1. Remove the removable baseplate

Take out the removable baseplate from the base of xTool F1/F1 Lite.

2. Place the material

Place xTool F1/F1 Lite on the material to be processed.

Note: If the material surface to be processed is sloping, you can hold xTool F1/F1 Lite by its handle on the top and place it on the area to be processed.

To process on sloping surface, you need to turn off the "Stops when moved" feature: on the top right corner of XCS, click the Device settings icon next to the xTool F1/F1 Lite image. Click Device settings from the navigation pane and turn off Stops when moved.

3. Select the processing mode and material name

(1) On the top toolbar, select Baseplate removed.

(2) In the top-right corner, click User-defined material, select the name of your material, and click Confirm.

4. Set the laser focus

Turn the knob to move the laser module up and down. When the red and blue light spots coincide, the focus is successfully set.

Note: When the bottom of the laser module reaches the highest point, stop turning the knob up.

Note: To cut a material, you are advised to set the focus point at the middle of each cutting depth for the best cutting results. For example, to cut a 6 mm thick basswood with one pass, it is recommended to set the focus point at 3 mm below the surface of the material. You can start by focusing on a 3 mm thick material. Then, do not change the focusing setting, and replace the material with the 6 mm basswood to be cut.

5. Design objects for processing

(1) Use the tools to the left side of the canvas to create objects. You can import images, insert shapes, enter text, or draw vector graphics.

(2) Select the objects to further edit them using the features above the canvas.

6. Set parameters for processing

Select objects on the canvas. Then, set parameters for the selected objects on the right panel.

7. 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) At the bottom right corner of the software, click theicon next to the Framing button to set the parameters for framing.

Note: xTool F1/F1 Lite supports two preview modes: Rect and Outline.
If you select Rect, you can preview the rectangular border of the processing area.
If you select Outline, you can preview the outline of the processing objects.

(2) Close the protective enclosure, and then click Framing in the software or press the framing button on xTool F1/F1 Lite to start framing. 

The laser spot will move along the boundary of the processing pattern on the material so that you can preview the processing area.

By default, xTool F1/F1 Lite performs framing for all the elements to be processed. To preview the boundary of one or more particular elements, you can select the elements on the canvas of XCS during framing. The laser spot will move along the boundary of the selected elements, as illustrated by the following pictures.

• Default framing:
  
• Selected elements framing:
  

If the area is not ideal, you can adjust the element positions in XCS during framing. xTool F1/F1 Lite will adjust the framing area accordingly, allowing you to preview the processing area in real-time.

8. Start processing

(1) On the bottom right corner of the software, click Process.

(2) Preview the processing pattern and path.

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

(3) In the upper right corner of the software, click Start.

(4) Close the protective enclosure. Then, press the knob on xTool F1/F1 Lite to start processing.