Flux Laser Cutters — New at SolidPrint3D!

A fully equipped, production-ready additive manufacturing workshop requires more than just 3D printers. SolidPrint3D is proud to introduce to you the tool you need to complete your operation — Flux laser cutters.

A recent addition to our catalogue, the laser cutters from Flux are compact and affordable machines. But despite their small footprint, they pack a lot of power and are capable of slicing through or engraving a wide range of materials.

Read on to learn how the Flux family of laser cutters works, and what it can offer to your manufacturing operation.

Laser Cut and Etch What You Need

Let’s answer the most pressing question first — what is a laser cutter? Laser cutters are cutting machines that slice through various materials using a high-intensity laser of a single wavelength.

Cutters with a CO2 laser, such as the Flux cutters, use a wavelength in the infrared light spectrum, making it invisible to the human eye. The laser source emits the light from a carbon dioxide-filled glass tube, hence the technology’s name.

Bouncing over various mirrors, the laser beam focuses on the piece of material to be cut. It will rapidly heat the material to melt, burn, or vaporise a thin slice of it to perform the cutting action. The laser travels across the work surface to cut out the determined shape.

In addition to cutting, the Flux machines are capable of engraving. In this process, the laser doesn’t cut through the material. Instead, it burns or oxidises the material’s surface, leaving a permanent mark. This technology allows manufacturers to mark their products with decorative patterns, logos, bar codes, and more.

Introducing the Flux Family

We don’t call Flux’s range of laser cutters a family for nothing. It comprises four different laser cutting machines — Beamo, Beambox, Beambox Pro, and Hexa.

These laser cutters all use the same Flux technological base. However, they grow progressively larger and more powerful as you move up the range. Let’s take a closer look at the cutters and their specifications.

Flux Beamo

The Flux Beamo is small — it’s the world’s smallest CO2 laser cutter, according to Flux.

However, don’t let Beamo’s humble size fool you. Its compact footprint makes it highly affordable and ideal for small manufacturers and design studios.

The Beamo features a 30W CO2 laser that cut wood, acrylics, leather, cardboard, and fabric. When it comes to engraving, the range of materials grows even larger with rubber, anodised metal, glass, cement, and stone.

The laser has a high, 1,000 DPI resolution and engraves down to 0.05 mm in depth. Flux’s add-on modules expand the Beamo’s application range. With the rotary add-on, you can engrave curved objects, like glassware and bottles, while the diode laser add-on enables the Beamo to engrave stainless steel.

With its simplified user interface and compact size, the Beamo is an ideal machine for first-time laser cutter users and businesses producing small products.

Flux Beambox

The Flux Beambox is the Beamo’s bigger sibling. Its name is apt — this machine sort of resembles an ‘80s boombox music player.

Although it’s larger, the Beambox is still desktop-sized, making it easy to fit on a workbench. It scales the laser power up to 40W, enabling it cut the same materials as the Beamo. However, it can slice through nearly twice as thick layers.

The Beambox can engrave stainless steel without addons, though the steel material has to be pre-treated with an engraving spray. It also has a rotary add-on available.

A closed-loop internal water-cooling system circulates water throughout the cutter, keeping it at the right operational temperature at all times. The machine is fully enclosed and features an automatic pause feature if the lid is opened.

For manufacturers needing more cutting power in a still-compact package, the Flux Beambox is a natural step up from the Beamo.

Flux Beambox Pro

The Flux Beambox Pro, as its name implies, scales the Beambox further towards production-ready manufacturing. It sports largely the same features as its brother but delivers more power.

The Beambox Pro bring to your workbench a large 600 x 375 x 80 mm cutting area. It also amps the laser power up to 50W. Thanks to the enhanced power delivery, it can cut through even thicker pieces of wood, acrylic, leather, cardboard, and fabric.

Out of the Beam Trio, the Beambox Pro is the machine to go for if your operation needs industrial-grade cutting power at an affordable price.

Flux Hexa

For those looking for large-scale cutting or engraving and a lot of power, here’s your machine. The Flux Hexa, the newest Flux family member, is the largest and most powerful of the laser cutters featured here.

The Hexa increases the laser power to 60W and the laser speed up to 900 mm/s when engraving. With a 33% larger and 40mm deeper work area, the Hexa is built from the beginning with professional production in mind.

In other features, the Hexa comes with autofocus and a new electric elevation platform. Together, these technologies ensure optimal cutting and engraving, no matter the material.

The Hexa supports the same material library as the other cutters but can cut significantly thicker pieces. It’s also equipped with additional connectivity options, making it the go-to machine for heavy-duty laser cutter users.

Flux Laser Cutting Software

Each Flux laser cutter has been designed with ease of operation in mind. To this end, they all use Flux’s in-house developed Beam Studio operating software.

The Beam Studio works on all platforms, making it easy to integrate into your computer systems. It supports both vector raster images and can import the data from any of the most common graphics editors, including Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, AutoCAD, CorelDraw — even Microsoft Word.

Additionally, each Flux laser cutter features a built-in camera. It allows you to preview your design in real-time in Beam Studio and lets you see exactly what your design will look like.

Applications of Flux Laser Cutters

The Flux laser cutters are right at home in many different kinds of workshops and design studios. Their potential applications include:

• Handcrafts: Any artist producing accessories will benefit from the Flux machines’ ability to cut through durable materials at high accuracy. They also allow you to etch your logo and decorative designs on notebook covers, magnets, and more.
• Jewellery: Jewellers can cut small, intricate designs out of multiple materials to create unique, creative pieces. These laser-cut elements combine well with jewellery produced using 3D printers, like the Formlabs Form 3+.
• Architecture: Architects can create detailed design motels by cutting out a building’s shapes from durable materials.
• Manufacturing: Automotive or tooling manufacturers benefit from the Flux laser cutters’ high accuracy and cutting speed. You can quickly produce component prototypes and templates, or mark and engrave parts and tools with instructional text or logos.
• Medical: Laser cut medical appliances, such as hones, stents, or valve framers can not only speed up medical tool production but also significantly improve patients’ quality of life.

About Flux

Flux was founded by a group of young engineers and designers from Taipei, Taiwan, in 2014. That same year, they successfully raised more than £1 million to develop their tools.

Consequently, Flux launched the Delta 3D printer in 2016 and the Delta + in 2017. Although those machines are no longer in production, the company hit the jackpot when the Beambox came out in 2018.

Building on the Beambox’s success, the company released the Beamo and Beambox Pro. The Flux family has since only grown with the newest sibling, the Hexa. Now, the Flux laser cutters are here to help UK manufacturers, artists, and designers of all sizes.

— To learn more about Flux laser cutters, contact the experts at SolidPrint3D. We are happy to help! Call us on 01926 333 777 or email us at info@solidprint3d.co.uk.