The Maker’s Toolbox: LaserPecker LX2 Laser Machine

The hobbyist market for gantry laser machines has been very saturated and competitive in recent years, which is great for consumers and puts the pressure on manufacturers to excel. LaserPecker just released the new LX2 into that crowded market, so let’s find out if it can compete.

The basics

LaserPecker is best known for their portable galvanometer laser machines, like the LP5 that I reviewed last year. The LaserPecker LX2 is different, because it is a desktop gantry machine. That means that it physically moves the laser module around above the bed, which makes it capable of covering a much greater area.

The LaserPecker LX2 has a working area of 500×305mm (about 19.7×12 inches), which is pretty typical of consumer machines.

It is available with a 20W blue diode laser, a 40W blue diode laser, a 60W blue diode laser and a 2W 1064nm infrared laser. Users can quickly switch between laser modules. I received the 40W blue diode and 2W infrared modules for my testing.

Additional features include a built-in camera for positioning, an autofocusing system, and a unique fold-down access door on the front.

Available accessories include an air purifier, a riser base, a rotary axis, and a flexible fixture.

The good

The LaserPecker LX2 is a handsome machine. It has a full enclosure that is plastic, but which looks nice and feels sturdy. That already puts it ahead of the budget machines among the competition, which tend to rely on aluminum extrusion frames and ill-fitting enclosures that feel like an afterthought.

The 12MP camera provides a nice, clear view of the interior and lets you quickly position designs. It doesn’t give you sub-millimeter accuracy, but it is good enough for most jobs.

I really like the door on the front, which folds down to provide access to the work area. That is a nice feature that I appreciate.

Switching between laser modules is easy and doesn’t require any tools. Just unplug the cable and air hose, lift the lever, pull out the module, then reverse the process to put in the new one. The software automatically recognizes the equipped laser module.

The 40W blue diode laser is very powerful and can easily cut through wood. It is more than strong enough for most hobbyist use cases.

The 2W infrared laser is much weaker, but still great for engraving metal. It can quickly engrave aluminum, stainless steel, brass, and more. It also has a finer dot size than the 40W blue diode laser, which makes it good for high-detail engravings in slate and more.

However, keep in mind that neither of those lasers is a good choice for acrylic. If you want to cut acrylic, a CO2 laser is still your best option.

The bad

There were only a couple of notable faults with my LaserPecker LX2, starting with the fact that it arrived with the top window cracked. That likely occurred during shipping and I wouldn’t hold it against LaserPecker, except that I asked repeatedly about a replacement and wasn’t able to get one. Because of that, I’m not sure what options are open to buyers who end up in a similar situation.

On the functionality side, almost everything worked great. The one exception was the autofocus system, which didn’t work at one point with a particular material setup. I couldn’t figure out the problem, but I suspect it was because the material heigh was at a specific level where the autofocus mechanism couldn’t actuate properly. Every other setup worked fine.

Even when it is working properly, it is worth noting that the autofocus mechanism requires physical contact with the work material. That is okay in most cases, but might be an issue if you’re cutting something thin, like paper, and can’t put it on a solid base.

It is also difficult to select the exact point where you want the autofocus pin to touch the material. The software lets you select an area, but that area is pretty large and so you have to estimate the point where the pin will land.

The autofocus system is still functional and shouldn’t cause any problems for most people, but it isn’t perfect and a non-contact sensor would have been better.

The software

If you read my review of the LaserPecker LP5, you know that I was very critical of the software. Fortunately, LaserPecker seems to have improved that a lot.

Unlike with the LP5, I was able to do everything through the desktop software (LaserPecker Design Space Beta) and didn’t even need to download the smartphone app. And the software worked pretty well, without any major glitches or headaches.

However, it did still leave a bit to be desired.

For example, it has a material library to help you select the proper parameters for cutting and engraving different materials. That would be handy, but it is very incomplete. There aren’t very many materials to choose from and even some of the materials that are in the library lack complete parameters.

I also found that some of the time, it would take a very long time — often several minutes — for the software to connect to the LX2. I was connecting via USB (rather than Wi-Fi), so it should have been reliably quick. But on a handful of occasions, it took so long that I ended up power-cycling the machine (which solved the problem).

Users do have the option to run the LaserPecker LX2 with Lightburn, but that requires a paid license and I’m not the biggest fan of it. Though Lightburn is good software, I prefer software designed specifically for the machine I’m using. That only becomes truer as laser machines continue to get specialized features that don’t play well with Lightburn.

While I think LaserPecker Design Space Beta has a lot of room for improvement, I do believe that it is usable enough to get a passing grade.

The competition

I opened this review by talking about the competition, because that puts LaserPecker in a position that requires excellence to sway buyers.

To show you want I mean, I’ll compare the LaserPecker LX2 to two other machines. To make the comparison fair, I will judge the LaserPecker LX2 by its base price plus the cost of the infrared laser module. That comes out to $2,688.10, before taxes or shipping.

Compare that to the xTool S1 with a 2W infrared laser add-on. That costs $2,349.00 and there is currently a coupon for another $100 off. So, you’re saving more than $400. I haven’t tested the S1 myself, but I have tested other xTool machines (and their software) and put the brand a tier above LaserPecker.

Another comparable machine is the WeCreat Vision 40W, which costs just $2,098.99 with the 2W infrared laser add-on. That is almost $600 less. I did review the WeCreat Vision 20W and its software, as well as the WeCreat Lumos, and I’d put them a tier above LaserPecker, too.

The verdict

I think the LaserPecker LX2 is a pretty good machine. There are some flaws with the autofocus system and the software could be better, but overall, it would get a solid B from me.

However, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum and has strong competition. With machines like the xTool S1 and WeCreat Vision bringing more to the table at a significantly lower price, there isn’t any way I can justify recommending the LaserPecker LX2 at its current price.

If LaserPecker can get the price of the LX2 down low enough to undercut the WeCreat Vision 40W, then it would be worth at least considering. But as it stands, I don’t see a reason why a potential buyer would choose the LaserPecker LX2.