Look at these beautiful Stainless Steel Colors! – ACMER P2 33W Laser Engraver Review
Summary:
Positive Points:
- Fully assembled out of the box, reducing setup time and hassle.
- Powerful 33 watt diode laser with impressive cutting capabilities.
- Smooth and accurate motion provided by linear rails, ensuring high-quality engraving.
Negative Points:
- UV protectant glass could be more effective, allowing more light through than desired.
- Lack of included honeycomb panel or work holding surface, requiring additional purchase.
- Tilt detection may not be sensitive enough to detect slight bumps or minor movements, impacting safety measures.
See more information about the ACMER P2 in the links below:
ACMER store: https://acmerlaser.com/
Amazon link (Affiliate): https://amzn.to/3PiyePi
Aliexpress link: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1102320196?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000007.1.4a3974868s1hk8
Geekbuying (Affiliate): https://www.geekbuying.com/go/87NU2crH
Banggood: https://usa.banggood.com/EU-or-US-Direct-ACMER-P2-33W-Laser-Engraver-Cutter-Engraving-at-24000mm-or-min-Cut-25mm-Acrylic-iOS-Android-App-Control-p-1986463.html?cur_warehouse=USA&rmmds=search
TOMTOP: https://www.tomtop.com/p-rtott-p233w-eu.html
Enclosure Box: https://acmerlaser.com/products/acmer-enclosure-box
Honeycomb Panel: https://acmerlaser.com/products/acmer-laser-honeycomb
Materials I will use in my reviews (Affiliate Links):
Multicolor Anodized Aluminum Business Card Blanks: https://amzn.to/3yqYcbh
Stainless Steel Jewelry Blanks: https://amzn.to/3xQeNEo
Slate Coasters: https://amzn.to/3fo2Nnf
Stainless Steel Business Card Blanks: https://amzn.to/3BKDraC
Veg Tan Leather Bracelets: https://amzn.to/3rdNmjO
Basswood Plywood Sheets: https://amzn.to/3M7jEpy
LED Acrylic Lamp Base: https://amzn.to/3M7jFK8
Black Acrylic Sheets: https://amzn.to/3vZNV4c
Video Transcript:
Hey Everyone and welcome back to Hoffman Engineering. Today we are taking a look at the ACMER P2 33W laser. This benchtop laser comes fully assembled out of the box, with a powerful 33 watt diode laser and a sturdy frame. But is the ACMER P2 as easy to get up and running as they say? Lets find out.
[Disclaimer]
Before we begin, this P2 Laser Engraver was sent for me to review by ACMER. As with all my reviews, they aren’t paying me for this review, and everything I say is my own honest opinion after using this laser for the last month. My videos do have affiliate links in the description, which help support my channel at no additional cost to you. Lets gets started.
[Specs]
The ACMER P2 is a benchtop laser engraver with a total working area of 420 by 400 millimeters. The laser module comes in 3 different varieties, a 10 watt, 20 watt, and 33 watt version. I have the most powerful 33 watt version with me today. They are diode lasers with a 455 nanometer wavelength, which produce a visible blue light. At the top of the laser module is a powerful cooling fan, which blows through the module to cool the diodes and help clear the smoke. On the side of the module is the focus guide. To focus, you flip down the focus guide, slide down the laser until it touches your material, then lock the module into place. It is a very simple process. The focus guide is magnetically secured and I had no problems with it coming loose during operation. Also on the side is the tube for the included air assist. The air assist forces air through the nozzle, which increases cut quality and lowers the chance of flair-ups.
On the front of the module is a UV protectant glass. I wish I had an objective way to measure how well these UV shields work, but I feel like this glass still lets through more light than I would like. Always wear the included protective goggles when around the machine.
Moving back to the frame, both the x and y axis use linear rails. These provide smooth and accurate motion, and should have a long operating lifetime. ACMER’s marketing says the P2 can engrave up to 30,000 millimeters per minute. I wasn’t able to get it traveling more than about 20,000 millimeters per minute though. That is still a pretty decent engraving speed, however. The frame consists of aluminum extrusions, and feels very sturdy.
Moving towards the front of the machine, you have an emergency stop latch, the power button, a key lockout, and an alarm light. The emergency stop latch cuts all power to the machine when hit, and is an important safety device. Speaking of safety, the ACMER P2 has tilt detection, which cuts power and sounds the alarm when it detects a tilt of about 15 degrees. Useful for if the machine falls off the workbench, but its not sensitive enough to detect a slight bump, or if a single leg gets pushed off the table. It also has flame detection built into the laser module.
On the side is the power input and the USB type B input, and there is a micro SD card slot in the front. The ACMER is wifi enabled, which allows you to control the laser with the MKSLaser app for android and iPhones.
Other notable inputs is the rotary switch on the back. Many lasers require you to unplug the y-axis before you connect a rotary attachment, but the P2 has a convenient toggle switch. I did not have their optional rotary attachment for my tests, but that upgrade is available.
[Air Assist]
The P2 comes standard with their air assist compressor, which is controllable via software. It plugs into the bottom of the front rail, and allows the laser to turn on and off the compressor. There is no flow rate adjustment, the compressor is either on or off. The compressor is reasonably powerful, and does a great job at keeping the edges of materials clean. The compressor also has rubber, vibration dampening feet that work very well.
The P2 does not include a honeycomb panel or any work holding surface. ACMER does sell their own honeycomb panel, so you’ll either need to purchase that separately or buy your own aluminum sheet to protect your table. I’ll be using a honeycomb panel I had on hand for all of my tests.
[Assembly]
The ACMER P2 comes completely pre-assembled. I only needed to plug in the laser module, and it was ready to start cutting. No need for a long assembly process, you can unbox and be cutting in just a couple of minutes with the P2.
[Cuts]
Lets talk about how well the ACMER P2 cuts. I tested on a variety of common materials, and I was very impressed with how well it handled all of them. ACMER provides a clear list of recommended speeds and powers for a variety of materials, and they were a great starting point.
[Wood]
I was cutting through 1/8th inch birch plywood in a single pass at a consistent 1000 millimeters per minute. That is a very quick speed, and shows off the power of the 33 watt laser. At those top speeds, I was getting only a slight darkening around the edges, the air assist was doing a great job at clearing the smoke.
My kerf tests showed a kerf offset of 0.095 millimeters. That is a smaller dot size than some of the other 30-to-40 watt lasers that I’ve tested. That smaller dot size allows for detailed engravings, I was very happy with the results of my wood tests.
[Slate]
Slate continues to be one of my favorite materials to engrave, and the P2 did an excellent job with it.
[Leather]
My leather tests turned out great, with deep and consistent engravings. I did not do a good job of aligning the laser however. The laser opening is in the middle of the module from left to right, but its closer to the front than the back. This makes eyeballing the position a little tougher to judge.
[Acrylic]
Diode lasers cannot cut clear acrylics, but opaque acrylics work great. My ruler keychains have accurate measurements, and the engraving is crisp.
[Aluminum]
Aluminum also worked great. The red and green engraved very cleanly, and the blue has just a small amount of coating remaining when using ACMER’s recommended speeds. I am very impressed with these results.
[Stainless]
Stainless steel turned out excellent. By varying the power and line interval, you can get beautiful shades of blues, oranges, browns and purples to form. This is the most vibrant stainless steel colors I’ve seen of all of the lasers that I’ve tested.
[Issues]
I ran into zero issues during my testing. It worked straight out of the box, and continued to work reliably for all of my tests.
[Conclusion]
In conclusion, the ACMER P2 33 watt version is an extremely powerful laser in a convenient, easy to use package. Coming pre-assembled means that you are up and running quickly. Their recommended speeds and powers made it easy to try out new materials and get decent results on the first try. The software-controlled air assist made it easy to switch materials. And did I mention the Power? That 33 watt diode was carving through birch plywood at over 1000 millimeters per minute, it was very impressive. ACMER also sells a number of compelling accessories. I’d highly recommend the honeycomb panel, but the rotary attachment and positioning camera, and enclosure can expand your capabilities as future upgrades.
The ACMER P2 33w version sells for 1,199 US Dollars, with the 20 watt selling for 899 and the 10 watt selling for $559 US dollars. Those are extremely competitive prices and makes the P2 an enticing offer. I had a great experience using the P2, and I could easily recommend it for anyone looking for a high powered benchtop laser.
So thank you all for watching my review of the ACMER P2. What was your favorite feature? Let me know in the comments below. And if you are still in the market for high-powered diode lasers, why not check out my review of the Atezr L2 or Wizmaker L1. Those are both 36 watt lasers that might be just what you are looking for. So thank you all for watching, and I’ll see you all next time!
