REVIEW – Laser engravers are incredible tools for crafting and all sorts of creative work. They also require a great deal of caution. Every year, there are many cases of eye damage due to unsafe conditions when using laser tools, and it is incredibly important to use eye protection when using any kind of tool like this. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to review the Mecpow X5 Pro 33W laser engraver, which has a very large cutting area that is open to the air. While the laser unit itself had some protection, and it did come with safety glasses, safety is a concern when I use it because it’s easy for someone to walk into the area and potentially have an unsafe exposure. Mecpow came forward with the X4 Pro, which has a fully enclosed unit, and I had to see how it compared. Read on to see how it did!
What is it?
The Mecpow X4 Pro 22W Laser Engraving machine is a fully enclosed laser engraver unit with a 410mm x 400mm working area.
What’s included?
- 2 Security Keys
- 1 Throat Hoop
- 1 Screwdriver
- 1 Exhaust Fan
- 1 Exhaust Pipe
- 1 Laser Module
- 1 Power Adapter
- 2 USB Cables
- 2 Wood Boards
- 1 Metal Plate
- 1 Goggles
- 1 User Manual
- 1 Air Pump
- 1 Crew Pack
- 1 Cleaning Brush
- 1 WIFi Antenna
- 1 Left Protective Cover
- 1 Right Protective Cover
- 1 Rear Protective Cover
- 1 Front Protective Cover
- 5 Adhesive Cable Clips
- 1 Calibration Card
- 4 Risers
- 4 Protective Cover Support
- 1 TF Card
- 1 TF Card Reader
- 1 Wrench
- Mecpow Honeycomb surface (Sold separately)
Tech specs
- Frame Material: Aluminum
- Input Voltage: DC 24V
- Rated Power: 144W
- Engraving Area: 410 x 400mm
- Engraving Speed: 22000mm/min
- Spot Size of Laser Beam: 0.08 x 0.1mm
- Tilt Alarm: 50°±5
- Methods of Data Transmission: USB Wired/ WIFI Wireless/ TF Card
- Software Support: MKSLaser APP/ LaserGRBL/ LightBurn
- System Support: Windows/ Mac/ Linux
- File Format Support: JPEG, BMP, GIF, PLT, PNG, DXF
- Materials for Laser Engraving: Wood, Acrylic, China, Fabric, Bamboo, Plastic Board, Leather, Fruit, Bread, etc.
- Laser Power: 22W
- Air Velocity for Air Pump: 30L/min
- Charger: AC 100~240V 2.5A (Input), 24V 6A (Output)
- Built-in Camera
- Panoramic Protective Cover: Yes
- Automatic Exhaust Fan: Yes
- Auto Air Pump: Yes
- Lid Open/Off Safety Stop: Yes
- FDA Class 1 Safety Certification: Yes
- Emergency Stop: Yes
- Security Lock: Yes
- Tilt Sensor: Yes
- Flame Sensor: Yes
- Limit Switches: Yes
- Offline Operation Support: Yes
- Laser Head with a Laser Shield: Yes
- Control Panel:Yes
- LED Light: Yes
- Net Weight:15 kg
- Gross Weight: 21 kg
- Product Size (L x W x H): 685 x 620 x 310mm
- Package Size (L x W x H): 790 x 655 x 235mm
Design and features
The overall construction and layout of the Mecpow X4 Pro 22W laser engraver has quite a few very interesting features. Comparing this machine to Mecpow’s X5 Pro engraver, which I reviewed earlier this year, has been quite interesting. The Mecpow X5 I reviewed is a far more utilitarian machine with great benefits with its open layout and huge cutting area. The Mecpow X4, however, is a more comprehensive unit with a fully enclosed cutting area, interior camera, fan ventilation, and built-in controls on the unit itself.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
The assembly of this unit was much easier than the last one I put together. The rails and control unit come pre-assembled, which is a huge benefit. Getting the belts installed and tensioned correctly is not easy, so pre-installation and tensioning are great. It is still possible to tweak those configurations, but it wasn’t necessary for any of my testing.
The first pieces to install are the risers that the acrylic shield attaches to.
Installing the protective shield around the unit took the most effort. The most difficult part was figuring out which size screws went into the posts. Each of the upper clear shields is designed to protect your eyeballs while also providing visibility to progress inside.
From previous experience, don’t get too aggressive with tightening the screws on acrylic like this as it has a tendency to crack. Hand tightening only!
Once the acrylic is in place, setting the exhaust fan is straightforward and has some handy wingnuts to tighten it down. There is also an exhaust hose if you want to run it out a vent or a window, but I wasn’t close enough to run one yet.
There are several add-ons both inside and outside of the machine. Internally there is an LED light bar and USB camera you can use for calibration. Externally there is an air assist pump and WiFi connectivity as well.
Setting up the air assist on the laser is easy. The tubing is already run and you just have to pull the ring up, insert the hose, and push it back down. The air assist helps to keep the laser lens clean and move away material from the cutting area. The one downside with air assist is that it will quickly fan a fire if your material gets too hot. That’s what the flame sensor is for, though.
The calibration of the camera was new to me. The last engraver I reviewed did not have one and I was skeptical of how useful it could actually be, but I am converted. One of the most annoying things I find in using a laser engraver is getting things to line up right. Using the camera once it’s calibrated allows you to line things up on materials much easier. The box included a piece of paper to calibrate with, but I recommend printing a new one off. You can get a file from the Lightburn website and I found it was much more useful. The included calibration print didn’t work.
Lightburn has a nice calibration wizard that steps you through the process and setup.
Once calibrated, the alignment wizard dials in the details.
Once everything is calibrated and aligned, you can now center the engravings and cuts you want to make over your materials. This is a fantastic feature.
Performance
Like I’ve referenced earlier, my software of choice for laser engraving is Lightburn. There are several options for connecting and operating the laser, including LaserGRBL and the MKSLaser app, but in my experience Lightburn is worth the license cost. The idea of a phone app is nice, but for a large bed printer I don’t think a small screen works well. I’ll stick to a laptop.
One of the biggest challenges when using a laser engraver like this for the first time is dialing in the right speed and power combinations for different materials. The User Manual has recommendations for different materials, but I recommend using it as a starting point and adjust as needed to different materials. The Recommended Operating Parameters is one of the most useful and highly reference pages in the user manual. I actually printed off spares to have nearby.
My very first cut is the Gadgeteer logo. It’s a great small piece that has both lines and fill to it. The line cut on this piece was a bit dark, but the detail was good and didn’t burn out the fine lines.
Second print was a grayscale picture of mountains. I think I need to do some work on the picture and duration settings as there isn’t much that’s recognizable. If you squint, maybe.
A local theater is running a production of Matilda and we’ve been helping out a bit here and there. I thought it would be fun to make some small keychains or something, so I created a file and set to work. First run looked pretty good. I need to jazz it up a little and make the cuts a bit deeper, but a good first effort.
In my last review I tested a technique to engrave on ceramic using white paint and washing it off afterwards with acetone. I had a scrap plate lying around, so I did a pass on that to see how it did. I think that I had the settings too high as it etched the glass quite a bit, but the effect still looks cool.
I haven’t engraved on metal yet, so I thought I would give it a try. I grabbed some metal gift tags from the dollar store to see how they would do. You can see the metal tag in the picture below with the pattern superimposed. The instructions say that you can’t engrave on a mirrored finish. The finish is shiny, but not a mirror finish, so I had to see if it would work. Spoiler: It didn’t. Nothing showed up.
Taking a different approach, I did a quick white paint spray to see if that would help etch onto the metal. The pattern showed nicely, but there was no effect on the underlying metal.
What I like about the Mecpow X4 Pro Laser Engraving Machine
- The fully self-enclosed unit is a great safety feature. If you forget to close the door, the unit won’t run, which is great as well
- The interior camera makes things much easier to line up and configure rather than guessing where the starting points are
- It seems very well made. I don’t have any issues with quality so far
What needs to be improved?
- Update user manual with where/how to use the risers. I couldn’t find any information on them anywhere.
- Update user manual with how to configure and use the interior camera. Thankfully the Lightburn software has a good walkthrough and makes up for a lot there.
Final thoughts
Overall, this is a great laser engraver. The total package is well thought out and has a lot of great features. The included honeycomb working surface they also included was much appreciated. I like the enclosure and the additional safety it brings. Not much more to say than that!
Price: $799.99
Where to buy: Mecpow and Amazon (Save $100 with code: GADX4PRO expires 10/31/2024)
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Mecpow. Mecpow did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
