ATOMSTACK R3 Pro Laser Rotation Roller, Aluminium 360&deg

Arrived on time and well packaged. Assembly instructions in English, translated from Chinese so not the best. Had to use YouTube for some details. Sturdy and solid when complete.
Eventually set up and so far no real issues.

Kit is easy to understand but take your time and do it properly. Yes you could set it up in 30mins. But I took my time and did some small alterations along the way.

The WiFi areiel on the back of the controll pannel wouldn’t tighten because of a small brass washer that was to thick.
Open up the pannel 4 screws. And remove the outside washer from the areiel mount.
Screw the ariel on while the cover is off and tighten it up. (Faceing downwards).

The carrage can not be slide on the way the instructions say because there is a limit switch. Slide on from the other side instead (from the back).

The carriage itself has adjusting wheels there the ones on the bottom. Take them off and insure there adjusted so to give maximum clearance in order to be able to slide them over the bars.(not in the instructions).

Took me altogether with the extra work about. 2hrs. But I enjoyed putting it together. Better than lego any day.

And it a sturdy build. Very pleased with it.
Baught a cutting mesh for less than 60 450x430x22mm fits perfectly came with a backing plate.
Baught the rotor cutting add on.(not tried it yet)
Nead to build a box next.
List goes on.

So… I ordered this once before, but the predrilled holes to put together the frame was too small to fit the supplied screws. Much to my chagrin, I had to eventually return it and could not purchase another because it had increased in price by 80. I searched around…a few weeks later, back on Amazon for reduced price so I ordered.
With trepidation, I started to put together, this time everything was OK. It took about 35 minutes to put together. Instruction booklet was available but I found it more useful to look at YouTube video. It would have taken me less time to put together, mainly my fault, not paying attention.
There are no instructions on how to user Lasergbrl so again another Youtube video helped, It is trial and error with the positioning and placing of the item to laser especially if a small piece, such as the sample pieces given and it takes a little time to get used to Lasergbl. It is exciting getting this but do a bit of research on how to use if you are not familiar.
The laser is relatively quiet, what you can hear in the video in the background is the hand held fan that I had set up as I was in the lounge testing.

All in all I am very happy with this and look forward to trying out engraving on more things.

I was undecided between this and the XTool D1 (this was before the newer D1 Pro came out). I knew I wanted a true 20W laser diode for better cutting power and at the time the only way to get that with the XTool was to buy a complete 10W machine and then upgrade the laser module, which made it an expensive option. It also didn’t come with air assist. So that made it an easy choice and I ordered the Atomstack A20 Pro.

Despite the fact that the XTool D1 Pro 20W has now been released, which comes with a 20W laser as standard, it still works out more expensive for the same power and I’m still happy with my choice. I don’t have direct experience with the XTool but it looks to me like they’re putting a lot of effort into marketing (via Youtube, mostly) to gain some traction in the market. Atomstack have obviously been making laser cutters for ages so I felt sure they know what they’re doing, and that certainly seems to be the case now that I have one.

The Atomstack A20 Pro a very high quality bit of equipment. Everything is very well made and extremely well packaged. I think there’s almost no chance of damage in transit as it all comes packed in layers of thick foam. You have to assemble it yourself but it’s not difficult and only took about half an hour. All the necessary tools are included, although I found it easier to use my own tools. The only minor issue I had is that the height adjustment of the laser module was a bit tight, rubbing against the metal bracket it slides into. I solved that by carefully wiping some PTFE dry lubricant on the bracket and the mating metal part of the laser module and now it’s much better.

I connected it up to my laptop, on which I installed the trial version of Lightburn (which is fantastic and I’ll be buying a licence when the trial expires). It immediately found the laser cutter and after entering a few very basic details it was all set up and working. The limit switches mean it can accurately home the laser to the bottom left corner, which is perfect for accurate positioning on your workpiece. Within a couple of hours of opening the box I was up and running, makes some test engraves and cuts. There are a few small sample pieces of wood and acrylic included, but I quickly moved onto bigger bits. Tip: cardboard is great for testing and costs almost nothing.

It cuts and engraves beautifully once you get your settings dialled in. The air assist make a huge difference to the quality of the final result. The scorch marks just disappear. I’m mostly using 3mm MDF at the moment, which it has no problem at all cutting right through in one pass and I’ve no doubt it could manage thicker MDF / plywood easily. I’ll be trying some dark acrylic next. I’m really looking forward to doing some real projects with it.

One thing you must know is that it generates a LOT of smoke when it’s running, especially while cutting. Obviously the same will be true of any similar machine. You either need to put it somewhere with very good ventilation or get / make some sort of enclosure with an extractor fan. I ended up buying the Atomstack B1 enclosure, into which the laser fits perfectly. It’s not cheap but it’s really good quality and adds a lot to the machine overall in terms of practicality (fume extraction and noise reduction) and safety (it fully encloses the laser while running with filtered acrylic windows so you can safely watch what’s happening). It even has a cutout in the bottom for the rotary module to sit in, so you don’t lose that option by using the enclosure. I cut a vent hole through the wall of my workshop for the fumes to go out through. A bit of an effort but worth it!

I’m also intending to try installing a camera inside the enclosure. Lightburn has a great feature that uses the camera to help visually align your job with the workpiece.

As a cheaper option you might like to have a look at the Comgrow or Sculpfun laser enclosures.

Overall I couldn’t be happier with it and I’m really looking forward to using it some more.