I’ve mentioned it in passing, but I will update you now about my latest acquisition. I’ve been experimenting with settings, materials and learning loads (and still learning) about my xTool F2 Ultra UV laser. It has been in The Studio for six weeks now, and I’ve really only just started production pieces.

The laser machine itself

The xTool F2 Ultra UV is somewhat confusingly named for those used to other xTool machines, but I assume it is because it shares the same chassis style and size as the F2 Ultra. It’s a 5W laser, so not particularly powerful, but still perfectly capable. The lower power also means less bulk and less cooling being needed, keeping it a desktop machine. It has a working bed size of around 200x200mm with a generous material height allowance. There’s an onboard camera to aid alignment. xTool provides an inner engraving lens and platform, and a small material pack for calibration and testing. Their Studio software is under constant development and walks you through the initial calibration step-by-step. The small LCD screen is a controller and gives you feedback about the machine activity and access to engrave files on a connected USB drive.

The UV bit?

A UV laser uses ultraviolet light at a very short wavelength (around 355 nm), which allows it to focus into an extremely fine spot. Instead of burning material, the energy breaks molecular bonds directly, removing or marking the surface with very little heat spread. UV engraving is often described as “cold lasering” — there’s minimal melting, charring or distortion compared to diode or CO₂ lasers. Machines like the xTool F2 Ultra UV are designed to take advantage of this, making them ideal for fine detail on glass, crystal, plastics and other sensitive materials where precision really matters. The frequency of the beam also allows a range of effects from ‘blast’ to ‘tickle’ (non-technical terms I have been using in my demos).

How small?!

One of the demo ‘show-offs’ I have been including for the UV laser is engraving or scoring text that is just 0.5mm high. I’ve needed to get out a magnifying glass to check out its legibility, and yup, it’s legible. Here’s an example – a coated cross pendant necklace. I have scored the whole of the Lord’s prayer at the top (single beam width lines). Bearing in mind the cross is just under 5cm/2″ tall, we’re getting into small territory. Zoom in on the Bible verse annotation and we’re now in teeny weeny category:

Another phenomenal aspect of the small beam size and no scorching is the detail in engravings. This is a 6cm diameter bauble engraved on light poplar plywood. I can’t tell you how good it is in person, and there’s just no cleanup to do. This saves time, though with the narrow diameter of the beam, a lot more lines per centimetre need to be engraved, increasing machine-time.

Same material, same machine, different settings…

Another learning point is to recognise that when the UV laser disrupts molecules, it can change the interaction based on the power of the beam. For example, this slate is engraved in one go, with the same machine, just with three different power and speed settings. The metallic gold is not added – it’s a reaction to a slow mid-power setting. The white is full power, mid-speed, and the grey is mid-power, fast speed.

The master of glass?

The marketing department over at xTool has branded the F@U-UV as ‘the master of glass’. Following my experience and that shared in the Facebook groups, the user needs to become the master of the master of glass. There are so many variables to take into account, and the learning curve is steep. Focus has to be spot on, and for the inner engraves in crystal blocks, the image processing, settings and setup need to be absolutely spot on. This aspect of the machine is definitely not plug-and-play. However, great things are possible once you’ve learnt the ropes.

What about the production items?

Ah, well, yes. Ahem. In my excitement to give them to recipients, I neglected to record them for posterity in photographic format. Note to self…

Demos and training

If you have happened across this post whilst researching the laser, I’m very happy to arrange a demo via the xTool Squad system via their website. Demos can happen online or in-person and if you go on to buy a machine, I will benefit from a small commission. I’m sorry, but I cannot afford to demo inner engraving due to the cost of the K9 crystals. If you bring your own, we’ll have a go.

Training or use of the laser is at my hourly rate, currently £35. I prefer to train in-person so I can see what you’re doing, but online is possible.