Laser cutters and engravers come in many shapes and sizes, with some being ready to go in seconds, whereas others need a lot of DIY construction before you can start using them. The TOOCAA L2 sits somewhere in the middle, with the main components ready to go, after some fitting work.
The box comes with everything you need, from the components to a tool kit, which contains everything you need, a package with some sample materials and both a user guide and a setup guide, along with some safety goggles. They offer a variety of packages, meaning that other elements will vary depending on your order, from the air assist to the honeycomb grid, or the air filter. But when it’s all put together, how does it stack up against the best laser cutters and engravers out there?
Set-up and build quality
• Switchable laser module
• Air assist unit
• Built in LEd lighting
• Safety features
As much as it can be good to get going straight after unpacking, there is something to be said for putting together a machine like this. Not only does it use less packaging but it gives a greater understanding of the device itself. Toocaa has found a great balance here and don’t be put off by the thought of building a laser cutter. The process is easy enough, taking about thirty minutes. Mostly down to the fantastic user guide, which is clearly written, very well illustrated and thoughtful too. They have clearly tested it and, where there might be some ambiguity in the direction a part fits, they note it on the page and have easy peel stickers on the component, telling you which side faces up.
All the screws, hinges and small parts are bagged separately and labelled to match the setup guide.
I had a lot of fun putting the L2 together and felt a certain amount of satisfaction in completing it.
I had one small issue, where the laser’s lever for holding its height didn’t work as well as I had hoped but an email to support sent me help quickly, which fixed the problem. This wasn’t a big problem that I couldn’t solve but I wanted to see what after-sales would be like. Very reassuring.
Everything is well made, from the screws to the hinges, leaving a confidence-inspiringly sturdy end result. The lid even has a pair of gas struts to hold it in place while open.
The frame, complete with rails, is already assembled, meaning the main bulk of the build is constructing the hood and lid, adding handles and connecting a handful of cables, all of which are pre-installed.
You will need a minimum of two power sockets, plus another for the air assist or filter. The design of the L2 means that the extractor fan needs its own power supply. I’d have preferred it if the complete unit used one but that’s nitpicking, really, although it does mean you need to switch the fan on and off at the wall, separately from the laser.
If maintenance is ever needed you’ll have all the tools to do it, stored in a neat little case.
What can it do?
The TOOCAA L2 is a pretty capable machine, which can be bought with different laser modules that can be swapped as needed. There are four to choose from: a 2.5-watt to a 40-watt laser. The module itself is easy to swap and takes just seconds.
The L2 is ideal for small to medium-sized projects, with a usable area of 415mm x 395mm. That’s a decent size for a desktop laser. Better yet is the range of materials it can work with, which include wood, leather, and acrylic and it can engrave certain metals too.
There are some limitations to the L2’s cutting abilities, normal for any laser of this type. For example, although it cuts acrylics with ease it doesn’t handle blue acrylics and it’s worth checking to see the maximum depth of cut or engraving before you begin a project, or before you decide which laser module to order. Lucky the Toocaa website has a handy spreadsheet with each laser’s capabilities. I tested with a handful of materials and found that their guide is pretty accurate.
Toocaa offers a spindle add-on for rotary engraving of things like bottles. I didn’t get to try this out but have used them in other machines and they tend to all be much the same, so have no worries that the Toocaa one will be any different.
I used the L2 with the extraction pipe venting out of a window and I tried with and without the air assist. I’d strongly suggest using it for more consistent and cleaner results. You can see from the photo below that without you get some burning following the airflow to the extractor, which the assist negates.
I’ve used others, like the Glowforge and Wecreat with a dedicated air filter. These work well but they are cumbersome and very loud, not ideal for home use. Venting out of a window is just fine for the odd project.
Software and user experience
The TOOCAA L2 runs on G code, meaning you can use industry-standard software such as Lightburn but if you want an easy place to start, TOOCAA offers its own software, which is web-based and found at toocaastudio.com. The tool is easy to use, although not overly deep, with some basic drawing functions. Most importantly it allows you to set the laser for the material you are using, then export the G code to the supplied micro SD card, ready to pop in the machine, hit the button on the front and off you go.
On top of the basic shape tools, vector drawing and a handful of preset shapes, you can import both vector drawings and images, place elements of different layers, and then tell the machine things like the number of passes and depth of cut. All useful stuff and great for getting started, or simply for laying out designs made or bought elsewhere.
The ease of layout here is aided by the fact the TOOCAA studio’s workspace is sized the same as the working dimensions of the cutter, so you always know how much room you have to play with. Terrier however is working with smaller, or irregularly shaped materials. You need to measure them, and then line them up with the laser’s home position. This isn’t too tricky but a camera-based system would be nice. Toocaa does offer a camera add-on for £95 which eliminates the guesswork. Giving you a precise view of the workspace, for positioning your design, even if you’ve used the material for something else and are just looking to reduce waste. I think this is a no-brainer, but keep in mind it needs a wired connection to your computer.
Price
The TOOCAA L2 comes in at £872 on the company’s UK site, but do grab discounts when they come around, as TOOCAA is known to drop the price of this unit by up to a quarter or more during peak sales events.
Who is it for?
Anybody who wants a cost effective quality laser cutter and engraver, that doesn’t cost the earth or take up huge amounts of space on the workbench.
Buy it if…
- A smaller form factor suits you
- You like the idea of building your own machine
Don’t buy it if…
- You want an unbox-and-go machine
- You want to cut large sheets of material