I’ll keep this short and sweet and get right to the point. If you want a ridiculously capable laser at the lowest possible price, you should purchase the Sculpfun S9.
Current price is $279 and my readers can get an additional 7% off by apply the discount code of KJKXP7 at checkout. That drops the price to approximately $260.39 currently.
Why You Should Buy A Sculpfun S9
After reviewing the S9 which I found favorable, especially at the price, I purchased the Sculpfun S9 limit switch kit Here’s where it gets interesting.
The Sculpfun S9 is a great laser and is available at a fantastic price point. Any time the price is low on something you can bet a bell or a whistle was left out to keep the final cost down. One way to cut corners on a laser is to offer them without limit switches. Without switches, the laser will not automatically return to the home position (X0, Y0). Positioning is accomplished manually. Fortunately there is a Sculpfun S9 Limit Switch kit available for purchase.
There is nothing wrong with a laser that does not have limit switches. In fact, some people prefer lasers that don’t have limit switches. A lot of the time, I am one of those people.
Equally safe to say that there are a lot of people out there who wouldn’t own a laser that didn’t have limit switches. Anyway, with the S9, at least you have the option.
Cost
The cost of the kit is $27.99 and is all inclusive. The kit works for both the S9 and the S10 models. There are differences in the installation procedures but the kit contains all the stuff you need to install on either model. That probably means you’ll have some stuff left over in your kit when you are done with the mod.
Sculpfun gave me a Sculpfun S9 for review and I posted my initial impressions about a week ago. After a week of some testing and more usage I can provide a more authoritative opinion on the laser. In a nutshell I find that the S9 is far above average for the price point that it resides in. In my opinion this would make an excellent entry level laser for someone. Or even better, it would make an excellent back up machine for a home business or side hustle.
I read a lot of laser forums. Everyday I read posts like this. “The laser has broken and I have orders to fulfill”. You’d be able to fulfill them if you owned a backup machine.
I was recently contacted by Sculpfun and provided a Sculpfun S9 laser to review.
I have owned multiple desktop lasers since they first became mainstream around 2019. Fast forward 5 years and desktop lasers are gaining in popularity. The laser side hustle is a real phenomenon and seemingly getting stronger all the time. Despite the many choices in desktop lasers, they are all fairly similar.
Typical 450nm diode module
Most machines contain a 450 nanometer (nm), 5 watt blue laser diode. That is roughly the most powerful diode on the market. Manufacturers who have 10 watt, or 20 watt optical output simply combine multiple diodes into one beam. A 10 watt laser has 2 diodes, and a 20 watt laser has 4 diodes, and so on.
Similarly, most of these devices have a rectangular frame somewhere around 350 to 400 mm in length and width. The laser head is driven by an 8 bit or 32 bit motherboard and stepper motors, and the laser is manually focused.
Since the machines are all so similar, the thing that sets them apart is cost. Many desktop diode laser offerings come in around the $500 price point. Lasers that cost less than that price point are a little tougher to find.
Enter the Sculpfun S9 at the current price of $269.99. And as a bonus, Sculpfun has provided my readers a 7% off discount code. KJKXP7 (S9). By my calculations that makes the laser approximately $251.09. I have done blogs on budget lasers and $250 is an EXCELLENT entry level price point.
In late February I posted an article regarding quality issues I was having with my new Ortur Laser Master 3 LE. After opening a support ticket, Ortur agreed to send me some parts to repair my problem. After nearly 3 weeks I finally received an email me from them that said “Sorry For The Delay”. A shipping link was provided. Ortur Updates are never good news.
Now 4 days later the parcel is still kicking around inside China.
I recently purchased an Ortur Laser Master 3 LE . It worked fine for about a month and then began clicking when homing in the X axis. After initiating a support ticket it turns out the problem was simply poor Quality Control. I also had Quality Control issues with my Ortur Laser Master 3 that I purchased as well.
One of the claims to fame of the Laser Master 3 LE is that the X rail is preassembled. This simplifies, and speeds up assembly time. And herein lies the problem. It was preassembled POORLY.
Some years back I owned an Ortur Laser Master 2 and coupled it with the Ortur Rotary YRR 2.0. It seemed like setting it up was a dark art back then. I’ve since sold both of them and upgraded to an Ortur Laser Master 3 and now have added the Ortur Rotary YRR 3.0.
First Impressions
Just like the Ortur Rotary Chuck YRC 1.0 the damned thing does NOT directly hook up to their own lasers. The Laser Master 3, which is their flagship laser, comes with an adapter cable that you must use. This makes no sense to me that the either rotary device that Ortur offers doesn’t contain the cabling you need to connect it. That’s insane.
Laser engravers need an air assist pump. Not “should I get an air assist”? You need one. Period. An air assist pushes particles and soot away from your job giving you a cleaner engraving. They maximize efficiency in cutting and prevent flame ups and fires. They keep your optical glass clean. For years I have been using a Hydroponic pump ($60) which quite honestly works great and is about half the price of an xTool Air Assist pump ($139)
And yet something happened that made me make the switch to the xTool Air Pump.
When I would plug this air assist in or unplug it, my monitor would either go blank or corrupt the signal. I would then have to turn it off and then back on to restore the picture.
Then once or twice I had laser jobs just stop mid stream for no reason.
My first suspect was this air pump and I was able to confirm this was the culprit by simply plugging it into another electrical outlet. Actually, I completely isolated it by plugging it into a portable power supply, a Jackery 500.
No matter what I did I could not reproduce the laser failure with the air pump on another circuit.
I own several desktop diode lasers. And I frequently try to get my hands on as many laser engravers as I can. I belong to several online laser forums on Facebook, Reddit, and I follow most of the laser manufacturers on Instagram. Frequently I am stunned and amazed at the level of laser engraving problems that I read about daily in those forums.
I got my first desktop diode laser in 2020 which is about the time they hit the scene. Since that time I have probably owned 12 or 15 lasers. I get them, play with them, and blog about them. Then I sell them or give them away.
Strangely enough, I have just not ever experienced any of these problems I read about. Or it is maybe safer to say that I’ve only seen them once or twice.
Some of the more common problems that I want to discuss are:
