This article will step you through the whole process of engraving a metal business card with xTool F1 Ultra, from device connection to material processing. 

What you need

• An xTool F1 Ultra
  Get your xTool F1 Ultra ready following the instructions in Get the machine ready.
   
• A computer
  Download and install xTool Creative Space (XCS) to your computer.
   
• A USB cable
  Included in the pack of xTool F1 Ultra.
   
• A metal business card
  Included in the Example Project pack of xTool F1 Ultra.
   
• A project file (Download any of the following files)
  Metal Business Card (Horizontal).xcs
  Metal Business Card (Vertical).xcs

Engrave the metal business card

Step 1: Open the project file

Note: To download the project file, click Metal Business Card (Horizontal).xcs or Metal Business Card (Vertical).xcs.

Open XCS on your computer. In the top-right corner of the XCS, click Open from computer > select the file you have downloaded > click Open.

Step 2: Connect xTool F1 Ultra to XCS

(1) Use the USB cable to connect xTool F1 Ultra to your computer.

(2) On the top of the project editing page, click Please connect a device. 

Note: If you have connected an xTool device in XCS before, click the name of the device > select Connect device.

(3) On the pop-up window, click the name of your device to connect to it.

Note: For more information on other connection methods, see Connect xTool F1 Ultra to XCS.

Step 3: Place the material and perform laser focusing

(1) Lift the protective enclosure, and place the metal business card on the baseplate, allowing the blue light spot to fall on the surface of the card.

(2) On the left side of XCS, click the Auto-measure icon under Thickness. The device will measure the material thickness and finish laser focusing by itself.

Note: xTool F1 Ultra supports auto-focus and manual-focus. Here we use auto-focus. For more information on how to use manual-focus, see Perform Laser Focusing.

Step 4: Edit the text for the business card

(1) Zoom in on the business card design. 

(2) Double-click to change the text to the information you want.

(3) On the right of the canvas, select the letter you want to replace that in the business card. Delete the other letters.

Step 5: Shoot background and adjust object positions

(1) On the right side of XCS, click Refresh under Snapshot preview.

Note: XSC takes a photo of xTool F1 Ultra’s processing area and uses it as the canvas background. You can position processing objects based on the background.

(2) Select the whole design and move it to the middle of the material.

Note: The project file has the processing parameters and processing path set ready. You do not need to make these settings yourself.

Step 6: Preview the processing area

You can preview the processing area on the material by framing. Framing means laser dots walk along the border of the processing objects on the material. Take the following steps to start framing:

(1) In the bottom-right corner of the software, click the icon next to the Framing button to set the parameters for framing.

● Light power: Sets the laser power for framing.

● Mode: 
In the Rect mode, laser dots walk along the rectangle border of the processing objects.
In the Outline mode, laser dots walk along the outline of the processing objects.

(2) Click Framing in the software. The laser dots will move along the boundary of the processing objects on the material, allowing you to preview the processing area.

To stop framing, click the Stop Framing button in the bottom-right corner of XCS.

Note: If the processing area is not ideal, you can adjust the material position or adjust the object positions in the software.

Step 7: Start processing

(1) In the bottom-right corner of the software, click Go to process.

(2) Preview the processing pattern and path.

On the bottom-left corner, click the button, and XCS will show you the processing path.

(3) Close the protective enclosure. In the upper right corner of XCS, click Start. When the software shows “Ready”, press the XTOOL Start/Stop button on the touchscreen controller to start processing.

Note: During laser processing, keep the protective enclosure closed or wear goggles that can shield laser beams of 455 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths.

More example projects

For more project tutorials and files, see xTool DesignFind.