TOOCAA L2 Laser Engraver Review

I was recently provided a Desktop Laser Engraver from TOOCAA.  TOOCAA stands for “Tool Can Create Amazing Art”.  The laser that showed up on my doorstep is the TOOCAA L2, 20 Watt diode laser ($999.00).

Desktop laser engravers have been roughly the same up until recently.  In the last year or so there has been an explosion of upgrades and safety features.  The TOOCAA L2 certainly is carrying that torch into the future.  Where it really shines is in the realm of safety.

Safety

 

FDA certification consists of 4 classes.  The higher the class number, the more likely it is to pose serious injury.   The fully assembled TOOCAA L2 is Class 1 certified which means it is vey safe to use.   The actual laser module itself is Class 4, however when placed in the vented enclosure with the eye blocking acrylic it becomes a Class 1.

Additional safety measures includes:

• Flame Detection
• Body Tilt Detection
• Smart Enclosure Safety Interlock
• USB Key Switch
• Extendable Emergency Stop Switch

Brief Description

The L2 has a working area of 415 x 395 mm.  The blue diode laser wavelength is approximately 450 nanometers.   It works with Windows, Mac, and should work with Lightburn on Linux.

Also, the enclosure is extremely well lit with LED strips located on both sides of the enclosure and the rear of the machine.  Here’s a quick overview of the L2.

Assembly

Assembly took me about 2 hours, however I was taking notes and photos and in no particular hurry.   I found the manual to be pretty good, however TOOCAA has an even better YouTube assembly video.   Probably the first thing that caught my attention was the electrical connection to the laser module.

I’ve been building desktop lasers since about 2019 when they first started becoming commercially available.  I have seen a million 3D printed gizmos intended to keep the connector from failing due to wire strain.  But this is the first laser I’ve seen that has a connector with 2 screws holding it securely in place.  Additionally, the cable has a molded connector.  No more wire strain issues.   This is a NICE TOUCH.

Included hardware is bagged and marked.  Best of all every bag had extra hardware.

For the most part all wiring is pre-installed and only the LED strip connectors need to be connected.  Actually, connecting the LED strips in the corner was a bit tough for me.  There needs to be just a bit more slack in the wiring.  After a bit I found out the LED strips just clip in.  You could slide them backwards or forwards to aid in hooking the connectors together.

Additionally, wiring is also neatly tucked away inside a drag chain located on the lower right side of the enclosure.   A major plus!

The included tools are okay but it is always better to build lasers with T handled allen wrenches.

TOOCAA really added a lot of nice touches.

Testing

Hooking the L2 up to Lightburn is a piece of cake.  The included TF card has a file which can be easily imported into your devices in Lightburn.  Look for the file with the extension .lbset.  Instructions are in the TOOCAA Online Operation Guide.  The included manual did not mention the file on the TF card.  I recommend that they add that to the paper manual.

The only thing I changed in the imported settings was to switch from mm/minute to mm/second.  That is just a personal preference of mine.

I always have a camera at the ready when I turn a machine on for the first time in case something happens.  When I powered up the L2 for the first time it played me a tune!

That caught me off guard.  But it also indicated everything was just fine.  Time to run a test engraving to see if it works!

Cutting

The L2 cuts well for a 20 watt machine.  I took a piece of 11mm wood that is particularly nasty to cut, which is why I used it.   Probably should have made a 3rd pass but essentially it went though with just a tiny snap off.

Focusing

The 20 watt module has a built in focus bar.  A lot of lasers have focus blocks, which work fine but are also easily misplaced or lost.   Having a built in system is ideal in my opinion.

Air Assist (Optional)

I wrote “optional” but almost every laser operation is improved with the addition of an air assist pump.

I strongly recommend purchasing the air assist when buying the L2.  It can also be purchased with the Advanced or Deluxe bundle when buying the laser.

It is adjustable from 0-28 liters per minute of air flow.  I have only one tiny issue with the air pump. It is powered externally via a 24 volt power brick.  Nothing wrong with that, but the exhaust fan is powered externally, as is the laser itself.   In other words you need 3 available electrical outlets to use all the features on the TOOCAA L2.

Wrap Up

The TOOCAA L2 is an amazing laser with tons of features.  And the Class 1 FDA Safety rating is impressive.   Assembly is pretty easy.  The laser is essentially built and assembly mostly consists of just the enclosure.  Cutting is almost on par with a couple of 30+ watt lasers I own.  Engraving is precise, as are repeated passes.  No issues at all with repositional accuracy.  You can feel confident your 2nd or 3rd pass will land right where it is supposed to.

The LED Strips in the cabinet are AWESOME.  Very well lit.

Another thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that they provide a consumable pack and also some spares.  Most notably is the addition of a replaceable lens cover.  The covers protect the actual lens and bear the brunt of laser cutting operations from the smoke and soot.  Being able to replace them is huge.  And having a spare is even huger.

I do recommend getting the air assist at a minimum, but honeycomb panels are nice too.

The only gripe I have with the machine is that you need 3 electrical outlets to run the laser, the exhaust fan, and the air assist at the same time.  That has ZERO AFFECT on machine operation.  It is just that I’d love to see the exhaust and air assist picking up 24 volts from connectors on the laser itself.  Being an electronics guy for most of my working career I know that probably means a larger and more expensive power brick though.

Final Thoughts

And as always I have discovered in my 5 or so years of using desktop diode laser engravers that they all work.  And they all work pretty good.   A lot of importance lies in after sales support and the ability to buy spares.  Obviously, I haven’t had any problems and can’t comment on after sales support other than to say that my point of contact at TOOCAA indicated it was of the utmost importance to them.

The TOOCAA brand started in 2022 so they are relatively new to the desktop laser engraver game and are trying to make a name for themselves in a field of numerous competitors.  Their first laser was released just this year.

I see no reason to think anyone would have anything other than a great experience with a TOOCAA L2 laser.  Had it been a poor experience, you would have read that it was a poor experience.  TOOCAA did nothing to influence my review, whatsoever.

JOHN’S TECH BLOG HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THE TOOCAA L2 LASER ENGRAVER