ELEGOO PHECDA 10000mW Laser Engraver & Cutter with Air Assist, CNC Laser Engraving and Cutting Machine for Wood and Metal, Dark Acrylic, 400x400mm Engraving Area (Package 2), Laser Class 4

Spent 2 months researching lasers, looking for a laser south of $800. Read tons of reviews; watched tons of videos. Eventually came to 4 conclusions:1. Most (if not all) affordable lasers don’t have good instructions. Which doesn’t surprise me; most engineers I’ve known hate writing documentation. I decided to just accept this fact and move on.2. There were numerous websites to order from, but many were questionable with poor or non-existent return-policies, or just bad track records. Decided to stay with reputable vendors (like Amazon).3. YouTube has a ton of different laser reviews, but many of the reviewers seemed to be “tied” to one brand or another. They were very negative to any brand that wasn’t “their” brand, which made me leery of their reviews. A few of them were more opened minded; those were the ones I closely listened to. One guy tried hard to be critical of Elegoo, but in the end, he thought it was a great machine. Another stated that Elegoo has a history of providing “a lot of bang for the buck” (they also make 3D printers). This was music to my ears.4. Narrowed it down to 3 brands; of those, Phecda seemed to be the best with a fantastic price. Additionally, the Phecda had tilt and fire detection; I liked the added safety. Air assist looks to be standard on the Phecda; another reason to buy. (Hint to the newbie: Always have your air assist on to protect the outside lens of the laser.) So, I got my hands on a 10w unit. Since then, I’ve had ZERO regrets. Have even added the 20w unit to my stable.After assembling & learning how to operate the Phecda, here are my 12 observations:1. 10w isn’t a bad place to start. Many lasers have less power, but aren’t as capable. I also like the 20w machine. Each one has advantages. Let me explain:10w allows for tighter, smaller beam; this means finer detail etching (like pictures). Plus, it has enough power to cut thin plywood and work many other materials. (BTW, YouTube has tricks for working w/ lower power settings). 20w can handle thicker materials and provide quicker results. Why? Because every job relies on laser power versus laser speed. Less power means you’ll need to slow the laser down to be effective. But double the power, and you can just about cut your time in half due to a faster laser speed. 10 or 20 watts? It’s your decision.2. Phecda is very well made. Tolerances are tight, which slows down assembly, but makes for a very straight and rigid unit. When assembled, it doesn’t wobble or twist when picked up – this helps to provide accurate cuts and etchings (some brands lack rigidity). BTW, saw a reviewer complain about screw heads protruding on the frame, but I saw his mistake. He used the wrong screws. Some screws look very similar, but are slightly different. He had mixed up the screws.3. Some thought it was easy to assemble, others not so much. But it comes with printed instructions AND with an assembly video on a micro-SD card. Suggest you use both sources. Don’t be in a hurry and you should do fine. But don’t over tighten screws, just snug them down.4. Some complained of rail design and inside belts; this seemed silly to me. Rail design is part of what lured me. Looks to be well engineered and not homemade (unlike some other brands). Belts were well protected and easy to clean.5. One reviewer said his machine worked for a few seconds and then stopped. I think I know what happened, as it happened to me. I neglected to plug a wire securely into its socket. When the laser moved a bit, the cable became loose and it stopped moving. My mistake; I went back to securely push each wire in. Problem was resolved; works fine now. Duh on me.6. Has a touch screen on top of the front rail for control; convenient and non-obtrusive (other brands had a tacky box bolted to outside of frame). Found the controls easy & intuitive to use.7. Phecda operates in 1 of 3 different ways:via USB cable attached to computer, or wirelessly thru a smart phone app, or via a micro-SD card. Let’s talk about each.7a. USB cable is very direct, but means that a PC must be nearby. You’ll need software, like LaserGRBL (free) or LightBurn ($$$), to send a job to the laser. Currently using LaserGRBL, but will eventually switch to LightBurn. Some materials can emit nasty fumes or particulates, so an enclosure or outside use will be required. If outside, remember: the PC has to go with it, if using this method.7b. Wirelessly, the smart phone app (free) works well, according to others. I no longer keep a phone, so I tried the same app on my android tablet - and it worked! The app is ridiculously easy to set up and use; it uses a WiFi signal directly between the tablet and your Phecda laser. Zero problems there.7c. The micro-SD card is my favorite method. I can take it outside w/out a PC. I use LaserGRBL to create laser files. The file has the extension “.nc” (Numerical Control), which is the only file the machine can “see” on the card; remember that! Only takes a minute to create .nc file, put it on the card, and then plug it into the unit. Seconds later, I’m lasering away. BTW, got my first .nc files by contacting Elegoo; they emailed 2 sample files that I burned right away. I’ve suggested to them to make them downloadable from the Elegoo website. Update: I was just old that they will be adding downloadable .nc files to their website.8. Depending on material, extreme laser heat can generate some nasty gases & particulates. Although Phecda has a unique built-in fan & filter to help reduce emissions, some materials still require the use of an enclosure or outdoor use. Note, all lasers in this price range (and many well above it) also require enclosures or outdoor use.9. Some complained it doesn’t have limit switches (to stop laser travel before it runs into a rail). This is true, but it’s also true of nearly all laser in this price range. Want more features? Then spend more $$$. Personally, I don’t have an issue with this. I always know how large my cut is going to be, and I know where the cut will start. Plus, there’s a mark-the-perimeter button that has the laser travel in a rectangular path to show you how much area it’s going to need. But there are limit switch kits out there, expressly for the Phecda (cost: $30); maybe I’ll add switches someday.10. I should mention, I’ve found the laser to be flawlessly accurate and precise. This is due, in part, to its frame rigidity. Look at the pictures I've posted and you notice that some etchings have perfectly straight lines that are the width of a hair... no joke.11. Yes, instructions for operation are a bit sparse. But many laser brands have the same issue. I’ve spoken with Elegoo about this, and I’m made to understand that a better manual is on the way. It may be a downloadable from their website. But from what I’ve seen, the Phecda controls are intuitive and well organized. So, most folks should be able to successfully operate. BTW, I may do a YouTube video to explain all of this (near future).12. Do I think Phecda is worth the price? Absolutely, YES. Both 10w and 20w versions are bargains, but they’re NOT cheaply made. Could they be better? Of course, but at this price, it’s way better than I could have dreamed. Again, “a lot of bang for the buck”.BOTTOM LINE:Would I purchase if I had it to do over again? YES! Heck, I’ve 2 of them already. I think it’s impossible to get more laser for the money. Ditto for the quality. Crazy good machine at a crazy low price.Hope this review helps you to decide if Elegoo's Phecda is the right laser for you. Thanks for reading.

great product but the pump burns out because of 110V, while we have 220V in Morocco, I didn't know that the USA uses the old 110V.anyway 5/5 for the product and shipping experience.- After contact Elegoo support :- I want to express my utmost satisfaction with Elegoo's customer service. I recently purchased an item on Amazon that turned out to be 110V. After contacting Elegoo, the responsiveness was simply remarkable.In record time, they sent me a replacement part in 220V resolving my issue efficiently and quickly. I'm extremely impressed with their professionalism and commitment to customer satisfaction.A huge thank you to Freya, who handled my case with exceptional care and kindness. Thanks to her, I was able to fully enjoy my product without any issues.Elegoo has not only demonstrated impeccable product quality but also exceptional after-sales service. It's a company you can trust completely. I highly recommend Elegoo to anyone looking for quality products and top-notch customer service ❤️

I have been engraving for two years. I happened upon this laser and ordered it and I will say although it may be said it's for beginners, I find the laser nor trying to set the software up in Lightburn easy if you have not used either of them before. After following Elegoo's instructions when hitting the home button in GRBL, the laser moves to the top left and won't stop. It just keeps grinding the belt away as it can't move anymore until you shut it off. I find this disheartening as to why they could have not made a software that knows where the limits are on the machine without having to manually try and set it up every time you turn it on. So, when I import a picture into grbl and hit frame, the thing loses its mind. I have worked with this laser for a couple weeks and I find it very unfriendly and hard to use. It was fairly easy to put together and I had high hopes when it comes to engraving but that's not the case for me. I have spent hours trying to get the Phecda to do what I want with no success. Why can't the makers of the software have their own software that controls the laser and knows what its limits are and stops before it goes beyond it. I find this laser very frustrating after using mine and while I am probably going to spend more time with it, I at this point would not recommend this for a new user that has to constantly tinker with settings to try and get it to work. If Elegoo wants to continue to sell this, I think there needs to be very detail instructions on how to setup the laser in Lightburn after installing GRBL because I don't have hours to spend trying to figure out settings when the creators of this product could have done this work for you so users could have an enjoyable experience. Grbl doesn't cut it for me and isn't much of an app and for more complex stuff that has multiple layers, I found I have to bust the layers up and import and cut them one at a time on the version I was told to download. My my other laser, I can easily separate them in the software and print what I want. On my Glowforge I do have to adjust it a little to get what I want but it homes properly and doesn't go beyond its limits. It also worked right out of the box. I realize the laser is just getting off the ground, but I find the documentation that comes with it is very minimal, doesn't go into a lot of detail and lacks the information that users really need to know to hit the ground running with it. If you want to sell this to the masses online, you are going to have to spend the time to put detailed instructions on how to set it up in Lightburn so it works right off the bat. New users are not going to want to spend hours upon hours trying to figure out how to make it work.