This is The Best Laser Cutter/Welder for a Hobby Shop That I’ve Ever Seen

Metal cutting is thing that's ne'er been an casual feat. It's typically expensive, difficult, and requires a batch of accomplishment to do. Well, the xTool MetalFab aims to alteration that, and I deliberation it's genuinely the champion laser cutter/welder I've ever seen.

The xTool MetalFab is simply a unsocial instrumentality from the fashionable laser brand. As the company's latest merchandise that conscionable entered presale, the MetalFab takes things up rather a fewer notches, delivering either an 800W oregon 1,200W fibre laser to your manus (or an optional CNC).

The MetalFab is designed to chopped and weld metal. It's susceptible of welding worldly from 0.2 to 5mm (0.0078 to 0.157 inch) successful thickness. For cutting, it'll grip worldly up to 10mm oregon 0.39 inches thick. When I was capable to demo the MetalFab hands-on, we processed 1mm stainless alloy successful some cutting and welding.

xTool is going for thing beauteous unsocial with the MetalFab. It's not conscionable a fibre laser cutter, and it's not conscionable a fibre laser welder, it's both. In cutting mode, you tin equine the laser caput connected a gantry CNC instrumentality that'll tally it for automated and highly precise cutting. In welding mode, the caput comes retired of the instrumentality and is handheld.

The MetalFab is air-cooled, and tin usage compressed air, nitrogen, oregon argon arsenic the gasses for cutting, portion nitrogen and argon are recommended for welding. Just cognize that you'll request 220V for the MetalFab, arsenic this is much of an industrial-grade instrumentality than an entry-level laser.

Who’s the MetalFab For?

xTool is selling the MetalFab for hobbyists and small/medium businesses. It's designed arsenic a instrumentality that volition instrumentality your hobby to the adjacent level. What that adjacent level is, is up to you. It could beryllium moving from hobby to tiny business, oregon conscionable simply being capable to process much materials successful your shop.

In the past, xTool has done a large occupation astatine selling to the hobby idiosyncratic who wants to perchance usage their instrumentality to marque immoderate broadside income. The MetalFab is nary different.

Coming successful with a starting terms of $4,999 for the 800W welder only, and maxing retired astatine $13,999 for the 1,200W CNC system, this instrumentality isn't cheap. Those are besides aboriginal vertebrate prices, with the afloat retail terms starting astatine $6,999 and going up to $17,999.

All that to say, the MetalFab is much of an in-between item. It's for some hobbyists and full-on businesses. I personally cognize a ample concern that's looking astatine purchasing 1 (or perchance a few) arsenic fibre laser welders to support successful their shop. I besides cognize respective radical who conscionable bask making arsenic a hobby that are considering purchasing 1 too.

Now, if you person a hobby shop, you mightiness beryllium wondering precisely however the MetalFab could payment you. As idiosyncratic who's already utilized one, fto maine laic retired conscionable however unsocial this instrumentality is.

First off, it's small, but does rather a lot. Many hobby shops are tally retired of a store oregon shed, and abstraction is astatine a premium. The full CNC kit takes up astir a four-foot cubed abstraction successful your shop. That's all. The interior moving abstraction is astir 24 by 24 inches, which is rather ample erstwhile you see this is simply a metallic cutter. If you opt for conscionable the fibre laser welder, without the CNC aspect, that lone takes up astir 2 ft heavy by a ft wide and astir 20 inches tall. It's rather compact.

Employing the xTool MetalFab successful your hobby store means you'll beryllium capable to chopped (and weld) conscionable astir immoderate benignant of metal. At the xTool Demo Space I visited to spot a pre-release unit, we saw everything from chairs and broadside tables to ornaments, partition hangers, and much made with the MetalFab.

This 1 instrumentality tin bash the enactment of aggregate successful your shop. That's what makes the MetalFab truthful unique. The information that it tin some chopped arsenic a CNC, and bash handheld welding. Not lone that, but xTool touts the quality to bash rust removal, some handheld and erstwhile mounted successful the CNC.

The options are endless with the MetalFab, truly. It's capable to supplement a hobby by allowing you to marque amusive things successful the store successful your spare time, and tin besides grip moving a tiny business.

The 1mm stainless alloy that we were cutting successful the Demo Room was being chopped astatine 60mm/s. To enactment that into perspective, it tin chopped a four-inch ellipse successful nether a minute.

Welding with it was besides rather simple. I person ne'er welded earlier successful my lift, and I was capable to easy prime it up and marque 2 decent-looking welds with stainless steel. The welds themselves were stronger than the steel, which was demonstrated erstwhile we stepped connected the welded pieces and the metallic bent alternatively of the weld itself.

With the compact footprint and utmost capability, the MetalFab perfectly has a spot successful hobby shops. It's not inexpensive by immoderate means, but it's capable.

Honestly, I privation a MetalFab successful my shop. I don't afloat cognize what I'd bash with it yet, but I'd emotion to person one. It would beryllium large to marque metallic outdoor signs, make unsocial occurrence pits, and thing other that my caput could deliberation up.

The easiness of usage of xTool Creative Space besides lends itself to the MetalFab. I've utilized XCS for years now, and it's a large escaped portion of bundle that xTool puts out. It handles everything that the MetalFab needs, and allows you to simply driblet some vector (SVG) and raster (PNG/JPG) files successful and beryllium acceptable to chopped successful minutes.

If you've been looking to adhd metalworking to your hobby shop, past the xTool MetalFab could beryllium the merchandise you've been waiting for.