INTRODUCTION

   Roughly 2 months before the Christmas holidays i had an idea, just how nice would it be if people could make their very own holiday ornaments/trinkets at home? I didn't have something specific in mind to be honest but since I’m a DIY person the idea alone was enough for me to start looking for simple to use, consumer oriented devices which could be used for just that. Needless to say, the market is filled with such devices ranging from laser engravers to 3D printers and even though these two types are far from the same it's still not exactly easy to decide which is best for you. So i decided to start looking by checking out one of the most popular laser engravers and cutters in the market today, the Aufero Laser 1 by Ortur.

   Ortur is a high-tech manufacturer focus on developing diode laser engravers founded by a group of passionate engineers. We love to discover the unknown and try to develop our products to the next level with vitality and creativity. Ortur is committed to expanding the use boundary of diode laser engravers and exploring more application scenarios of diode laser. In the next two years, Ortur's mission is to create safer, more efficient, and more user-friendly multipurpose diode laser engravers, to provide more chances for small businesses, workshops, artists, engineers, and self-employed workers to improve their efficiency.

   Unlike other laser engravers and cutters, the Aufero Laser 1 by Ortur comes pre-assembled so you basically just need to attach the purchased laser model and you're good to go. Three laser models with different outputs are available for the Aufero Laser 1, the entry level 1.6W LU2-2 (50mm focal length), the more powerful 5.5W LU2-4 SF (30mm focal length) which is ideal for engraving most materials and the equally powerful 5.5W LU2-4 LF (50mm focal length) which because of its air assist nozzle it's more ideal for cutting (maximum engraving/cutting area is 180x180mm). A 4th more powerful 10W model is also available (LU2-10A with a speed of up to 15000mm/min) but unfortunately that's available only after talking with Ortur directly. All three available lasers can be used to engrave and cut various surface types (including acrylic, wood, leather, metal and glass) but depending on the model both speed and surface thickness come into play. Thanks to its 32-bit MCU motherboard (OLM-PRO-V1.2) the Aufero Laser 1 can pre-process up to 32 instructions, supports a baud rate of up to 921600 (bits/s) and can engrave with a speed of up to 5000mm/min with a pixel accuracy of 0.81um. As for compatible software you can use it with both open source (free) ones like LaserGRBL or paid ones like LightBurn (PC).