Falcon 2 Pro Enclosed Laser Engraver & Cutter Review

Today we will be taking a look at the all in one fully enclosed Falcon 2 Pro 40W diode Laser Engraver made by Creality. Along with setting up the machine with the included enclosure, general laser safety and seeing the results it can produce.

Key Specs

  • Fully Enclosed FDA Class 1 Certified
  • 22W, 40W and 60W Models
  • Bonus 1.6W Module (included with 40W and 60W)
  • 360° Visual Design, Combines Aesthetics with Versatility
  • Internal Camera for monitoring and setting up jobs
  • Front Control Panel
  • Key Lock Out and Emergency Stop Button
  • Micro SD or USB connection
  • Air Assist Pump
  • Solid Metal Frame
  • 400mm X 415mm Work Area

The laser kit arrives in a large box and everything comes neatly packaged and well protected. With a pre-assembled metal frame it means there only a few steps needed to setup the machine. We start off with installing the waste collection tray and this slides in from the front.

The enclosure needs some assembly and it’s placed on top of the laser unit, the 2 side acrylic panels are installed, these bolt into the top enclosure and into the base unit securing the two parts together. 

The Working area of the laser is 400x415mm which is good amount of space for hobby projects. Rather than using a honeycomb bed the Falcon 2 pro comes with bars and these are installed into the slots on either side. What’s good about these is they can be spaced closely together or spread out depending on the size and type of material we are using. They can also be laid flat to create a surface which is great for engraving. 

The included manual has clear instructions for the assembly and easy steps to follow. It will take about 10-15 minutes to set up the machine.

The kit comes with a 40W blue diode laser module for general cutting and engraving as well as a bonus smaller 1.6W blue diode laser module that’s suited for fine detail engraving.

The enclosed design gives this laser machine a FDA Class 1 Safety Certification that provides the user with a safe working environment.  It’s not only giving protection but a 360 degree view of the work along with easy low profile access with the front sliding door. It also comes with a built-in internal camera which is great for positioning project designs and for monitor the jobs. There’s also auto laser shut off if the front door is opened or if the front waste draw is opened.

SAFETY

The machine enclosure is Class 1 Safety Certified and has some excellent safety systems but I’d still recommend always wearing the correct certified safety glasses to protect your eyes. Before using any laser machine its best practice to check the laser wavelength and then select the suitable laser glasses for the required protection. For this particular machine the lasers wavelength on the 40W module is 455 +/_ 5 Nano Meters. The correct laser safety glasses will have the wavelength protection range rating, the Optical Density, and these will also be certified as laser safe.

How to Operate the Machine

The machine can be operated by the SD card or via the USB C port with a computer. For the SD card it will only read the last GCODE file saved on the card. For getting started with the first tests, Creality provides 2 sample files on the SD card that have already been prepared as Gcode. These files are a good starting point to test the machine.

There is a handy multi-level focus block include for setting up the lasers focus. This tool has 3 levels to set the height and laser focus for engraving and cutting, all depending on the material thickness.

The first test is the included Eagle file and this file is only a cutout without any engraving. It’s a quick test to complete and it’s quite impressive to see the accuracy and detail the machine can produce.

Software

While the files can be cut and engraved from the SD card it’s far easier to connect the machine directly to a computer to control and monitor. This makes it easy to change setting, adjust designs and to start and stop the machine. For the Software, Creality recommends either Laser GRBL or Light burn. LightBurn is the preferred choice, it’s easy to use and works really well with the machine, but keep in mind it’s only a 30 day free trial.

Camera Setup

With the laser connected to the software, one of the first things we need is to calibrate the internal camera. There’s an included dotted calibration card in the package, and this is placed on the lasers bed and captured in various locations as prompted by the software. With that done the camera is aligned with a 4 point test pattern which engraved onto a board and then these 4 points are selected in the software to confirm. After this you still may need to fine tune and adjust the offset and it’s recommend to re-check when changing the laser modules.

Camera Test – Tooth Pick

For the next test a tooth pick is setup on the lasers bed to test the camera on a smaller item. The 40W module result was a little soft around the edges so, its switched out and the test is sent with the 1.6w Module. The tooth pick is engraved with the text and the result was nice and clean. Keep in mind this text is about 2mm height so quite impressive seeing the accuracy and detail.

Paper and Cleaning Tray

A piece of standard Printer Paper is the next material to be used on the laser. Setting for this with the 40W module are at 3600mm/m at 50% power. The laser managed to cutout the standard piece of printer paper without any issues. It’s Interesting to see the results and how effortlessly it can cut out paper with so much detail. What’s also good is the off cut pieces fall through the bars and are all collected in the waste tray. Which makes the cleanup process quick and easy

1.6W vs 40W Text Test

Next we going to look at a quick comparison of the 1.6W vs the 40w modules. The main difference here is the power and the spot size. The 1.6W module allows for finer detail but in turn takes longer to complete the job, whereas the 40W module has more power for faster cutting but not quite as detailed on smaller text. We can see the difference between the text where the 1.6W looks crisp and sharp vs the 40W looks a little softer around the edges.

Now at the top of the laser module there’s a small switch that allows us to change between 2 modes, a 40W normal mode and 22W precise mode. Repeating the test with the 22W mode showed an improvement in the text quality compared to the 40W. 

So for fast cutting and general engraving use the 40W, if you need a little bit more precision use the 22W mode, and for the finest details use the 1.6W module.

Harley Logo – 10mm

Next we’ve got a thicker 10mm piece of basswood, for this we will engrave a logo and cut out around the edges.  The laser starts off with the engraving part then moves onto cutting out around the edges. For the engraving part the 40W laser is set to 30% power at 6000mm/m, for the cutting the laser is set to 100% power at 280mm/m. The finished project result gave a nicely engraved and cut out logo.

Final Thoughts

The laser worked really well with all projects and jobs sent to the machine, there was a little bit of smoke marking on the thicker cuts, but these can be easily cleaned up. Using the camera has been great for aligning projects in the software and there was no need to go over to the machine to check and adjust the framing.

What could improve the machine even further would be a Z axis for the laser module with auto focus rather than manually using a focus block and adjusting with thumb screws. And while the machine works well with Light-burn I do wish it included its own software in the package.

Overall the Falcon 2 PRO has built upon the previous version and delivered essential features like the integrated enclosure for user safety, an internal camera and there’s handy waste collection tray for quick clean up. It has an excellent build quality and the laser engraver is quick to setup and very easy to operate. And with the included laser modules it’s a capable and versatile tool that can be used for cutting, marking and engraving a variety of materials.

Product Links

Watch the full detailed video review here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHT8qJ9mRUc

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