual-camera auto-positioning, LiDAR autofocus, and an AutoLift base. Moreover, xTool has added intelligent features, via the new software, and there are matching conveyor bed and rotary accessories for broadening the variety of work this laser-toting Goliath can handle.
The xTool P3 still had a couple of wrinkles during my testing, though. I've mentioned a couple of software features that may be buggy or should be expanded to deliver professional millimeter-accurate output. Having detection for when the laser head accidentally hits the workpiece might also be addressable in a software or firmware update.
xTool P3 Standalone : P3, plus IF2 Extractor MSRP $6,999
Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/maker-stem/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/maker-stem/xtool-p3-review#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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