LaserPecker LX2 Review – Diode and IR Laser Engraver and Cutter

This LaserPecker LX2 review is written to be all you need to know if this laser engraver is the right one for you! I’m excited to share all the details and hope it’ll be helpful. If you’re looking for something smaller and more portable, check out my Laserpecker LP5 review too.

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Today I’m going to dive deep into LaserPecker’s newest laser engraver, with the goal of answering all your questions and really helping you understand the ins and outs of this machine before making this big investment.

Before we start, some disclosures: I received this machine free of charge for review. I spend weeks testing it, pushing it to the max. I also invest in test materials for this and the way I get compensated is through affiliate links. As you’ll see, I do my best to be thorough and honest and do right by you, despite it being gifted. If you do choose to purchase, using my affiliate link helps me do thorough tests beyond the included materials and spend many work hours on it.

Important to know before reading this LaserPecker LX2 Review

When reviewers like me receive a machine like this, we’re often early testers. That means that we get it on early versions of the machine firmware, the compatible software. And so we run into issues as we go along. At the time of writing this, any issues I ran into are fully resolved by an amazing, highly responsive tech team. I’ll share more later, but I think it’s important for you to understand this before I dive in.

Another issue with reviewing engravers: Each thing you engrave isn’t just “pop it in”. It’s a project that you need to master. It’s a fact of laser engraving. So while I would like to test every capability, some things require a few takes and eventually I need to just write the review!

So while I tried to be as thorough as I can, feel free to pop questions in the comments and I’ll let you know how it does. Or just shoot me an email!

Exploring the LaserPecker LX2 Machine

First, let’s see what the LaserPecker LX2 actually is. This is the boring stuff – skip this if you’ve already explored the machine basics on their website. Opinions and material tests are coming!

Specs

Physical

• Dimensions: 779.5 mm × 609.2 mm × 281.15 mm (~ 30.69″ × 23.98″ × 11.07″)
• Weight: 22.5 kg (about 49.6 lb)
• Fully pre-assembled

Laser / Power

• Laser types supported:
  • Diode: 20 Watt, 40 Watt (and 60 Watt coming soon) via different modules
  • Infrared (IR): 2 Watt, 1064 nm
• Input Power: 24 V / 10 A (i.e., 240 W)

Performance

• Max working speed: 1,000 mm/s
• Max acceleration: 10,000 mm/s²
• Laser spot size:
  • 96 × 102 µm (20 Watt)
  • 135.9 × 103.3 µm (40 Watt)
  • 32 × 40 µm (2 Watt IR)
• Engraving density: 10–300 dpi (this is standard print quality.)
• Positioning precision: 0.01 mm

Work Area & Capacity

• Working (engraving) area: 500 mm × 305 mm (~19.7″ × 12″)
• Maximum processing height (Z-axis):
  • Without riser base: 45 mm
  • With riser base (sold separately): up to 150 mm
• Rotary engraving maximum diameter (with rotary attachment): 130 mm

Cutting / Engraving Capabilities

• Max cutting or engraving (one pass):
  • Up to 22 mm Paulownia wood
  • Up to 19 mm cherry wood
  • Up to 20 mm black acrylic
  • Up to 0.5 mm stainless steel
• Supported materials: stainless steel, aluminum, brass, silver, plastic, titanium, wood, acrylic, leather, glass, rock, paper, rubber, etc.
• With the IR (1064 nm) laser, you can mark metals like gold, silver, copper, platinum, aluminum, iron.

Positioning / Camera

• Built-in 12MP HD camera
• Positioning: “Point-to-Shape™” system + camera for precise alignment
• Auto-focus: 3D auto-focus probe that maps the surface, even curved or irregular objects, and adjusts in real time.

Safety Features

• Class 1 certified (fully enclosed) design. It will not work when open.
• Light-tight top cover to block stray laser light
• Emergency stop button
• Flame detection sensor (to stop in case of fire)
• Safety key control (prevents unauthorized use)- a small plug-in dongle that plugs into the back to allow it to work.
• Fire extinguisher system (detects & extinguishes fire automatically) – available separately
• Noise level: during operation, ≤ ~70 dB.

Software / Connectivity

• Software supported:
  • LaserPecker Design Space app
  • LaserPecker Design Space for PC
  • LightBurn
• Operating systems: Windows / macOS
• Connection: USB and Wi-Fi
• File types supported: G-code, JPG, JPEG, TIF, PNG, BMP, SVG, DXF, etc.
• Preview method: Rectangle preview

Safety Certifications / Compliance

• Certifications: CE, RoHS, FCC, FDA, NCC, KC, UKCA, TELEC, SRRC
• Supported languages for software / UI: English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese

Accessories

I explore these in more detail within the post.

• Modular laser head: you can tool-free swap between modules (20W, 40W, 60W diodes + 2W IR)
• Riser base to increase Z-height capacity
• Rotary extension (for cylindrical / round objects)
• Smart air-assist accessory to improve cutting / engraving quality, reduce charring

Unboxing

I created a full unboxing video for you to see it in action.

Here’s a peek at what was inside the box:

Assembly

The machine comes effectively ready-to-go, with minimal assembly required. The setup is quite smooth and straightforward. In fact, you can see it in action in this video:

Features

The LaserPecker LX2 has some truly standout features. Some I liked better than others. I’m going to break down each one for you so you can form your own take based on your crafting needs.

Swappable Modules

One of the coolest features of the LX2 is the tool-free swappable modules. Each module has its own laser capabilities and uses. Currently, there are 20 watt and 40 watt diode modules and a 2 watt IR module. They also have a powerful 60 watt diode coming out soon.

I absolutely detest having to pull out the right tool any time I want to switch something on a laser engraver. I use strong language and I mean it. I JUST want to create. The modules here slide right in the back. It has a simple lever lock/unlock features and two little things that need to be plugged in.

It takes a grand total of one minute to swap modules.

Multi-function does NOT come at the expense of usability in this case so this was a big win as far as I’m concerned.

Slatted Base

Another standout feature: the slatted base. Most laser engravers have a honeycomb style base for cutting purposes. When laser cutting, it’s important for air to circulate. A flat base will not cut it.

Instead of the typical honeycomb, the LaserPecker LX2 has slats that insert into little notches. Setup is SUPER easy but…

I personally don’t love it. The machine comes with four slats which isn’t enough. I will need to expand it. I also have seen users add in a third party honeycomb panel, so if you otherwise love this machine (I do) you can use that. It doesn’t connect in any way – it’s just something for the material to sit on.

There are, however, advantages to a slat system. It allows for far more air circulation. Honeycombs don’t really have space for material cutouts to fall out of the way while the rest cuts. Things get stuck, they’re hard to clean…

I think that a larger amount of slats will resolve this and make it more functional.

Safety

The LaserPecker LX2 has quite aggressive safety features. The lid doesn’t just shut with a laser-proof window, it shuts tight. And the machine will not operate with the lid or front open.

It pauses automatically when it detects a flame, and there’s an optional add-on fire suppression kit too.

Lights

The LX2 features both an upper light and strip lights on both sides.

Besides for being gorgeous, they do a fabulous job of lighting up the surface area of the engraver, allowing a clear view of what I’m working on. Since the engraver won’t work with the lid open, this is a must-have feature and it does its job well.

Camera

The camera on the LX2 is another must-have. It enables much easier precise placement. When I tested the LX2, I was on the alpha version of the software and ran into some camera calibration issues.

This was resolved (and again, tech support was extremely responsive and helpful). I didn’t manage to test all the camera-adjacent features, such as auto design placement, but those features do exist.

Regardless, I found the camera to be very helpful (especially after successful calibration) in placing designs efficiently.

Cutting vs. Engraving Efficiency

The LaserPecker LX2 is a gantry style laser. That means that it moves along a track – vs. a Galvo laser (like the LP5) where the laser light is reflected using mirrors.

This feature has its pros and cons that is generally a feature of laser engraving (and not specific to this machine). The major downside is that it works slower. This affects engraving the heaviest, as certain materials would engrave quite quickly with the LP5. A track naturally moves slower.

On the major upside, it cuts straight down. A galvo laser gives you a bit of a slant on the cut, noticeable mostly on larger cuts (well, really anything larger than an inch or two). It affects accuracy of multi-part cuts that need to connect. The gantry on the LX2 performs beautiful cuts that are straight and precise.

It also engraves beautifully, it just takes a bit longer on some materials.

LaserPecker LX2 Accessories Review

A machine is as good as its accessories and the LX2 accessories are top notch. I’m going to break down each one for you. Keep in mind that you can choose all your accessories at once (that usually offers the best value) but you can also add them on as needed.

Air Assist

Get it. That’s it.

Whenever I’m hanging around in laser groups, there’s always someone asking how to reduce charring. The answer is always air assist. Air assist basically adds airflow to the cutting location, reducing charring and making a visible impact on the quality.

LaserPecker’s Smart Air Assist is easy to use with a few modes, including auto. It’s a small little device that plugs right in in minutes (see my setup video above) and sits on the desktop separately from the machine.

I tried it on this little wooden cutout. On the darker engrave, I turned on air assist midway. You can see the side that’s charred, reducing the contrast on the border vs. the engraved part. The lighter engrave had air assist on the whole time.

Desktop Smoke Purifier

Unless you’re venting outdoors, an air purifier is a must. And even if you are, an air purifier is helpful. Engraving releases a lot into the air and you want to safeguard your lungs.

The LaserPecker Desktop Smoke Purifier for LX2 is a pretty basic and effective model. It’s an industrial-looking thing that needs to be turned on manually and has different strength settings. It’s quite loud – but also very easy to set up.

Riser Base

The riser base adds to the engraving depth of the LaserPecker LX2. It’s a screw-on (so semi-permanent) addition. This does need assembly and is definitely recommended if you’ll want to do more than engrave flat items. It’s also necessary when using the rotary.

The riser base opens on the front and allow you to slide in and out the base of the engraver. It’s really simple to use (the base doesn’t need to be re-screwed every time) and I’ve established it as a permanent part of my LX2.

Rotary Extension

I wish I’d had more time to thoroughly test the rotary extension but there comes a point, as I’ve mentioned, that I just need to share this review. See my introduction…

I did give it a quick go and found it very easy to use. It features easy angling, easy adjustment and three prong types. I tested it on a tumbler, and while I didn’t quite nail down my engraving settings, it worked beautifully. It’s plug-and-go (no required screwing) and doesn’t require an engineering degree to use.

The software (which I’ll explore in-depth next) did a great job of guiding me though placing my design accurately, with a full rendered preview.

LaserPecker LX2 Software

Once again, an engraver is only as good as its software is… and while I’ve had complaints about LaserPecker’s in the past, it looks like they’ve listened to all of us!

I’ll explore two aspects of the Design Space beta software (yes, it’s still in Beta mode) separately since both performed in separate ways.

Editing Features & Usability

LaserPecker majorly outdid themselves with this update. They took a software that I (and other reviewers) critiqued as cumbersome, lacking, and hard to use and flipped it on its head.

The new version – currently in Beta mode as of this writing – is user friendly, uses familiar placement and terminology for key features, and has loads of editing features. While I do most of my design off-app (I’m a graphic designer and usually design in Adobe Illustrator) I was happy with the process of doing simple processes – type, offsets, and more. The standard image editing features and Vector manipulation tools are there and once again, user-friendly.

In addition, they have a nice library of clipart ready to use.

Settings Features

One major addition is a material library. This allows you to choose an easy preset for common materials and auto-set settings.

Remember when I mentioned at the beginning of this post how each craft you make with a laser is its own learning process? LaserPecker loaded some materials and took the bulk of the work off our heads.

The library is still very limited with just a handful of materials. The ones they had in place had very good, accurate settings options. I’d rather them carefully test and put in solid recommendations than rush through it, but I would like to see much more common materials featured in the settings library.

They also have a new feature on their materials. These come with a QR code in place that the machine automatically scans and then loads the appropriate settings. For example, when you open the lid, place a sheet of their 3mm plywood with the barcode in place, close the lid, the camera refreshes. It sees the barcode and loads the settings. It’s futuristic.

Hitting problems

One big downside, as I’ve shared, of being an early reviewer is the use of alpha versions of software and firmware. As I tested, I ran into some major issues that got in the way of me using the machine and getting this review out.

However, when I reached out to customer service, they typically answered within 24 hours. They very smoothly guided me through new firmware updates and fixing my issues.

All the issues were related to compatibility of the firmware and the software, which, again, were in alpha modes. I’m sharing this with you here for two reasons:

1. My commitment to honesty in my reviews means that I need to share if I ran into issues.

2. Lasers are complex machines that are prone to problems, and so the customer service of a company will really make or break your purchase. I had a very positive experience specifically with tech support, so I figured I’d better share that here!

Projects to make with the LaserPecker LX2

I’m going to go through the different materials and project types that I tested with the LaserPecker LX2. I don’t love sharing settings for specific projects since it varies so much by the exact nature of the product. In fact, even when the brand provides the settings, it’s usually for their brand materials – other brands still need experimentation. This is universal – not specific to LaserPecker.

Brand material settings are a great starting point – and that’s where I start even when it’s not an exact match.

If there is something specific that I feel will help, I will share. I always recommend testing and trying it out on your own before going all-in.

Project 1: Wood Earrings with Kraft Card

Module: 40 Watt Diode. To test how the machine cuts plywood, I made these fun and colorful earrings. The cut was really clean and beautiful, and the earrings are super fun to wear. I painted them with nail polish! Settings were default 3mm plywood.

I got the file for this project here.

The file comes with a few designs – and cards as well! I cut that from Kraft board. The settings for Kraft paper were great on the cut but I didn’t love how it scored the lines. I do think that’s a material side issue, and will stick to cutting Kraft paepr.

Project 2: Acrylic Keychain

Module: 40 Watt Diode. When I found the files for this layered heart, I knew I wanted to make an acrylic keychain. I had a vision but it didn’t come out great. Diode lasers are limited with which colors they can cut, and so I stuck to red and black. I do need to expand my stock of Diode-friendly laser colors to make projects like these come out better.

However, it was still a fabulous test project for intricate cuts on acrylic and it performed.

Project 3: Acrylic and Wood Pomegranate

Module: 40 Watt Diode. To take it to the next level, I decided to test an intricate wood cut – something that smaller scale galvo lasers can’t handle. I designed this wood pomegranate decoration (I’ll eventually be uploading it to my Etsy shop).

The frame is red acrylic – a fabulous diode-friendly color to cut. The center is 3mm basswood and with the help of air assist, it cut with minimal charring. The only post-processing I did on this was to finish it with butcher block oil. That’s it. No cleanup, no sanding…

Project 4: Leather Bracelet

Module: 40 Watt Diode. I’m always a bit torn with processing leather on a laser engraver – mainly because, as a natural material, the variation is so hard to get right. There’s no one size fits all solution for cutting or engraving it, unless it’s a very specific tooling leather.

The leather that I have handy is really just from scraps. I made a simple leather bracelet (you can download the files for this and the next cut on my post dedicated to laser engraving leatherette). It cut gorgeously. The engraving wasn’t the best. I recommend going for leathers that aren’t finished – in fact, tooling leather really is the best for this.

Project 5: PU Leather Cord Taco

Module: 40 Watt Diode. The cord taco that I made was from leatherette that came with the material kit in the box. It cut beautifully once again, but the engrave wasn’t the greatest. The machine CAN engrave PU leather but once again, it can vary. Definitely test grid this one if you’re engraving it.

Project 6: Anodized Aluminum Sign

The machine’s material kit came with a nice sized anodized aluminum sheet. I tested this using the 2 Watt IR module.

I made this using the Design Space app. I’m constantly frustrated with cleaning food waste in my basement. It engraved gorgeously and is one of my favorite projects that I made while testing this machine. The slow pace of the gantry laser is a pain point with this type of project, but as you get larger, a galvo often fades towards the end. The LaserPecker LX2 gave me a bright, consistent engrave.

Project 7: Monogram Dogtag

Module: 2 Watt IR. A 2 Watt IR is capable of marking many different metals. It can not do a deep engrave, but if you get it go really slow, you can get it quite dark.

I opted to do a lighter engrave for a more seamless integrated look. It worked just as expected and looks almost iridescent and blends in. The LP5 has a 20 watt fiber laser, making it a better choice for this type of project, so if this is what you focus on, you’re better off getting that machine.

But if you just want the function of a full-sized powerful diode laser – that can mark metal as a side thing, this one is great for that.

Project 8: Slate monogram coaster

Slate coasters are quite popular, and I engraved a monogram (from the clipart library) on the one that came with the materials kit. I used the 2 Watt IR for this. A diode laser CAN engrave slate, however, I find that IR gets it brighter and whiter.

Additional Tests on Wood

Since wood is a central material to this type of laser, I wanted to run more tests. I shared my side-by-side of the air assist on a simple basketball cutout before.

I also wanted to push it to the max with wood. I cut this circle out of a piece of 12mm wood. I wanted to test it on a more intricate cut but made a big “oops” that stopped me from testing it further.

It sliced through beautifully, and I do think it can go much thicker. However, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend overdoing the thick cutting on this type of machine. I do recommend doing it in multiple passes on a faster speed to avoid a flame – even if it CAN be done in one pass.

LaserPecker LX2 Review Summary

While I’ve interspersed my opinions and feedback throughout this LaserPecker LX2 review, consider this a consolidated summary of my take.

Pros

These standout features were a win for me, and make this machine one that I will allow to take up very valuable space in my very small craft room.

• Very safe: The safety features go above and beyond, allowing me to use it confidently.
• User friendly: Overall, I found the machine easy to learn and use. Software upgrades helped.
• Versatile: The different module options and the ease with which they swap out are fabulous.
• Camera: The camera was accurate right out of the box, and really helps with placement.
• Large bed: This is a generously sized machine that can accommodate larger projects
• Accessories: The riser base and rotary expand the use of the machine majorly, and both are well-made and easy to use.
• Air Assist: One of my favorite features of the LaserPecker LX2, the air assist really improves quality by reducing charring, and is a must-have for commercial applications, to offer a better product.
• Tech Support: LaserPecker’s tech support was responsive, timely, helpful, and very clear.

Cons

These are the things that I would love for LaserPecker to improve on in this machine and in the future:

• Slat system: I would love to see it come with a full bed of slats out of the box. You can purchase additional ones if you’d like.
• Purifier: I don’t love the purifier that comes with the machine. It’s noisy and doesn’t auto-sync. You can purchase third party options or vent outdoors. It does work however and is a solid option if you’re going for this class of industrial purifier.
• Material selection: I’m waiting eagerly for that majorly expanded library of settings.

Who it’s best for

As you can see, I have a lot of good to say about the LaserPecker LX2. It’s still in the early stages of release and there are some speed bumps along the way. I think it’s a fabulous machine for those who want the versatility of various laser power options, but also don’t have space for multiple large machines.

It’s a great beginner-friendly Diode laser for small businesses, those looking to be able to cut larger projects, and those looking for a bit more metal marking capability.

Got any questions or comments to add onto this LaserPecker LX2 review? Comment below!