Sculpfun provided me an S9 laser to review. Shortly before they officially released their 33 watt upgrade kit they also sent me one to review. After installation I noted that when doing small “LINE” engravings that the laser had to slowed down considerably. I ordered and installed the Sculpfun Linear Rail Kit to see if it improved stability.
Boy, did it ever.
The pic pretty well illustrates the issue. Heavy motor on the top pulling one direction, and heavy and large laser module pulling in the other direction.
Again, I need to state that this configuration works……you just have to slow things down a bit.
Sculpfun provided me an S9 laser and then subsequently provided me a Sculpfun S9 to S30, 33 Watt Upgrade Kit. I did a “First Impressions” blog which you can read here. After using it for a couple of weeks I decided to do a deeper dive on upgrade kit.
Laser Module
33 Watt Module
The S30 Ultra 33 watt module is considerably larger than the original S9, 5.5 watt module and contains a lot of really cool features
Most noticeable is the addition of an all metal air assist. One of my favorite features of the air assist is that it not only is secured in place with an allen screw, it also threads on and contains an O-ring to keep the air contained.
The tube is considerably larger than most competitors air assists which allows for a higher volume of air movement.
Removing the air nozzle allows for access to the lens for cleaning.
The great folks at Sculpfun recently sent me their S9 Laser which I did several reviews of. Also, they very kindly sent me their 33 watt Sculpfun S9 Upgrade Kit which upgrades the kit from approximately 5.5 watts to a FULL 33 WATTS OF POWER to review.
Diode laser modules are roughly 5.5 watts and to obtain higher wattages, multiple diodes are combined into one beam. In the case of a 33 watt module that means there are 6 individual blue diode laser modules.
There is one important point that I would like to make before I begin this review. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Inside your brand new Sculpfun S9 is an ESP32, Internet of Things (IoT) chip. Right next to it is a tiny antenna connector. Let’s set up the Sculpfun S9 Bluetooth, shall we?
While I don’t think Sculpfun has enabled WiFi in the firmware, the bluetooth is ready to roll and it isn’t that hard to get working.
You basically just need to remove the cover from the motherboard by removing the 4 screws on the back. Once the mainboard is exposed you just need to hook an antenna to it. Bluetooth is 2.4 GHz so basically any wifi antenna with the proper connector will work. Here is what you need to do:
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.
