The Atomstack A5 Pro is a powerful and versatile laser engraver that brings the power of professional level equipment to your home. From hobbyists to professionals, this machine has been designed for all types of users.
If you're considering buying a laser engraver but don't know where to start, read on!
The Atomstack A5 Pro is a higher-end machine, and falls into the same price bracket as the Sculpfun S9 and Ortur Laser Master 2. Like the Sculpfun and Ortur, the Atomstack A5 Pro laser engraver also comes with good assembly instruction manual which is easy to follow. All the necessary tools are included. Screws and parts come in separate bags, labelled accordingly to the necessary step in the assembly manual. The machine can be assembled in less than 30 minutes.
Laser Diode
The Atomstack A5 Pro laser engravers come with a laser diode which outputs approximately 5.5W of optical power. Laser diode is a fixed focus diode which is great. The laser diode is claimed to have a square beam spot shape. We are going to test that later in this post.
Fixed focus means there are no moving parts in a beam’s way, which means that the focus can be narrower and focusing procedure is much quicker than with the adjustable focus.
The head has a protection shield around it, as an extra layer of protection, but wearing included safety googles is still necessary. I would also recommend getting more quality protection googles with OD6+ protection. You only have one pair of eyes. Protect them! These lasers work in visible light spectrum and even reflections can be very harmful for your eyes!
Cutting and Engraving Different Materials
Engrave: wood, leather, cotton (clothing), rubber, paper, glass, mirrors, acrylic, black anodized aluminium, blackened metal, and even stainless steel…
The Atomstack A5 Pro is also a capable cutter.
Cut: wood, paper, tape, cloth, acrylic, cardboard…
With this machine you can cut paper and tape in one pass and cardboard or wood in multiple passes. The machine can cut wood, especially Poplar plywood which is soft and it is the preferred wood for all laser cutters.
Software and Supported Formats
You can use the Atomstack A5 Pro laser engravers with free LaserGRBL software which works great. The software is great for tests and someone who is just starting engraving, but with time and experience you may desire a better version and we recommend Lightburn instead which is much more capable software, and it is very intuitive to use. It is not free though, the license costs a little. But, the software offers 1 month fully functional free trial which will help you decide if it is worth it to you. After that, there is a lifetime cost of $60. For most of the businesses that we've mentored, it was definitely worth it because it saves so much time.
With LaserGRBL you can import vector files (NC, BMP, JPG, PNG, DXF…) and bitmap image files (bmp, jpg, png and gif),
Vector format is preferred format for these machines because it contains the paths around the shape edges on which the laser head tracks. Engraving vector files is faster because the laser directly cuts on the path versus scanning like a printer and making dots when engraving bitmap images (photos).
You can get millions of free vector designs on the internet, or you can use free vector drawing programs like Inkscape or QCAD (for more technical drawings)
You can also import tons of vector designs and images from free vector sites online.
