I've tested many diode lasers in my shop, but the Atomstack X20 is the first one with 20 Watts. The Atomstack X7 Pro was a previous favorite, but this new powerful machine shows lots of potential!
At 20 Watts, the Atomstack X20 Pro has the build quality, ease of use, and portability, making it an excellent choice for people looking for extra laser cutting abilities. But the premium power does come at a premium cost.
Over the past few years, there has been an arms race regarding the overall laser power. Machines started at about 1.7 Watts, then 5.5 Watts; late last year, we began to see some 10-watt machines like the Atomstack X7 Pro or xTool D1. And we are starting to see comparisons to the bigger CO2 machines.
And that is why this machine from Atomstack gets really interesting.
The Atomstack X20 Pro is at the top end of Atomstack’s lineup. This is how the X20 stacks up with their other offerings.
On the control side of things, you can use whatever you want from software, like Laser GRBL or Lightburn, which is my favorite.
It can be connected directly through USB or ethernet. Atomstack also has a pretty limited app but can still control the machine’s basic functions.
An advantage Atomstack offers over the competition from Ortur and xTool is an external touch screen controller. You can move the machine around, monitor it while it’s running, and load files from a USB inserted directly into the controller.
I’ve found this handy in the past when I didn’t want to connect my machine to wifi and didn’t want to connect a computer.
The Atomstack X20 Pro also features limit switches on the x and y-axis. This allows the machine to find its home position before every engrave/cut starts. This is great if you are doing repeat cuts where your workpiece is centered in the same place. Even if you power off the machine, it can find a predefined position since it can always start from the same home position.
In addition to the increased laser power, the other significant improvement to the X20 is adding a fully integrated air assist system.
Air assist is a must-have when you get into high power. It helps reduce charring on the material and is a great safety measure to reduce flare-ups.
The air assist system consists of two parts: The air compressor, and the air nozzle.
The air compressor is a nice design that features two compressors on the inside. The speed is variable so if you have more delicate material you’ve got the ability to turn the air stream down so that material it’s blown away.
The air travels from the compressor to the laser module through a flexible tube that attaches to the top of the laser module. Then the air is funneled internally through the module and exits through the nozzle at the bottom.
Other companies have provided add-on kits for their air compressor system, but Atomstack’s is the nicest and most effective in integrating it directly into the overall design.
Another improvement is how the laser is focused. The X20 has a focus bracket that sits on top of the material. To focus, you drop the bottom of the laser module until it touches the bracket, lock it into place and remove it from the material.
If the protective lens at the bottom of the laser module is removed the bracket can be flipped on it’s side and used to focus as well.
So let’s talk about the headline feature of this machine, the 20W laser diode. Which currently is the most powerful laser diode you can buy. X-Tool has a 20 Watts module also coming out with their D1 Pro, but I haven’t had a chance to test it at the time of this review.
An individual Laser diode doesn’t exceed six watts in terms of power, so how are they getting to 20 Watts? This is achieved by combing four diodes together that are focused into a single beam. This is similar to the 10-watt module, which combines two diodes to reach its wattage.
It’s really going to be interesting to see at what point additional laser diodes don’t make sense. We have four laser diodes right now, so the next iteration of this machine could see eight, which puts us at 40 Watts. At that wattage, we get into the lower end of CO2 laser territory… which would be absolutely crazy.
But even at 20 Watts, I’m finding this machine can cut out a good bit of material. I would recommend mostly engraving with diode lasers in the past unless you’re using really thin material. But at 20 Watts, you can start cutting without having to do multiple passes.
So let’s get into some tests.
If you’ve seen any of my other reviews, I love to use this test file because it helps me figure out the correct settings for this combination of machine and material. And then, inside Lightburn, I can save the right setting I want to use in the future.
You can download the file yourself here.
I was cutting entirely through this 3mm birch plywood even when engraving. Compared to the x7 Pro and its 10W laser module, the 20W is much more powerful.
I also like to see how well it cuts through the material. Compared to the xTool D1 (10 Watts), your ability to cut has increased because you can use less power and run it at a faster speed.
This gives you two benefits.
The most obvious example of how much more powerful the Atomstack X20 Pro is when it’s compared to the X-Tool D1 at 100% Power. Two hundred millimeters per second is the fastest that I could run it. With the X20, I could go up to 400 millimeters per second.
So literally twice as fast because this is twice as powerful.
Now that increased power also comes with a little bit of a drawback. And that is the actual size of the laser dot.
That size limits how fine of a detail you can get when you are engraving.
Even though the X20 Pro is thicker, it’s still in the range of most other laser diode machines, and I’ve been able to get some nice picture engraves.
On the positive side, I can run those picture engraves much faster.
I was testing at 6,000 mm/min versus 3000 mm/min I use with lower-powered machines.
Here is a complete list directly from Atomstack on what it can cut and engrave. I’ve found that most diode lasers perform the same. But the increased wattage from the X20 opens up its ability to cut thicker materials
Now, when people ask me what they should get, I’ve been recommending an entire system versus just an individual machine.
These diode machines have been improving both build quality, features, and laser power at a fast rate. When looking at a machine, I would keep an eye on your future needs and see if the company your buying from already offers a solution.
For example, if you want a larger work area for your machine, Atomstack offers an extension kit.
Are you looking to engrave mugs? Atomstack offers a rotary module.
In a space that doesn’t have great ventilation? Check out the full enclosure.
Want to change the laser module on your machine? Atomstack offers the easy ability to swap out their different units.
Overall, Atomstack is one of the best laser diode companies in terms of upgradeability and variety in their designs.
Now my only real drawback with this machine doesn’t have to do with the machine itself, but in how they market it.
In most marketing materials, they lead the machine power of 130 Watts. So if you were new to these machines, you would assume the Atomstack X20 Pro could compete with a high-power 100W CO2 machine.
But it can’t. Not even close.
You have to search around the site to find the laser output power of 20 Watts.
It does feel like this has been done to confuse potential customers. The machine itself is excellent, and it’s pretty crazy how high of a wattage they can achieve with a diode machine. I wish they would advertise the actual output power of the laser.
While I could directly compare the individual machines, it’s better to look at the entire ecosystem around them. Other than the external touchscreen, xTool and Atomstack stack up nearly identical.
I would give a slight advantage to xTool in terms of build quality, but both machines will do an excellent job for you.
I like Atomstack’s air assist integration; it supports multiple speeds and is directly built into the laser module vs. the current add-on option that xTool provides.
While I can use Lightburn for both machines, I’ve found that xTool native software has dramatically improved over the last year. You more than likely can get everything done with the software that xTool provides vs. needing to get other software at an additional cost.
While 20 Watts is incredible, how does the X20 stack up against a much more powerful CO2 machine?
I ran the same cutting test file from earlier on my 55W CO2 laser from OMTech.
This is a portion of that test file. I didn’t even run the entire thing just because I knew it was going to go through at the low speeds and higher power.
So while there were some squares with the X20 I couldn’t cut, I could cut out absolutely everything with the 55-watt unit. This makes sense because it’s more than double the power.
Other benefits of the CO2 machine are its enclosure and exhaust system.
The pros for Atomstack include its overall size, portability, and simplicity.
What machine would I recommend of all the ones that are currently out there?
Again, it depends on what system you want to go with.
Atomstack and xTool are front runners right now, and you would be happy with any of the machines from both companies. If you need 20 watts for cutting, go with the Atomstack x20; you’ll love it!
