F1 Ultra

Get to know the product

Q: Why does xTool call F1 ultra IR(Infrared) Fiber? What is IR and Fiber?

A: The F1 Ultra uses an IR (infrared laser) as its laser source, while the fiber (diode-pumped fiber laser) serves as the gain medium. Both are essential components for generating laser light.

Each laser light is produced when the laser source strikes the gain medium, which then amplifies the intensity of the laser beam. Unlike the S1 & F1 models and other common IR lasers on the market that use DPSS (diode-pumped solid-state laser) as the gain medium, the F1 Ultra leverages a fiber gain medium to maximize laser power. This results in deeper engraving and cutting at the same power level.

Q: What's the spot size of IR and Blue from F1 Ultra?

A: Diode laser: 0.08mm * 0.1mm; Fiber Laser:0.03mm*0.03mm

Q: What's the maximum speed of F1 Ultra?

A: Maximum speed: 10000mm/s; To view more specs of F1 Ultra, please visit the product landing page: https://www.xtool.com/products/xtool-f1-ultra-20w-fiber-diode-dual-laser-engraver

Q: What is the maximum cutting depth of the F1 Ultra? When cutting metal, what is the thickness of the metal that can be cut?

A: F1 Ultra can deeply engrave, emboss, and cut metal.

F1 ultra can cut 0.4mm brass, 0.3mm stainless steel, and 0.2mm aluminum with high-speed repeating cut. With the diode laser, it can also cut 12mm basswood and 12mm black acrylic.

Q: What is the maximum thickness that F1 Ultra can process?

A: The maximum thickness of material F1 Ultra can process is 145mm. It means the maximum thickness of material that the machine can engrave.

Q: F1 ultra can store files to process offline (without connecting to xcs software), how much storage memory does it have?

A: 7G. If the memory is full, the user can delete unwanted files on the screen. Besides, it also allows you to add more memory by inserting an external U disk.

Q: How many objects can be processed in batch processing?

A: If there is no abnormal error, such as server abnormal, as long as the materials are detected, the machine can continue processing. Until the material cannot be identified for 5 consecutive batches, the software will automatically end the batch processing

Q: During batch processing, will the software record how many objects are processed in total?

A: The current software will not be recorded, our developer team will consider this as a requirement from the market.

Q: What will happen when only half of a material enters the processing area during batch processing, will it be engraved?

A: No, engraving will only occur when the algorithm detects a material shape matches the original one.

Q: Does the F1 Ultra come with the part to fix the material?

A: Yes, the xTool F1 Ultra has an L shape material fixing part, same as the xTool F1.

Q: Will safety gogles be included in the package?

A: The safety goggles are not included in the F1 Ultra package, while it can be purchased separately. The request has been reported and will be synchronized with changes in the future.

Q: xTool F1 Ultra is an enclosed design machine. Why is it still a laser class 4 machine?

A: F1 Ultra is Class 4. Because the machine allows customers to process with the lid open.

Q: F1 Ultra can detect lid opening. When will the machine notify the user that the lid is open? What happens if the lid is opened?

A: This is a setting of the machine which is disabled by default. Users can turn on this setting on the software. When this setting is on, if the machine detects that the lid is opened when it is processing, the software will notify the user. The machine will not allow processing to start at this time or will pause processing if it is in progress.

Q: How to safely display F1 ultra?

Here are several notes to operate F1 Ultra in safe condition:

Protective enclosure: make sure that the protective enclosure is completely closed from the start to the end of the machining process.

Goggles: If the protective enclosure has to be opened under certain conditions, such as when engraving with a rotary attachment or when machining with slide extension, adjust the protective enclosure to the height of the maximum protection range. At the same time, everyone should always wear our supplied goggles that meet the specifications. Do not look directly at our laser light source without goggles.

Skin protection: When working with the lid open under the specific conditions of 2, do not put your hands or other parts of your body into the processing area, especially when working with metal, it is recommended to keep a certain distance from the processing equipment, e.g. at least 0.5 meters.

Smoke purifier: Please make sure that the smoke purifier is always turned on and adjusted to the appropriate air volume during processing.

Workbench organization and cleanliness: ensure that your experience workbench neat and clean.

For more safety operation guides, please refer to f1 Ultra LSO training https://support.xtool.com/article/1321?from=xTool+F1+Ultra&url=/product/33

Q: Brass also consists of copper, which is very toxic. How did we make sure the purifiers are sensitive enough to filter out the material that is removed by laser?

A: If you search online, we will find that the average diameter of brass powder is generally 50nm = 0.05um. The following is our smoke purifier filtering effect parameters, the diameter of 0.03um particles can also be filtered and the effect can reach 99.97%.

Q: What is the warranty policy of xTool F1 Ultra?

A: Please refer to the xTool warranty policy for end user in this link, F1 Ultra will be added later, currently we can refer to F1's warranty: https://www.xtool.com/pages/xtool-warranty

Makeblock also has the after-sale warranty policy for cooperated partners. Please contact the corresponding sales for the document if you want to know it.

Q: Lots of settings suggest 100% power. Is this reducing the lifetime of the diodes used?

A: It is normal for lasers to degrade naturally with long-term use.

The F1 Ultra has been subjected to a long period of continuous aging tests, so don't have to worry about it in daily full-power operation scenarios.

Q: Is the machine capable of working and processing continuously for 24 hours? Has it been tested?

A: The longest test we have done for continuous light emitting at full power is more than 1 month.

Q: Can the belt be replaced? Only the belp part.

A: Yes, belt can be replaced separetely.

Q: Smart fill shouldn't be a paid feature. People are already investing in the conveyor belt, having the smart fill feature should be accessible for them.

A: XCS software is free of charge. Only some value-added services function will be charged later. But even if the user does not pay, it does not affect the user's normal processing of the main function process.

Smart flll is a stand alone feature of software and batch processing is a feature that works with conveyor belt. The 2 have different software logic. So customers don't need to worry that if a customer doesn't pay, he will not be able to use conveyor and batch processing.

Q: Does RA2 Pro compatible with F1 Ultra?

A: Yes, RA2 Pro works with xTool F1 Ultra

Q: Can the slide extension for F1 be used on F1 ultra?

A: No, F1 Ultra has its own conveyor part.

Q: Can the pedal of F1 Ultra be used with the F1?

A:Yes, the same pedal with the same SKU.

Q: Is it possible to use the independent controller with screen with the F1?

A: No, this is not a general accessory, it is the central controller of xTool F1 Ultra.

Q:Does the F1 Ultra's maximum processing height of 145mm refer to the maximum height of the material that can be engraved?

A: Yes.

Q:What is the principle of speed increase? Does doubling the speed mean that the processing time can be cut in half?

A: Industrial-grade fiber laser and galvanometer. The engraving time is not linearly related to the galvanometer speed, and will be affected by the acceleration and deceleration of the galvanometer itself. Generally speaking, the time for engraving square vector filling will be about half that of F1.

Q:How many files can be placed in offline processing at most? Does it depend on the number of files or the memory?

A: 7GB memory, you can keep adding more if the memory allows. If the memory is full, users can delete unnecessary files on the screen

Q:Does batch processing support curved surfaces?

A: No.

Get to know the operations, exceptions and precautions

Q: It seems like one of the F1 ultras created an error in our surface laptops and now we cannot use the laptops;

Q: I have a Thinkpad laptop, the office has Surface laptops, and the XCS version worked very slowly. I used V2.0.0-gs002-kol-renew

A: Currently, the XCS software version which supports all series of xTool machines (including F1 Ultra) is availabl on our official website, please update to the latest version of the software and upgrade the firmware of the machine: https://www.xtool.com/pages/software#

Q: Why is auto focus not accurate and needs to focus manually?

A: If the deviation of material thickness tested by autofocus is within 0.5mm, it is a normal phenomenon. If the deviation is more than 0.5mm, the machine needs to be calibrated.

If the deviation is more than 0.5mm, please go to the device settings page and perform the " Infrared and Blue-Light Laser Calibration" process. Here is a video for reference: https://support.xtool.com/article/1434?from=xTool+F1+Ultra&url=/product/33

For more solutions to laser focus issues, please refer to this instruction:

https://support.xtool.com/article/1312?from=xTool+F1+Ultra&url=/product/33

Q: Framing line is too weak to be easily recognized helping for positioning, especially with protective goggles on.

A: The framing uses the diode blue laser's light in weak power, so it will be filtered by the lid. Besides, you can adjust the output laser power of framing function near the framing icon.

In addition, the position of the framing can be adjusted to the size of the output laser power, stainless steel and other reflective objects can be placed on the surface with white paper or the like, it will be more clear to see the framing of the light

If you use stainless steel and other reflective objects, you can use white paper or something on the surface, you can see the framing light more clearly.

Q: There is a fire warning when engraving gold metal business cards, changing to other color metal business cards can work normally.

A: It is recommended to close the lid for processing & turn down the sensitivity of the flame detection refer to this instruction: https://support.xtool.com/article/1311?from=xTool+F1+Ultra&url=/product/33

Q: Is there any video on how to connect the xTool machines via WiFi

A: Operate xTool F1 Ultra with XCS on the Mobile Phone：https://support.xtool.com/article/1421?from=xTool+F1+Ultra&url=/product/33

Connect and Setup xTool F1 with XCS on a Mobile Phone: https://support.xtool.com/article/376?from=xTool+F1&url=/product/2

For more operation guide of F1 Ultra, please go to Get Started Area on xTool Support Website: https://support.xtool.com/product/33

Q: When connecting the laser machine via ethernet, can the IP address can be manually inserted?

A: No, the IP Address is assigned by router or the network management system. Customers have to insert the correct IP address that the machine granted otherwise the connection cannot be established.

About Material Processing

Q: How do you decide when to use fiber laser and when to use diode laser on F1 Ultra?

A: The selection of laser source is mainly based on the material. Generally speaking, fiber laser light is mostly used for metals, and diode lasers are mostly used for other materials such as wood and acrylic.

Here are some exception:

Stainless steel: Both infrared light and blue light can engrave, but the perform different engraving result:

Photo paper: Both infrared light and blue light can engrave. While the infrared laser engraving effect is a little white , the blue laser engraving effect is a little yellowish and a little dusty.

Rock coasters: Blue laser engraving effect is a little yellowish and a little dusty.

Q: Do customers need to set the parameters for every grid generated by the material test array feature in the software?

A: No, the software has already set all the parameters when generating the material test array

Q: According to the given parameters (100% 8mm/s/1), the metal business card cutting does not cut through easily, any suggestions for improvement?

A: Thin metal cutting will be heat deformation, deformation will affect the focus, resulting in cut through, the use of high-speed multiple cutting methods can improve the situation, such as the use of 100% 1000mm / s / 10000 repeat can reduce the heat deformation, successfully cut through the 0.2mm aluminum sheet.

Q: Can the F1 ultra be engraved on rock coasters? Has it been tested?

A: Yes, we have tested it, please see some test result below, the arameters shown is only for reference.

About Case Making Tips

Embossing

Q: What kind of materials can F1 Ultra do embossing?

A: F1 Ultra can do deep embossing on brass, copper, wood and rocks. It requires a high degree of material purity and the material should have a certain degree of hardness

Q: What type of graphics are required for embossment?

A: Depthmap with depth information, please refer to the description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_map

eg: depth chart of the Stanford Bunny

Take a look at the image of the Stanford Bunny above. The white pixels represent the parts of the scene that are closest to the camera lens, and the black pixels represent the parts of the scene that are furthest away. In this example, the closest part of the scene is the rabbit's ears. The grayscale gradient between the two indicates that the head, neck, and body are slightly farther away from the camera, the legs are even farther away, and the rabbit's tail is farthest away from the background or farthest point in the image.

Q: How to create an embossed file?

You can convert your favorite images into depth maps in artmind.

Use XCS software to generate embossing files, refer to next Q&A.

You can also generate depth charts through certain websites or software that support depth chart generation, or purchase your favorite depth charts at image websites.

Q: How to create an embossed file via xcs and perform the embossing engrave?

A: Please refer to steps in this live stream (from 15:35~32:15) to get an embossed file via xcs software and do embossing on Rock coaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHTA3552rpo&t=203s

A more detailed video tutorial guiding embossing will be published soon, please keep an eye on: https://www.youtube.com/@xToollaser

Color Engraving

Q: What kind of materials can F1 Ultra do color engraving?

A: Color engraving is a function that only works on metal such as stainless steel and titanium, not on other materials such as aluminum, silver, wood or stone.

Q: How does laser color engraving achieve?

A: Color development principle: Under the action of laser heat source, the surface of stainless steel generates colored oxides, or generates a colorless and transparent oxide film. Due to the interference effect of light on the film, the oxide film takes on a color.

Oxide color: The product of oxidation of the metal elements in stainless steel will itself show color, such as yellow, red, blue, green and so on.

Q: How to get the color engraving parameters and generate a color engraving file?

A: Here is a color engraving tutorial for F1 (For F1 Ultra, we can also refer to it), please refer to test color engraving parameters and set different color engraving parameters for various parts of the graphic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYvjrBjRbyk