After the biggest laser engraver my office had ever seen, I tested probably the smallest one on the market at the end of 2024: the Acmer S1 with a 2.5 W laser. It's cute, but it's not a toy.
Out of the box and ready
Unboxing was one of the best experiences I've had with an engraver, because there's no assembly. I only had to tighten the lead screws and eccentric nuts a little, as it was slightly wobbly after shipping. It connects with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and my Mac found it straight away in LightBurn, with its name and characteristics already filled in. No tweaking at all. There's just an on/off button, the power input and the USB-C port.
The working area is 130 x 130 mm. That's not big, but it's enough for personalising things around the house, making business cards or engraving a photo on wood. Acmer sent it for review. They didn't pay me to say it's great, and they included glasses, spare cardboard, wood and lots of accessories.
Precision over power
What I loved most was the detail on photos. A picture of my twins on wood came out amazing, though it took about 2 hours at low speed and medium power. My usual Scarecrow test and my logo looked great too. It's surface engraving with no real depth, but the precision is impressive. On a black aluminium ID card the photo looked a bit like a negative at first (my contrast was too high), but after cleaning with alcohol it really shone. Perfect for a QR code to hand out. On leather the result was visible and precise, if not deep.
The downside: I couldn't cut any of the wood in the package. This one is for personalisation, not cutting. And it's slow.
Why start small
I started with powerful lasers and my learning curve was steep. I almost started a fire more than once! For a beginner who wants to understand how laser engraving works without spending much, this is a really good bargain.