Creality Falcon 2 Pro Review

I was recently provided a very cool laser to review from the innovators at Creality.  They are the Makers of excellent 3D printers and also desktop laser engravers.  I just got my hands on the Creality Falcon 2 Pro, 22 Watt Desktop Laser Engraver($1099).

I have to say this laser engraver has some very cool features not found in other desktop diode laser machines.  The list is quite substantial.

Buckle up for a cool laser ride.

Creality Falcon 2 Pro Features

Most notably, it is enclosed via a sliding protective eye shield.  The shield has safety features included which won’t allow the machine to engrave unless the lid is securely closed.   The enclosed compartment also contains an exhaust fan which can be set to work automatically.

The enclosure also provides a clear 360 degree view of the engraving area.

Additionally, the Falcon 2 Pro has an FDA Class 1 Safety Certification.  Most desktop laser engravers on the market are certified as Class 4.  You can clearly see the difference in the chart below from FDA.gov.

Quite a difference, huh?

So the enclosure is the most noticeable feature but let’s talk about some of its other innovative design features.

Enclosure Lights

The interior of the machine has a very bright LED strip which lights up the enclosure area very well.  It can of course be toggled on or off as the laser operator requires.

Built In Monitoring

If you look at the laser module it has 3 indicator lights which show the status of the Air Assist, a Fire indicator, and finally a Lens Monitor.

This machine actually tells you when the lens is dirty and requires cleaning.

That is straight up one of the coolest and most useful features I have ever seen on a desktop laser engraving machine.

To my knowledge, no one else is doing this.  That is worth the price of admission right there.

Built In Camera

Additionally, the Creality Falcon 2 Pro has a built in camera.  This is an amazing feature and one you simply won’t find on a lot of other machines.   To access the camera there is a USB connector at the top of the machine.  If you are operating the Falcon 2 Pro from a computer you will need access to two USB ports if you wish to operate the camera.  I’ve heard a couple of people gripe online about this, however, you can’t carry camera data and laser control data on one connection to my knowledge.  If you add a camera system to any other laser it is the exact same situation.

From the camera to the engraving deck is approximately 265 mm which provides great vertical coverage and provides for extremely precise positioning of the part to be engraved.

A calibration card is provided for use with Lightburn.  Once calibrated the camera provides a perfect overhead view of the working area which allows for precise positioning.

Honeycomb Slats

Most engraver manufacturers will sell a honeycomb panel for cutting.  Honeycomb allows for much cleaner cuts as it allows more smoke and debris to escape during the cutting process.  The Creality Falcon 2 Pro has removable slots which can be placed in various configurations.  This creates stability for your engraved part.  Also, the fact that they are removable allows for easy cleaning.  Creality really thought of everything here.

Here is a picture of the Honeycomb slats inserted prior to installing the enclosure.

Clean Out Tray

If Honeycomb slats weren’t enough, directly below them is a sliding tray which catches dirt dust and cutting debris from the engraving or cutting process.  The tray is easily removed for easy disposal of debris and for general cleaning.  This just keeps getting better and better.

Laser Module

The Falcon 2 Pro is available in three power configurations.

• 22 Watt
• 40 Watt with an included 1.6 Watt module
• 60 Watt with an included 1.6 Watt module

One important note for potential laser purchasers is that high power isn’t always better for engraving.  Fine detail work is accomplished with lower powered lasers.  This is due to the spot size of the laser beam itself.  A 1.6 Watt laser will have a much smaller laser spot size than a 60 watt laser.   Higher powered diode lasers are accomplished by combining the beams of several diodes.  These diodes are roughly 5.5 watts in power and operate at a wavelength around 455 nanometers.

40 and 60 watts will give you increased cutting power, and while they will engrave nicely, a low power diode will give you the best detail.  Engraving times will generally be slower though.

Creality Falcon 2 Pro Overview

Here is a quick overview video on the Falcon 2 Pro.

I think you can see this laser engraver has features that most other lasers simply do not have.

Engraving Test

Engraving results were far better than favorable.  Running a 2nd pass after homing the machine landed exactly on the 1st pass.  So many lasers are not good at this.  This video illustrates the engraving accuracy of the Creality Falcon 2 Pro.

Cutting Test

I was able to cut 11 mm spruce with 2-3 passes routinely.  Generally laser manufacturers will demonstrate the cutting ability on basswood which is easy to cut.  Using a wood with a tighter grain will be slightly more difficult when cutting perpendicular to the grain.  I was able to blast through the 11 mm spruce when going with the grain in one pass but needed a second or sometimes a third pass to cut through against the grain.

That is just the way wood operates.  Anyway, know that the cutting ability of this 22 watt laser is outstanding.

So far there is a lot to love here.

Engraving With No Computer

The Falcon 2 Pro has the ability to engrave or cut a gcode file from the included SD card.  In Lightburn, under the File menu you can set everything up as you were going to engrave from a connected computer.  Then simply save the gcode to an SD card and insert into the machine.  Pay close attention to the origin point you set as that is where it will start engraving from. (i.e. center, lower left corner, etc.). If you use “Absolute Coordinates” as your “Start From” the engraving will run to the coordinates where it is located within Lightburn.

Just make sure to test your settings on scrap before engraving that one of a kind item from an SD card.

I have almost always been a proponent of operating a laser via a tethered USB connection.   I’m not a fan of Wifi or Bluetooth connections.  Conversely, I’ve also never really thought that engraving from the machine itself was beneficial.

And then recently I realized I keep a laser in my wood shop that really only does one job.  And that is to apply my Makers Mark to the bottom of items I create for sale.

My wood shop is dusty and I’ve actually been through a couple of cheap laptops because of all the wood dust.  In fact I tried to vacuum out dust on one laptop with a shop vac recently and ended up ruining the keyboard.  Whoops.

So it is far better for me to use an engraver that can be controlled in a stand alone fashion and that is just what the Creality Falcon 2 Pro is going to be used for at John’s Tech Blog.

Recommended Improvements

Nothing is perfect.  As I mentioned in the overview video it took me a whole bunch of tries to slide the red acrylic sheet into the top frame before I got it installed correctly.   I’m not sure how to improve this process, however, it is tough to do.  I’ve seen others online complain about it as well.

The installation manual needs a little love and of particular note the main part of the laser is identified as “the principal part” within.  The first time I ran across that phrase it threw me for a loop.  For example it tells you to install the clean out tray in the principal part and that was another head scratcher.  I had to kind of figure out on my own where the tray slid into.

Also the machine will only operate when the lid is closed.  This is perfect for safety and the FDA Class 1 Certification, but not so great for a reviewer shooting video.  There may be times when you want the lid open.  In general though, you want all those safety features in place and you DON’T want to override them.  But like I said……..there may be times.

The lid alarm can be overridden by pushing two buttons located on the inside of the control panel.

None of what I mentioned here is a showstopper or a dealbreaker.  This is a solid machine with a lot of features that desktop laser operators will appreciate.

Should You Buy One

In a world of desktop diode laser engravers that all look and act the same, the Creality Falcon 2 Pro really stands out from the pack.   It has an enclosure with an FDA Class 1 Safety Certification, a camera, air assist, honeycomb slats, a clean out drawer, built in lighting and Safety Monitors.  I can’t think of hardly any other lasers that have even one of those features.  Except for maybe the air assist, that is.

So should you buy one?  I’d say yes.  Additionally you can buy an air purifier system and a rotary device to really up your laser game.

And while this really doesn’t have any affect on operations the laser is kind of attractive and would look good in a work studio.   It certainly is a professional looking machine with pro features.

Users can purchase the Creality Falcon 2 Pro here and with the following promotions.

Subscription Gift: Subscribe to emails + Spend over $100 and receive a Plywood gift, valued at $25.99.

First Tier: Spend over $399 and receive 10pcs of Plywood, valued at $25.99 (Cannot be combined with the subscription gift).

Second Tier: Spend over $999 and receive a Falcon Material Discount Card, valued at $49.99

Third Tier: Spend over $1999 and receive a Rotary Kit Pro, valued at $189

JOHN’S TECH BLOG **LOVES** THE CREALITY FALCON 2 PRO LASER ENGRAVER