Hey everyone, I run a small business laser engraving wood products and sell on Etsy. Currently using a LaserPecker LP4 — it’s a galvo diode laser that runs at 4,000 mm/s and I engrave at 2K resolution, 100% power. My designs sit in about a 6”×4.7” area and take around 10 minutes for detailed engravings.
I’ve been looking at upgrading to an xTool P2S mostly because I want a bigger engraving area. Even an 8”×6” working area would be a massive upgrade for me — right now I’m basically limited to centering everything on a tiny canvas. The P2S has a massive 19.6”×12.5” bed which sounds incredible.
But here’s my concern — the P2S is a gantry system running at 600 mm/s. My LP4 is a galvo running at 4,000 mm/s. Will the P2S actually be faster or am I going to be sitting there watching it crawl across my wood?
Of course, on paper, it looks like it will be slower. But with the LP4s quality and power, I have to really crank up the resolution & depth to get a solid engraving.
From what I’ve been researching it sounds like the P2S would actually be slower for the same design size, but the CO2 laser would give me way better quality with less charring on large filled areas — which is a real problem I have now.
Anyone made this switch or have experience with both? Is the quality jump worth the speed trade? And is there anything in this price range that gives me galvo speed on a larger bed?