In all workshops, subtractive tools come in one of two flavors: Bring the tool to the workpiece (e.g. a router), or bring the workpiece to the tool (e.g. a shaper). But Chinese manufacturer Tyvok has created a sort of hybrid with the Spider X1S. It's a large-format laser cutter with a compact form factor.
It consists of a laser cutter head (both 10W and 20W units are available) that rides on a gantry supported by blocks on either end. These blocks have wheels on them, that can either ride on rails or on the worksurface itself. By choosing the length of the gantry and rails, the idea is that you can achieve the following:
With a scheme like this, the devil is in the UX details; in practice, how easy or difficult is it to set up and index the system? If used without the rails, how perfect does your worksurface need to be in order for the wheels to track properly? While there are a rash of product reviews on YouTube, it appears the company has simply seeded influencers with free units, so I'd take those with a grain of salt. But the thinking behind the tool is clever.
Pricing starts at $580.
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Comments
Agree with Kyle & think finding a stable surface is not as convenient. The head may be fine but the stability of it sliding around or a flawed surface would make the run difficult.
Having used many lasers over the last 20 years, I love the concept but am very concerned. When rapid moving how does it account for the mass of the unit? I would think it would slide all over the place. Even in the track, I can't imagine it will be that accurate. God forbid it got bumped toward the end of a print. Also, what about all the smoke and potentially toxic gas just venting in the open?