So it’s been a couple of months that I had my Mr Beam II Dreamcut [x] laser cutter and engraver and I thought I’d give you an overview of some of the key features and how I have been getting on. If you’re following me on Instagram you might have seen a few pieces already that I have made with my Mr Beam laser cutter and engraver.
For full transparency, I have bought the Mr Beam with a discount but have not been asked to write a review in return and all opinions are my own. I have kindly been given two discount codes to pass on to my readers / followers which are:
- Latte100 for £100 off your Mr Beam and*
- Latte7 for 7% off all accessories and materials*
What’s in the box
I went for the Mr Beam II Dreamcut [x] Starter Pack Bundle which is delivered in a large box which includes the following:
- Mr Beam II dreamcut [x] laser cutter
- Air Filter II (including main filter and 10 pre-filter mats)
- Welcome Box XXL with different materials to try our
- Cutting mat
- Mark Solid Spray, 300ml
- Cleaning Bundle
- Teddy laser head “Beamie”
- Mr Beam mug
You can operate your Mr Beam without the extra air filter if you have the opportunity to lead the hose out of a window but I have been told that this is quite noisy so not ideal if you have neighbours close by. With the air filter the Mr Beam is actually not too noisy at all! My washing machine is definitely louder!
Setting up the Mr Dream laser cutter
I have to admit that I kept my box untouched for a few days as I was a bit scared to do something wrong as I am not the most technical person but when I finally plucked up the courage to set up my Mr Beam laser cutter I was surprised how straight forward it was. The instructions are very clear and will talk you through the process step by step.
The Mr Beam arrives fully assembled, calibrated, and ready to use. All you need for the first laser job is a computer and a pre-installed Google Chrome.
Once you have taken your machine out of the box you need to first remove the transport locks and then plug your Mr Beam in. The last step is to screw the laser head to the Mr Beam rods and plug in the ribbon cable. This literally just takes a couple of minutes and no tools are required.
There are two options to connect your Mr Beam to your computer. You can either connect the Mr Beam to your home network via Ethernet cable or using the integrated WLAN created by your Mr Beam. This means that Mr Beam can be entirely offline and be used in places without internet access, e.g. in the garage at a fair or an open-air event.
The Mr Beam software is a browser-based plug & play software, so you don’t need to install any additional programs or tools and your files can be stored in the web-based version via a cloud solution.
Technical details
I don’t want to go into too much technical detail but let me just mention the highlights:
Mr Beam is a powerful 10W shortwave class 1 laser which means it is a really safe tool as it does not emit levels of optical radiation above the exposure limits for the eye. For extra security, the laser immediately stops operating when the lid is lifted. It can only be operated when the security is in the machine.
It has a metal security case and an orange see through protective lid with an integrated camera for easy placement of design templates. Its work surface is 50cm x 39cm x 38mm.
Within the Mr Beam software there are a few simple shapes like a circle, heart or rectangle that you can work with and a small library of fonts and via the upload function you can add your own shapes, images, fonts.
To use your Mr Beam laser cutter and engraver to its full extend you’ll have to use a graphic design program such as Adobe lllustrator or Inkscape to create your own designs as the Mr Beam software is very basic. I had no previous experience working with SVG files whatsoever but with a bit of patience and some YouTube videos I got the hang of it quit quickly.
Find a full overview of the technical data here Technical Data : Mr Beam Lasers Support (freshdesk.com)
Support available for Mr Beam users
Security and user-friendliness is one of the core values of Mr Beam and so far I can say that I totally agree with this! They do have a German and English speaking support team that you can contact any time with questions about the laser cutter (no charge) and I have always received an answer back super quickly.
Furthermore Mr Beam has got the so called Knowledgebase, a whole library of tutorials and YouTube videos to help with all sorts of questions you might have, from setting up your Laser Cutter, to how to clean it, trouble shoot etc.
They also have a Facebook Group that’s exclusive to Mr Beam owners where you can get answers on questions you might have or simply get some inspiration. It’s such a friendly community!
Which materials can the Mr Beam laser cutter and engraver work with?
The Mr Beam laser cutter and engraver has two basic functions: laser cutting and engraving. This table shows you the different materials and thicknesses that the Mr Beam can cut:
- Wood: laser plywood (poplar up to 8mm, birch up to 5mm), balsa wood (up to 5mm), kraftplex (up to 3mm)
- Textiles / Fabrics: felt (up to 6mm), jersey, cotton, etc.
- Paper & Cardboard: Photo paper, cardboard (up to 5mm)
- Plactics: acrylic (certain colours, up to 3mm), foam rubber (up to 20mm), foam (up to 20mm), polypropelen (up to 0,8mm)
- Leather: natural leather (up to 1mm), artificial leather (up to 1mm), vegan leather
Latex and natural latex (up to 1mm)
The Mr Beam can also engrave the previously mentioned materials plus some further materials like slate, stone, stamping rubber, anodized aluminium and mirror backs. In general, the material to be engraved should not be thicker than 3.8 cm as otherwise the laser head won’t have enough distance to the engraving surface.
Mr Beam have recently released a new product, the height extension which allows you to engrave blanks with a height of up to 6,8 cm.
Mr Beam is also offering a range of materials that are specifically suitable for laser cutting and engraving (remember my discount code Latte7 which gives you 7% off!).
I have been using my machine a lot since I got the hang of working with Adobe Illustrator. I made wooden banners for my kids’ rooms, cute little wall hooks and other nursery wall decorations and for my daughter’s birthday party I made cake toppers and personalised key rings for all her friends.
Check out #madewithmrbeam on Instagram to see what others have made with their Mr Beam laser cutter and engraver. The possibilities are endless!
The Mr Beam II Dreamcut [x] on it’s own is £2.899.00 and if you go for the Starter Pack Bundle including the air filter system it comes to £3.649.00. And yes, I get it, this isn’t the cheapest investment but it definitely is a big step up from a plotter like Cricut opening up sooo many possibilities to create . If you’re a passionate crafter like me or even thinking about starting a small business, this is a great little machine that you will be using again and again!
If you have any questions in regards to the Mr Beam laser cutter and engraver please feel free to get in touch either here or via Instagram dm and I will happily answer your questions if I can.
They also offer a free virtual demo via Zoom every week (sign up via the website), if you wanted to see the Mr Beam in action and ask some more questions directly.
Love, Pamela
*AFF