Creality Falcon 2 22W Laser Cutter and Engraver Review | Bexhill West
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- čas přidán 10. 12. 2023
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CrealityFalcon are holding Christmas activities, starting from 15th December to 28th December '23, with a maximum discount of 50% off;
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Hello everyone,
In this episode I review the Creality Falcon 2 22W laser engraver.
Diode lasers have developed impressively over the past few years, and this machine from Creality represents a massive leap-forward in terms of utility and quality of life features.
The 22W laser is powerful, and ideally suited to the needs of scale model makers. The impressive 25000mm/min top speed is class leading and helps get engraving jobs completed quickly.
The stand-out feature for me though is the integrated air-assist, a feature often lacking in machine of this class. It helps to keeps the cuts/engravings clean, it allows thicker materials to be tackled. In addition, the air-assist helps to keep the laser lens cleaner, this increases cutting efficiency and reduces maintenance downtime.
I am often asked which laser cutter would I recommend to a beginner. To date, I've felt unqualified to answer the question as my experience has been with CO2 lasers, which come with operational challenges such as tube fragility, time consuming (and sometimes expensive) maintenance, as well as fume extraction challenges.
My experience of experimenting with the Falcon 2, has changed my perceptions of diode lasers generally, and I would thoroughly recommend this machine for these reasons.
1. Excellent, user focused design.
2. The pre-assembled frame makes set-up and tear-down a 5 minute task.
3. The built-in safety features make the process very safe indeed.
4. Everything required to get started is in the box, and the set-up guides provided make the process very straightforward indeed.
5. The packaging and instruction manuals are excellent, and it is simple to re-use the packaging to store the machine after use.
In the video I make use of the optional honeycomb table and optional enclosure. I'd recommend both. The honeycomb work table is especially well made and superior to the one on my CO2 laser, I was genuinely impressed when I took it out of its box. :)
To be clear, Creality sent me this machine to review, so do your homework before considering any purchase. But I can honestly say that this machine is excellent and has exceeded my expectations, and changed my view of the usefulness diode laser machines. If you are new to laser engraving or cutting you would enjoy the simplicity of set-up and ease of use of this machine. I look forward to preparing more videos in the future using it, and showing just how simple it can be to go from an idea into production.
Thanks for watching,
James - Zábava
I bought one of these a couple of months ago. I had never used one before and it was very quick to get started. I’ve mostly used 1 mm card to make buildings. Watching it cut out a couple of hundred windows on a factory building, all lined up perfectly, is a real pleasure. Glad you liked it too.
What an amazing piece of kit, looking forward to next trackwork video, been amazed with what I've seen you do so far
this video is really amazing. good work
Thank you for posting the promo code.
I've just ordered one with 10% off..! many thanks
Great in-depth review episode, definitely worth the cost when planning a larger model railway layout, for both track timbers and structures.
Best regards
Hi James. Thank you, it was one of the videos that made me buy one. As you suggested, I would love to see how you were able to generate the stonework on that building.
Hi James - Yet again another brilliant update as usual.
I have always wanted to be able cut out buildings for my N Gauge layout. No just as templates but you get much better idea of what your layout will look with buildings on instead of cardboard buildings which modellers use to great advantage which is the route I will have to go due to my mental health issues.
Would be a great advantage in sticking Scalescenes to when putting them together.
What blew my mind was the 2mm building you produced complete with brickwork along with those brilliant windows.
I would purchase the Falcon Laser Cutter in an instant but I know I would struggle to use it what with programs and all so it would end up not being used.
Always great when you show things like this, will deffo let my son know about this and I am quite sure my grandson will take to it when he gets old enough.
Regards Chris
Hi James,
This is the laser cutter I have been looking at recently. Nice to hear your thoughts on it. Something for me to look at next year I think. Cheers, Michael
Hi James that alignment aid tool you show in this video, will you be selling this on web shop or sell the file so we can make our own tool?
many thanks Pete.
i almost bought one of these but changed my mind at the last minute and got a Algolaser 22w Delta instead. I only recently got it, so i am still working out how to use it but i am sure i would have been happy with either machine
A really great video - so much information - was considering X tool but after seeing all of the safety features and ease of use I think that this will be the machine for me.
Buy the Xtool. See my comment above.
Excellent video. Thank you. I did buy this machine last October and the only negative was that the SD card included was corrupted and unusable. The card included some programs, as I understand from watching videos, that I would have benefited from. Creality has been unresponsive to my questions about what I am missing.
Excellent video! Thank you for posting. I learned a few new things about this laser. I just ordered mine today before watching this but after watching several others, yours was the best by far. I can't wait for mine to arrive so I can start learning how to use it. Does the LightBurn software have a version you can buy and just have it after that or do you have to keep buying a license every year?
Hi James,
Excellent video as always, I think I will get one for sure. I like the safety features shown.
would you be happy to share your brickwork swatches as lightburn flies?
I am keen to checkout the accuracy of the Creality and this seems to perfect example of accurate engraving and this seems to perfect example of accurate engraving.
cheers
Phil
Hi James. It's always interesting to hear your thoughts about these types of products.
Thank you. I've been genuinely impressed with this machine, so much easier to use and set-up than my CO2 machine, and with no need to winterize it either. :)
Thanks for watching,
James
Excellent video James. Very clear and helpful.
I did wonder, however, how it compares to other more expensive laser cutters (e.g. the one(s) you already had). I sort of assume that if it's that much cheaper, then it must be much more limited, although you obviously found no issues or limitations with it at all. Is it just the onward march of technology that bringing prices down like this?
A laser cutter/ engraver is a game changer when it comes to scratch building and they’re getting cheaper.
How did you create your brick textures, I have been using Inkscape laying each brick at 1:1 and then scaling down?
If you don’t mind me asking where do you buy your materials to cut, as that’s a bit of an internet minefield?
Great Video. this is the reason i purchased one a few weeks ago. owning a 3d printer from them, i figure i would give this a try and see what i can do with laser cutting and engraving...
Good luck with your cutting and engraving. This is certainly an ideal machine with which to experiment.
All the best,
James
Very interesting video, but how does it compare to your CO2 Laser? Talking more about the quality it produces, user experience, the things that should be comparable.
Based on this review I’ve just purchase this machine and extras…….thanks
Hi James really liked the video and have now invested in one of these engravers. I really liked the Alignment tool you printed, is it possible to get that file anywhere?
Noticed the semaphore signal parts, that shimmering signalbox and some coaches 😉
Well spotted, there's lots on the go at the moment. All will be revealed in time... :)
Hi James, What is the working area of this machine? Apparently the manufacturer forgot to state this in the spec. Thanks 🙂
Damnit, James, any chance you could do a short video apologising to my family for not getting any Christmas presents - as I fully intend to buy one of these for myself! It looks great... and having had great success with Creality's 3D printers, I do like the brand.
Nice that it looks good in 2mm scale too! Should suit my Welsh model railway project well...
One thing I didn't spot in the video (possibly I missed it as I was multi-tasking) - how easy/accurate is it to focus? This seems to be an achilles heel on many machines; if Creality have made that side simple, then they deserve to have a winner on their hands.
PS: No turntable process recently (sorry), hope to have some more work done on it over the Christmas period.
I wonder why did you have to cut all the pieces of the first sample project. The laser is supposed to make a clean cut where the pieces just fall of by themselves or with a little pressure
Can this be raised up so i could slide a long board under the side to engrave?
Ive had no many issues with my Xtool it randomly runs off the project area and I've had the laser head completely fail. Customer services did eventually send me a new head out after many days trying to persuade them there is a problem
Wow great movie ... I have an model railroad at home en I'm interested in the stone engraving to build a large bridge on my track . Where can I find such a file to engrave this ?
Great review I have one of these units with the enclosure and in the process of setting it up. Am I right in assuming that the extractor fan in the enclosure is powered via the supplied USB cable to an external power source, such as a USB port on a laptop or a USB outlet on an extension cable, rather than some connection to laser / engraver itself.
The "assembly instructions" for the enclosure are not really clear on this matter.
All the best
Phil
Hi Phil,
Yes, and usb port will do. I’ve been using my portable charger.
Good luck putting the tent together. I got it wrong first time and had the devils job of removing the piles from the fittings.
I was really impressed with how effective the enclosure was though. Overall, the Creality Falcon2 is an excellent piece of kit.
Have fun with yours. 😀
All the best,
James
Hi James, helpful and informative as usual, I've been considering the Neje 4 diode laser, mainly for it's much larger cutting area but also because of it's powered z-axis which also lets you add a cutting blade, allowing the possibility of cutting vinyl masks or I guess stickers ( and possibly scoring thin clear plastic ) , somewhat more expensive than creality's offering, but less than a CO2 laser of similar size, the only downside to diode lasers is their inability to cut clear materials, the potential upside is their ability to cut thin steel/stainless steel with the more powerful (20W plus) laser heads, for the serious model maker I suspect these will be seen as a potential must have tool along with 3D printers
Hi David,
I can see a cutting blade being a very useful accessory, but as you say, would require a powered Z axis.
I find laser cutting to be such a versatile process. For example, I've used the Creality machine to make a set of router templates for building myself a new guitar neck and body. As for serious model making, my preference will always be for making things by hand, as that's where the mindfulness come in, but having a machine to do the heavy lifting of repetitive tasks is a real boon. Thinking of your rack railway, I've recently been experimenting with using AI to generate .dxf gear profiles. Typing something like "write a .dxf file for a 60T GT2 gear with a 4mm bore" into an A.I. such a GoogleBard produces amazing results and a complex file ready for laser cutting in seconds. All cool stuff. :)
All the best,
James
@@BexhillWest LOL I didn't bother with AI for that there are several DXF gear generators out there, the problem has always been with mod sizes of less than 1, which for some reason creates issues with some software, the NEM standard for H0 scale is for Mod 0.4 for rack rail gears, that combined with finding small wheels of exact diameter Typically for my driving wheels I need 8mm diameter wheels and a 17 tooth mod.4 gear, if the wheels are even .02 mm too small then they will not sit properly on the rail whilst if they are a similar amount too large then the gear will not mesh correctly with the rack, I'm probably going to have 50 or so wheels CNC'd as a batch so I can get the exact size, fortunately all the driving wheels and those on the passenger cars are one standard size whilst almost all the various goods wagons are another standard size, I'm going to need a bunch of 8mm dia and 6.4 mm dia wheels those are both going to be slightly too large to match with the gear sizes but I suspect most people will not notice a 0.25mm or 0.12mm difference LOL
Hi, no experience with Laser cutters so this may be a rubbish suggestion; but to cut transparent material how about laying an opaque mask over the top & cutting through both?
I’m looking at getting one of these lasers I’m not sure if I should get the 22 w or 40 w could anyone tell me which is best thank you
Can you do a video showings the machine cutting thick wood ?
Yes I will do. There's another video coming soon.
Thanks for watching,
James
Hello James, did you delete my previous comment regarding the boxes website that is very usefull for anyone with a laser cutter?
Hi and no, I haven't deleted any comments - I never do. I've checked the 'held for review' comments also and there's nothing there. Please post again.
Sometimes CZcams doesn't allow comments with links - I haven't switched that setting on, but it may be the cause of the issue. If you posted a link, perhaps try breaking it up or writing it long-hand.
Thank you,
James
@@BexhillWest IIt doesn't allow the link, how weird. I was linking to boxes . py
Well I guess we just have to google for that website. Very usefull! Gcode and drawing generator for boxes, inlays, and general patterns and shapes. especially usefull for lasercutters.
@@BexhillWest quite stupid that it assumes that I would post scam links and without notice just deletes the comment. Apparently after 14 years of having a youtube account (without any issues) it decided that this would be the perfect moment to undo everything from the past 14 years and it is most likely that I would start scamming people.
That's an excellent site, thank you for suggesting it. Agreed, those with laser cutting machine will find it very useful.
I've just check my settings, and I've not set anything to exclude links. Perhaps its a CZcams thing to keep folks on the platform, which would be a shame, as the ability to share useful links which enhance everyone's experience is a good thing.
For clarity. @StefsEngineering is suggesting folks visit boxes[dot]py. There are useful file generators for all sorts of boxes etc which are great time-savers and especially useful for those with developing CAD skills who need a quick file.
Thanks for the input. :)
James
mildly annoyed they used the "toggle power" symbol (circle with small vertical line) next to the power _switch_, which is not a toggle, and which already has Power On and Power Off symbols | and O.
:) Well spotted, but not worth being even mildly annoyed about. :)
All the best,
James
Is that 3mm MDF?
I cut a variety of materials in the video, and yes there is some 3mm MDF. Thanks for watching.
Hey chum been trying to catch your attention lol, sent a message or two, cheers P
Reply
Why he said it cuts 1/4 mdf when they also said mdf it’s not safe for users and machines!!!
I didn't say it cuts 1/4 MDF. In the video I'm using Medite which is a laser safe MDF.
Thanks for watching,
James
This laser has one huge flaw. You can't remove the bottom of the module housing like on a Xtool D1. This renders the machine useless for engraving anything that has hardware permanently attached to it, like watch band for instance. The module housing will run into the hardware. I was all set to buy this until I saw a video on engraving watch bands and realised it would be an issue with this machine. Creality should fix this or just remove it from the market completely. Perhaps they can offer a new housing to existing owners at a low price after they have redesigned it.
Unfortunate example as watch bands are normally removable. I doubt there are many things at all that would be an issue for most users. What should concern users more is X-tools lack of full compatibility with Lightburn.
At the end of the day it's going to be a question of personal choice and what you can live with. Personally I'd rather take the chance of possibly encountering something awkward to engrave some day over having to learn 2 different programmes and lacking functionality every single time I use it.
I respectfully disagree. I don't think this is a huge flaw. I think that the for the majority of users, and in almost all use cases, the additional safety offered with a fixed guard is a positive. The example you mention is perhaps an edge-case. I think you might be better opting for a fibre laser if you intend to do lots of watch strap engraving.
Thanks for watching,
James