Disclosure: The Falcon A1 was offered to me by Creality freed from cost for the aim of this overview. I’ve not obtained another compensation. All opinions expressed are my very own, and Creality has had no affect on the content material of this overview.
Unboxing
Packaging High quality
The Falcon A1 laser was neatly packaged in numerous foam and a thick cardboard field. The laser was stuffed with much more foam. This stuffed me with confidence that the laser was going to work and act otherwise than I used to be used to for low-cost lasers. Unboxing, establishing, and working solely took about half-hour (and that features spending 10 minutes putting in Lightburn, which isn’t wanted). You’ll be able to and will run the laser with Falcon Design Area.
Meeting/Construct High quality
The Falcon A1 contains a acquainted trend with CoreXY kinematics and a strong aluminum body that has this vibrant orange acrylic, which helps protect your eyes from the laser inside. I’m comfortable to see that, at this value level, a laser cutter is obtainable that doesn’t have to be assembled and has correct security techniques built-in.
First Print and Impressions
Your first print is a calibration sample that calibrates the built-in digicam for aligning your future prints/cuts. Past that, my first print was reducing tremendous deep on the included basswood panel.
My First Print on the Falcon A1
{Hardware} and Specs
The Falcon A1 is certainly an entry-level laser, that includes solely 10 watts of laser energy and a piece space of 381×305 mm (able to reducing as much as 3mm of acrylic and mushy woods). Because of the CoreXY kinematics, the A1 can engrave at speeds of as much as 600mm/s. That is positively quicker than a lot of the competitors. With that being stated, the 10-watt laser energy will restrict you to probably not ever reaching that velocity.
Software program and UI
The Falcon A1 makes use of proprietary software program referred to as Falcon Design Area, although it’s completely suitable with Lightburn. I’m really fairly pleased with how Falcon Design Area has been working. It’s very straightforward to grasp and comes related to a library much like Thingiverse and Printables, however particularly for laser-cut tasks.
Check Prints and Efficiency
Print Examples
Precise Print Velocity
Whereas it’s marketed to succeed in as much as 600mm/s, the Falcon A1 solely travels at this velocity. The low 10-watt energy can not realistically engrave something at this velocity. To do something at this velocity, you’d need to re-engrave with a number of passes of the laser, which is able to take considerably longer than in the event you went with a slower engraving to start with.
Precise Materials Capabilities
Right here’s the place issues went downhill with the A1. I wasn’t in a position to get it to work on the Creality-provided Walnut boards. I used the default settings for some time, however ventured into altering energy, velocity, and even setting a number of passes. A lot to my dismay, the A1 couldn’t get the walnut picture engraved.
I moved to acrylic, and it engraved completely on the primary strive. I then went to chop out the acrylic and seen various particles on the sides. With one highly effective move or a number of weaker passes, the laser was leaving an nearly incomplete lower within the acrylic.
Velocity
The most important problem I skilled was the velocity. Small 5×7 in engravings (the yellow hexagonal piece) took over 90 minutes to engrave and lower out. That is clearly an entry-level laser with no actual use for something aside from studying. Though it was gradual, I can say it’d be an amazing studying platform, however not superb to be used in even a small Etsy enterprise.
Noise Stage
Whereas working, the air compressor is routinely turned on. With this, I recorded a peak of 80 dB and a median of 75 dB. And this may run on for the whole size of your engraving/lower. It’s value having, a minimum of, in one other room.
Reliability and Upkeep
That is attention-grabbing. On the $499 (often $599) value, the Falcon A1 presents a secure studying platform that may train a variety of fundamentals to lots of people. Although with my laser, I skilled what I feel is an overheating problem the place I used to be reducing and engraving again to again, and it simply stopped working. After leaving it off for an evening, I might return to it, and it labored simply superb for the acrylic. Till it didn’t once more. After two sheets of acrylic reducing, it was achieved. Sadly, this implies I didn’t get to complete a single mission with this laser. It’s value noting that the unit was saved indoors at 72°F with the HEPA filter working at most energy. To have this lengthy runtime short-term burnout is a serious oversight, however I had some, what I now know to be “bigger” tasks in thoughts for the A1.
Price and Worth
So, who is that this for?
This might be, for my part, appropriate for anybody who’s unfamiliar with laser engraving or reducing and want to study—somebody with persistence and who doesn’t want to maximise something. Should you simply wish to engrave a household image on some basswood on the weekend, this is able to be for you. The software program is intuitive and beginner-friendly, and the laser can work with the way more highly effective Lightburn, permitting you to develop. So long as you’re prepared to attend hours to engrave even small playing cards and never run batch manufacturing, this is able to be a superb candidate. For something aside from that, I’d say you may have a variety of alternate options which can be higher and particularly deal with getting one thing with extra energy.
Professionals
- Low-cost
- Absolutely enclosed
- Security door sensors
- HEPA air filtration
Cons
- Low-cost
- Weak laser energy
- Doable diode overheating
Abstract
The Creality Falcon A1 laser is an entry-level laser cutter with a 10-watt laser and a 381x305mm work space, appropriate for newbies however restricted in efficiency. It options sturdy packaging, a strong aluminum body with CoreXY kinematics, and security options like eye-shielding acrylic and door sensors. Whereas it helps intuitive proprietary software program (Falcon Design Area) and has Lightburn compatibility, its 600mm/s engraving velocity is hindered by the low laser energy, requiring a number of passes for cuts, which leads to gradual efficiency (e.g., 90 minutes for a small 5×7-inch piece). It handles acrylic effectively however struggles with walnut, produces particles on cuts, and will overheat throughout prolonged use, making it unreliable for batch manufacturing. Priced at $499 (often $599), it’s a secure and beginner-friendly choice for studying laser engraving, however lacks the ability and reliability for extra demanding duties, akin to small-scale enterprise use.
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