UV Lasers Are Wild and the New Mr Carve M7 Pro Is an Intriguing Entrance Into the Tech

UV laser technology is really interesting and has some serious advantages over the more common types of lasers out there. But until recently, UV lasers were relegated to the industrial sector. Now we’re starting to see consumer/prosumer UV lasers hit the market, which is pretty exciting. One upcoming release is the Mr Carve M7 Pro, which is currently available on Kickstarter.

The Mr Carve M7 Pro Kickstarter campaign had a modest funding goal of $12,764, but it has already raised well over $200,000 and still has almost a month left until it ends. Clearly, people are excited about this technology and that’s because UV lasers have a lot to offer.

One advantage of UV lasers is that they work on an extremely wide range of materials, including various metals and glass. They’re also veryrecise, with an extremely fine laser dot that is perfect for high detail engraving. And they work at relatively low power — the M7 Pro’s 5W UV laser is enough to mark metal, even at high speed. That is thanks to how much energy the photons punch into that tiny little laser spot. And yet, UV lasers are very “cool” (they’re sometimes called “cold lasers”) and don’t easily scorch or burn material.

But perhaps the most impressive trick of a UV laser machine like the Mr Carve M7 Pro is three-dimensional engraving inside crystal/glass. It is like forming a sculpture in the material and looks really cool. That is possible because the UV laser beam relies heavily on focus. The beam very quickly loses all of its energy before and after the focal point, so the machine can engrave only specific point in the volume of the material by focusing the beam on that point.

That’s a neat party trick, but UV lasers are also useful for general engraving tasks. The material versatility makes the M7 Pro a good choice for makers that produce a wide range of products. And because the Mr Carve M7 Pro is a galvo laser, it engraves very quickly.

The flip side of that is that, though the machine itself is quite large, the working area is small. That area depends on the lens you have attached to the M7 Pro, with one lens providing 50x50mm and the other lens providing 150x150mm. Information on the Z axis range isn’t listed on the campaign page, but it should be somewhere in the 150-250mm ballpark. There is also a rotary attachment and a slide extension to expand the working area.

It is worth mentioning that some of the marketing material from Mr Carve and promoted creators is misleading. This is not the first UV laser on the market — it isn’t even the first on the consumer/prosumer market. It also isn’t the first that allows “inner engraving magic.” The M7 Pro is noteworthy, but we like to stick to the facts around here.

If you want a Mr Carve M7 Pro, you have until September 13th to back the campaign. The basic package costs $3,780 for super early birds and should ship out in November.