[00:00.000] So let's talk about why this machine
[00:01.720] is my number one recommendation
[00:03.559] for desktop laser engravers,
[00:06.039] specifically ones that you can use on metal.
[00:08.520] I think there's three main reasons that this machine,
[00:11.119] the CommMarker V6, stands out from the competition,
[00:14.279] and we're gonna get into that right now.
[00:15.880] All right, reason number one is size.
[00:18.040] So this unit is fairly compact.
[00:21.319] You can definitely pick it up and move it around.
[00:23.799] And I find a lot of times with the larger machines,
[00:26.079] you really don't get that much more functionality
[00:28.799] out of a bigger unit, case in point,
[00:31.479] even though I still do really like this machine.
[00:34.159] This is from Monport, and this is heavy.
[00:38.319] Now, the one benefit of having a bigger machine
[00:40.279] is you're gonna have a bigger work area,
[00:42.240] and you can use that work area typically
[00:43.919] by getting a larger lens.
[00:45.680] So if you are new to fiber machines,
[00:48.139] basically these lenses are removable.
[00:50.479] Usually they come with a lens that is 150 by 150 millimeters.
[00:53.639] That's gonna be like your work area.
[00:54.959] That's what I have on this guy right here,
[00:57.240] but you can switch it out,
[00:58.439] just like you can switch to a wide angle lens
[01:00.159] on your camera.
[01:01.240] So you can't go as wide with a machine like this,
[01:04.319] but I find you are saving on weight,
[01:07.879] and probably more importantly, desktop space.
[01:11.279] So this can fit in a smaller area,
[01:13.919] and it really is designed for doing smaller stuff.
[01:17.519] So these are like test material packages.
[01:19.319] They include things like metal business cards or name tags.
[01:22.360] A lot of times your engravings are gonna be small,
[01:24.760] and that's really where a machine like this can shine.
[01:27.080] Now, one fairly unique feature
[01:28.599] that also speaks to the size of this machine
[01:31.319] is actually a two-in-one
[01:33.160] in terms of how you can have it configured.
[01:35.120] So if you're looking at different machines,
[01:36.440] on my website, machinesformakers.com,
[01:39.000] you can see you basically have two different designs,
[01:41.480] an integrated design like this,
[01:43.080] and what most manufacturers call a split design,
[01:45.639] where this section at the bottom
[01:47.360] is on the side and flipped up.
[01:49.360] And so you can do that with this as well,
[01:51.440] because those are connected by this fiber optic cables.
[01:54.879] And a lot of times this is where they house
[01:56.300] the actual brains of the unit,
[01:57.620] and especially where they house
[01:58.660] the power source for the laser.
[02:00.260] And then that gets reflected through the cable
[02:02.300] up to the head where it gets bounced down through a mirror,
[02:05.260] and it gets focused through the lens.
[02:07.300] And the split designs are definitely nice,
[02:09.380] but they can totally be a hassle to move around.
[02:12.419] So I love the fact you have both of those options
[02:14.059] with this machine.
[02:15.020] If say you wanted to save on space going up
[02:17.539] versus space going to the side.
[02:19.580] Now, the second main reason why I like this machine
[02:22.020] and something we're starting to see from more manufacturers
[02:24.899] is the fact they've integrated autofocus
[02:26.820] into the machine itself.
[02:28.580] And a lot of times focus can be pretty difficult,
[02:30.580] especially if you're new to these type of machines.
[02:32.820] So they give you a few different ways to do it.
[02:34.179] You still manually can focus your machine,
[02:36.899] and you can turn the screw and drive this up and down.
[02:39.380] Actually don't have this turned on,
[02:41.479] and we'll get into why here in a second,
[02:43.380] but then you can also adjust it
[02:44.740] with these buttons here in the front.
[02:46.339] But then you have a touchscreen right here
[02:49.020] that gives you access to pretty much the same controls.
[02:51.380] You can drive it up and down,
[02:52.539] then you can also hit the autofocus button,
[02:54.899] and there's a little camera slash sensor
[02:57.259] right in front of the laser head
[02:59.179] that can detect the thickness of your material.
[03:02.100] Now, in my testing,
[03:02.940] I did find that can get a little bit hairy,
[03:05.139] especially if you're using reflective material
[03:07.139] or straight black material.
[03:09.020] Now, if that does happen,
[03:09.899] they still give you like the old standby
[03:12.259] where you can just measure the distance
[03:14.059] for the lens off of your material,
[03:16.259] and then you use the buttons to drive it up and down
[03:18.259] to get everything lined up.
[03:19.699] And just to show you how quick it is,
[03:21.699] we're gonna get into why.
[03:23.740] I have this off,
[03:24.820] and that is my main drawback with this machine
[03:28.220] is the fan on the back is constantly on,
[03:31.500] so even when the laser's not running.
[03:33.259] So that is annoying,
[03:34.419] and that's why I have it off when we're recording.
[03:36.380] I have this put in,
[03:37.380] and you do have a little red laser dot
[03:39.500] just to the left of that mirror,
[03:40.699] so I'm gonna put my material there,
[03:42.179] and then hit autofocus.
[03:43.699] Actually, it was already in focus.
[03:45.020] Then you hit autofocus,
[03:49.139] and the laser head will automatically adjust
[03:51.779] what you need, so it's great that you've got that readout,
[03:53.339] and then overall, the focus process is a lot easier.
[03:56.860] Now, one thing I do wish they would include,
[03:59.660] and maybe it's a feature
[04:00.660] that I just haven't figured out how to unlock,
[04:02.580] a lot of times these machines
[04:03.419] will actually use two red laser dots.
[04:05.860] One is like a little external laser pointer
[04:08.300] next to the lens,
[04:09.139] and the other one is in line with the laser itself,
[04:11.500] and they calibrate those two laser dots
[04:13.020] to where they completely overlap when you are in focus.
[04:16.059] So with that dual dot system,
[04:17.619] you could visually focus,
[04:19.500] which I do not think you can do with this one,
[04:22.179] but so far the autofocus has worked,
[04:23.820] and then the fallback of the ruler if you need it.
[04:25.579] In terms of other features,
[04:26.540] it's pretty standard for machines like this.
[04:28.619] You have an emergency stop right here at the front,
[04:31.140] and then you've seen the up and down buttons
[04:32.980] as well as the power,
[04:34.140] and then on the back,
[04:34.980] you have a hookup for three different accessories.
[04:37.779] So one is going to be a foot pedal.
[04:40.019] This is actually really fun
[04:41.140] if you're doing a lot of things over and over and over again,
[04:43.660] and then you can also get a rotary unit with this as well,
[04:46.540] especially doing stuff like that,
[04:47.980] and to make that work,
[04:49.260] they include a little riser
[04:50.779] that you just screw in right here
[04:52.380] that brings the entire laser head higher
[04:54.220] to give you enough room to use the rotary.
[04:55.619] I don't have that hooked up right now,
[04:56.739] but I am planning on doing a followup video
[04:58.660] that is rotary specific,
[05:00.260] especially doing these like fiber-coated
[05:01.859] Yeti tumblers, water bottles, that kind of stuff.
[05:04.100] Finally, the last accessory you can get
[05:05.739] is a full enclosure that has a fan on the back
[05:08.420] that can pull out all the fumes and smoke,
[05:10.619] and safety would probably be the one concern
[05:13.980] I would have with a unit like this,
[05:15.739] especially compared to the fully enclosed machines
[05:18.779] like the F1 Ultra, which is also behind me,
[05:21.420] which in terms of functionality
[05:22.779] is in the same neighborhood as this guy.
[05:25.380] You're fully exposed to the laser beam.
[05:27.940] It's not like a purple light diode
[05:29.540] where you could visibly see it.
[05:30.820] The wavelength is outside of what you can see.
[05:33.299] So you don't have to worry about that as much,
[05:34.820] but you can definitely have reflections,
[05:36.179] and then obviously you don't want to like
[05:37.459] get in the way of the beam itself while it's firing.
[05:39.779] And speaking of the X-Tool F1,
[05:41.540] we'll do a big comparison here at the end.
[05:43.540] Now, the third reason that I really like this machine
[05:46.540] is the price.
[05:47.500] And to talk about the price,
[05:48.820] we need to talk more about Commarker
[05:50.420] and the other machines that they offer.
[05:52.299] So I'm on machinesformakers.com,
[05:53.980] which gives you a lot of abilities to compare,
[05:56.019] but I'm gonna search for Commarker,
[05:57.700] and we can see that we have a few different machines
[06:00.779] from them.
[06:01.619] So B4 was actually their old line,
[06:04.299] and we've got options ranging from 20
[06:06.380] all the way up to 100 watts, which is pretty wild.
[06:09.739] And I think these prices are pretty updated,
[06:11.779] but then their new version is the B6,
[06:14.220] and the difference between the B4 and the B6
[06:16.779] is the autofocus.
[06:18.299] And then finally, they have a new machine called the Titan,
[06:21.339] which is wild, and they also have a UV machine
[06:23.820] I hope to review in the future.
[06:25.899] So I'm gonna pull up this machine right here,
[06:27.779] and I am going to compare it to some other machines
[06:30.660] that are pretty similar.
[06:32.220] And we're gonna talk more about Mopa here in a minute.
[06:35.140] So these more expensive ones that have the red on the front.
[06:38.540] And so I'm gonna filter by fiber,
[06:40.619] and then there's a few that I wanna pull in.
[06:43.019] First is gonna be this one from Omtek.
[06:45.619] And this is actually an older version
[06:47.779] of what I believe they're about to launch,
[06:50.179] where they have their own autofocus version.
[06:52.459] Then I also wanna pull up the B4
[06:53.859] that we were talking about.
[06:54.859] Again, that one is at 30 watts.
[06:56.820] And then EMSmart, I've reviewed machines from them as well.
[07:01.220] So to get to 30 watts, we got to do their SuperSmart.
[07:03.820] And then also throw in a non-autofocus version
[07:06.059] from Monport as well.
[07:07.660] Oh, and finally, the one that you probably see
[07:10.899] the most ads for, the F1 Ultra.
[07:13.059] All right, so I want to compare
[07:14.940] all of these machines side by side.
[07:17.420] Again, autofocus is gonna be the key difference
[07:19.660] between Commarker and basically everything else
[07:22.700] other than the F1 Ultra.
[07:24.619] Price is really where these things are getting interesting.
[07:26.700] So this is right at 2,500 bucks,
[07:29.500] where the old version of more or less the same machine
[07:31.980] is $2,000.
[07:33.420] And then in terms of speed is at the top end at 15,000
[07:36.380] with the rest at 10,000.
[07:38.140] But one thing about speed,
[07:39.459] it's kind of like the speed on your car
[07:41.459] where the speedometer says something really high
[07:43.299] that you probably never actually do.
[07:45.140] Now there is a reason I actually recommend
[07:47.380] the Mopa version of this machine.
[07:49.899] And that is because of the laser source.
[07:52.660] So the best that I can tell, this is using a Max Mini.
[07:56.660] So you have like the manufacturer
[07:58.140] of basically the entire machine,
[07:59.820] but then the fiber laser itself
[08:01.700] comes from a different manufacturer.
[08:03.339] We've got Max, which is more on the budget end.
[08:05.459] You've got Rekus, which is a little bit higher up.
[08:07.380] And then the high end is JPT.
[08:10.260] It's pretty much what you're gonna find
[08:11.100] in any of our Mopa machines.
[08:11.940] And the best that I can tell, this is a Max Mini,
[08:14.459] where actually the older version is using a Rekus.
[08:16.899] And again, it's also like 500 bucks cheaper.
[08:18.859] So I think this machine,
[08:20.299] if you're cool with not having autofocus,
[08:22.700] is a really interesting one to get.
[08:24.579] But in terms of the B6 and Mopa,
[08:26.660] that is definitely where I recommend this line.
[08:29.339] And before we get into that, let's talk about Mopa.
[08:31.540] So how do you know if you need a Mopa machine?
[08:35.460] Normally, if you're asking that question,
[08:37.820] you don't need one.
[08:39.260] So typically, it's gonna be a really specific use case
[08:41.460] that you're gonna need a Mopa machine for.
[08:43.380] They can do some pretty fun color stuff on stainless steel.
[08:46.460] I can do different types of markings on aluminum.
[08:49.140] And it basically opens you up
[08:50.700] to doing different types of marking
[08:52.739] on different types of material.
[08:54.760] But it's also much more expensive.
[08:57.419] So if I just go to the B6 line,
[08:59.859] you can see that we are jumping our price
[09:02.299] by nearly $1,000 to go to the 20 watt on the Mopa.
[09:06.859] I have the 60 watt as my pick,
[09:09.020] just because it's more wattage,
[09:10.299] but really any of these machines
[09:11.859] are gonna be using that JPT source.
[09:14.460] And in terms of comparison,
[09:16.119] let me throw in a few other ones,
[09:18.340] so we can kind of see where we are at.
[09:21.219] All right, so we have our older non-Mopa version.
[09:23.500] And the key characteristic is right here.
[09:26.700] So with fiber lasers in general,
[09:28.099] you can modify the speed, you can modify the wattage,
[09:31.080] you can modify the frequency.
[09:32.719] But then with a Mopa, they add one more,
[09:34.380] and that is your pulse width.
[09:36.340] How long is the laser on as it's firing back and forth?
[09:40.059] And so that is what this value is right here,
[09:42.140] the two to 350 nanoseconds,
[09:44.700] and then the increased frequency range.
[09:46.739] I actually need to update this chart
[09:48.140] because these values are gonna be pretty similar as well.
[09:50.840] Now, because Mopa opens up more capabilities of the machine,
[09:54.299] it's gonna be something that's more future-proof
[09:55.880] versus more of the cheaper budget option like this.
[09:58.539] All right, so that's the machine.
[09:59.979] Now let's talk about how you can use it,
[10:01.820] specifically settings and trying to dial in your materials.
[10:06.700] And this can work regardless of the machine
[10:07.940] that you're working, but specifically,
[10:09.659] I wanna show you some stuff with CommMarker,
[10:11.619] including a brand new tool that I'm working on
[10:14.780] that I'm just calling Laser Parameters.
[10:16.700] I'll need a better name for it.
[10:18.020] But the idea is there's a ton
[10:19.780] of different materials you can use.
[10:21.380] It would be great if there was just like a big database
[10:23.739] where we can find a lot of different settings.
[10:25.539] So it gives you a really nice starting point
[10:27.299] when you're using your machine.
[10:28.500] So that is what I am working on.
[10:30.219] Now I'm hoping to have this public really, really soon.
[10:32.179] There's a link down below if you wanna get access to it.
[10:34.700] Just sign up and I'll be sure to send it over to you.
[10:36.500] But it's pretty straightforward.
[10:38.099] You can just go in and select your machine
[10:41.099] because what we need to do is we need to know
[10:45.140] basically your laser type, again, fiber,
[10:47.460] versus a MOPA, and then your wattage.
[10:50.419] This is just pulling from the database I already have
[10:52.900] of lots of different machines.
[10:54.500] So it can help you figure that.
[10:55.659] And then it's gonna give you settings
[10:56.940] that apply just to that situation.
[10:58.900] So for the demo data I have in there right now,
[11:01.219] this is actually the PDF that I got directly
[11:03.460] from Commarker for this machine.
[11:05.780] So these settings will be accurate
[11:07.299] for what we're talking about.
[11:08.419] In our case, we're gonna be doing
[11:09.940] these anodized aluminum cards.
[11:12.260] So we're gonna be talking about aluminum.
[11:13.979] So I'm gonna click that.
[11:15.340] And then we're gonna be doing engraving.
[11:17.619] And so you're gonna have a few different processes
[11:19.500] you can do.
[11:20.340] And then Commarker was actually giving a few different ways
[11:22.700] that you could engrave.
[11:24.219] But in our case, we're just gonna do a general engrave.
[11:26.700] And then you have your settings.
[11:28.820] Now, eventually I'm going to have settings
[11:31.059] from a bunch of different sources.
[11:33.700] So right now, this is just like a demo one that I set up.
[11:35.859] But this is the official one coming from Commarker.
[11:38.099] I need to change the name.
[11:39.020] It's not CloudRay.
[11:40.380] But this gives you a really good starting point.
[11:42.380] So 390 millimeters per second, 100% power,
[11:45.500] one pass at 30 kilohertz.
[11:48.260] There's a few other details with this.
[11:50.020] The line distance of 0.02 and a hatch angle of 45.
[11:54.099] And your hatch pattern is standard.
[11:56.299] Now in my case, I really like to use Lightburn.
[11:58.739] So to show you where you would just enter in
[12:00.340] all of that stuff, I've opened up Lightburn.
[12:03.460] I'm gonna add in some text.
[12:04.299] So this guy right here.
[12:05.500] And then over here on my right is my layer panel.
[12:07.419] So this is where you put all of your settings.
[12:09.780] We have this set to fill right now.
[12:11.659] So line would just like outline this.
[12:13.260] But in this case, we actually want to fill.
[12:15.580] And then if you just double click onto this,
[12:17.219] you can already see our speed and power right there.
[12:19.780] I think I already had this set up.
[12:20.780] Yeah, so at 390, 100.
[12:22.900] And we're just gonna keep it at 40 right now
[12:24.700] because I don't have it connected.
[12:25.979] And so it's not giving me the actual machine
[12:28.380] low value of 30.
[12:29.700] A line distance of 0.025.
[12:33.659] And then a scan angle of 45.
[12:35.820] And one pass.
[12:37.340] And then we are good to go.
[12:39.140] So that gives you a really good benchmark
[12:40.859] to run it on your machine.
[12:42.219] Now one other quick tip with this tool
[12:44.419] is these are designed to be a starting point.
[12:47.000] You still want to dial in your settings
[12:49.219] because there are a ton of different factors
[12:51.179] that can play into it,
[12:52.219] not just your machine and your material.
[12:54.700] So to dial it specific for you,
[12:57.219] you can actually use material test.
[12:59.059] And that's something that Lightburn has set up.
[13:01.539] So if you guys did not know about up here at the top,
[13:03.659] laser tools, come up down here to material test.
[13:07.380] And then this is just gonna set up a material test grid.
[13:10.780] So this is a tiny version of it.
[13:12.820] And you can set these up
[13:13.940] to compare two different parameters.
[13:15.900] So speed and power is what you're gonna use mostly.
[13:18.700] But you could also, especially if you're using Mopa,
[13:21.299] you can play around with the frequency as well
[13:24.179] to see the different things that are gonna happen.
[13:26.140] So at this point, you can preview it and run it
[13:27.820] and you'll get a really nice test card like this
[13:29.900] that you can use in the future
[13:31.140] to help decide what setting to use.
[13:33.140] So I would recommend the Commarker B6 line,
[13:35.979] but especially the Mopa version of it
[13:38.340] because you're gonna get that nicer JPT laser source.
[13:42.020] If you want to get just a standard fiber,
[13:44.260] I actually would steer you towards the B4 version of this,
[13:47.299] that cheaper, like $500 version.
[13:48.820] It's not gonna have autofocus,
[13:50.380] but the best that I can tell,
[13:51.820] the laser source is gonna be a little bit nicer,
[13:54.099] but still this thing can work great too.
[13:55.979] Now there are a ton of other factors
[13:57.859] and manufacturers for fiber machines,
[13:59.739] and I cover all of that in this video,
[14:01.739] and we're gonna jump into that right now.
[14:03.219] Until next time, go make or break something in your shop.
[14:05.659] See you guys.
[14:07.239] ♪ Hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo, hey yo ♪
