Received my L’Cheapo laser a few days ago and have had a chance to use it a few times. Shipping was lightning fast from 3D Supply Source, it came to me Priority Mail and was shipped the same day.

I was disappointed it had through hole components sticking out across the front of the board. The laser itself is press fitted into a heatsink not designed for this purpose. You can see where a hastily drilled hole still has metal shavings coming out of it. A file could easily make this part look better.

The printed mount it came on is absolutely terrible. It looks like it was printed way too fast. One of the corners lifted off the bed during printing also, making the mount not lay flat on the effector.

The whole thing is held together with zip ties…

The laser focus ring wobbles inside of the laser casing. The silver ring can come off of the threads causing it to not rotate the actual focusing element. The fan cannot be controlled separately from the laser. When power is applied to the laser the fan comes on. It gets annoying to listen to the fan turning on and off during a print as the laser moves around the bed.

None of the mounting holes are usable due to poor printing quality. The portion of the printed part that the laser heat sink slides into was affected by the lifted print. The piece was cut with a knife to get the laser heat sink pushed into place.

The laser comes with goggles made with cheap plastic. The lenses are not very clear to see through. The ear pieces are adjustable and they stick to my head fine. I haven’t gone blind yet. Considering the extra pair I received cost $5, this is to be expected at this price point.

After some tweaking of the focus ring and bed height I was able to get some decent results:

I believe this kit is terribly overpriced at ~$200 especially given the price and how much the project raised on indiegogo. The quality and craftsmanship of the pieces speak for themselves. The kit looks hastily assembled and shipped. I’d be more comfortable with a $50-$75 price point, especially when there is another kit on the market vastly superior, the JTech 2 or 2.8W Laser Kit. Overall I would not purchase this again and would dissuade other potential customers. Save a little more cash and get a different kit.

I have been emailing back and forth with both the vendor and creator of the L’Cheapo. They are both very responsive and helpful. I am providing this feedback to assist in improving the product!