Beamo is an affordable, compact CO2 laser cutter and engraver

Yes, a laser cutter/engraver. Definitely not our the usual stuff we cover but this one is exciting enough so we felt we should share with any tinkerers or artistic types among you. Flux – the company that originally gathered quite a bit of attention for the sub $1000 Delta personal 3D printer is now trying its best to bring quality laser tech to the masses as well.

Beamo is an affordable, compact CO2 laser cutter and engraver

Much like its existing Beambox workbench, the new Beamo is a CO2 laser cutter and engraver that boast a pretty impressive feature set. It can both carve and cut a large selection of materials, including things like stone and metal, thanks to a powerful 30W laser tube. It does so with impressive 1,000 DPI resolution and just 0.05mm layer depth. This alone places Beamo far beyond the realm of hobby lasers.

But what really makes Beamo special in our mind is that Flux still did its best to make it usable for a hobbyist. In other words – invest heavily in a versatile, user-friendly experience. And that’s a pretty important distinction, since most of us might want a cool engraving on a phone case or an awesome personalized keychain, but none of us realistically want to deal with the hassle, skill or expenses of professional gear.

Beamo is an affordable, compact CO2 laser cutter and engraver

Beamo promises more than a few options for your workflow. Things like Wi-Fi connection to easily upload projects. A powerful and free Beam Studio design software, as well as wide format compatibility and support for tools like Adobe Illustrator, Autocad and CorelDraw.

On the other end of the spectrum, it has apps for both iOS and Android with the ability to snap a drawing with a smartphone camera, then quickly translate that into an actual project with a few taps. Then there are other little things like a touch-screen UI and editor, running on a display baked into the machine itself and a camera for a live preview of the working area to easily position and scale projects.

All of these promise to take the hassle out of using what is still a fairly sophisticated tool. However, a 30W CO2 laser is not to be taken lightly, Beamo is coming with a host of safety features, like auto cut-off when the lid is open, the constant active airflow through the machine, including a stream to cool-off the burning point and prevent fires and the internal water-cooling loop.

Beamo is an affordable, compact CO2 laser cutter and engraver

Again, all things that sound really amazing on paper, especially considering Beamo’s relatively compact form factor.

But here’s the really impressive bit that caught our eye and could tempt some among you as well. Beamo is going on Kickstarter today. And as part of a promotional campaign it will be available for as little as $800. That’s more than half off the MSRP of $1,499. And even at full retail price, Beamo still appears to offer impressive value.

And since this is starting to sound a lot like an advertisement, we just like to reiterate that we are genuinely intrigues by the Beamo and what it promises and will be getting one. That also means that we’ll do our best to review it for you guys, even if it’s not exactly our field of expertise. Be sure to tell us if that’s something that might interest you.

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