Review: Algolaser Pixi Engraver Handles the Basics
Manufacturer: Algolaser Price: $270 as tested (5W, black enclosure) URL: https://algolaser.com/products/algolaser-pixi-smart-laser-engraver-with-enclosure?variant=51274697343283
Review: xTool F1 Ultra Laser Cutter
RAS2025-07-10T16:00:00+00:00Manufacturer: xTool Price as tested: $3,699 Link: https://www.xtool.com/products/xtool-f1-ultra-20w-fiber-diode-dual-laser-engraver Previously we looked at the xTool F1; this time we bring you the F1 Ultra, a machine that is more of a big cousin than a big brother to the F1. If you are willing to give up the extreme portability for more power, the F1 Ultra is here for you. Unboxing the F1 Ultra is a surprise — it’s big. It has a 220mm×220mm cutting area, not huge for...
Review: xTool F1 Laser Cutter
RAS2025-06-20T16:00:00+00:00Manufacturer: xTool Price as tested: $1,999 Link: https://www.xtool.com/products/xtool-f1 The phrase “small but mighty” might have been created to describe the xTool F1. Fully enclosed, it will only take up a small corner of your desk while still giving you dual blue and IR diode lasers. If you’re a craft person looking to take a laser to events to personalize items during the event, keep reading, because you’ve found your laser. While the cutting area of the F1 isn’t large,...
Kerf Bend Wizard Simplifies Complex Curves
RAS2025-06-17T16:00:00+00:00Kerf bending plywood is a great way to lend elegance to a woodworking project, but bending boards isn’t without difficulty. Arcs require trial and error to get just right, and if you want a wild curve like an oval or parabola, you could be at it for a while. If that’s the kind of thing that keeps you up at night, then good news, Michael Schiebler released a tool to make your life a lot easier.
Review: Neoden YY1 PCB Assembly Bundle
RAS2025-06-05T16:00:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol 93. Subscribe for more great projects. Manufacturer: Neoden Price: $9,497 as tested; $3,999 for YY1 Pick & Place alone Our makerspace just became a surface-mount technology (SMT) printed circuit board (PCB) factory overnight. We’ve watched 3D printers, CNC machines, and laser cutters become cheaper, smaller, and easier in our magazine’s twenty years, and now this revolution has reached PCBA (printed circuit board assembly). While services such as PCBWay have made...
Very Sucky — Mini Kirby Fume Extractor
RAS2025-06-04T17:00:00+00:00This project appeared in Make: Vol 87. Subscribe for more great projects. Charcoal fume extractors of all shapes and sizes have been a staple project in makerspaces for many years. Make: even has its own mini fume extractor by Marc de Vinck (Volume 19) with a video by Kipkay, now there’s a throwback! Built into an Altoids tin and featuring a 40mm fan and a basic circuit, this little device was rough but...
Lower-Cost Metal 3D Printing
RAS2025-05-30T16:00:00+00:00This article appeared in Make: Vol. 86. Subscribe for more maker projects and articles! Metal 3D printing conjures up an image of lasers depositing energy into explosive powders, and systems that cost millions of dollars. However, there are viable options that will allow you to print metal parts on a consumer-level filament 3D printer. The investments start at a couple thousand dollars and go up a couple orders of magnitude from there. Let’s find out what...
