Elegoo just announced that they will be releasing a new machine but this time it won´t be a 3D printer. Today they announced that they will be releasing the PHECDA, a hobby laser engraving machine.
Features of the PHECDA laser engraver and cutter:
- Engraving Area: 400 by 400 mm
- 10W power laser or 20W power laser on the “superpower machine”
- Aluminum alloy frame
- Machine size: 673 x 660 x 190 mm
- Max speed: 160 mm/s
- Can cut leather, wood, dark acrylic, and more
- Can engrave leather, wood, metal, dark acrylic, ceramic, stone, and more
- Will have a rotary axis module for engraving curved objects
- WiFi connectivity
- Filters the smoke during engraving and cutting
The PHECDA will cost around $240 for the normal version and $500 for the 20W Pro version. These are early bird prices, however, so they will be changing once the machine has ben released!
About Elegoo
Elegoo was founded in 2015 and has since then become an established company that is mainly known for its affordable hobby 3D printers.
Elegoo started by selling LCD resin printers in 2019 with the MARS and later on the Saturn series of printers. In 2021 they released their Jupiter series LCD 3D printer for large-scale resin printing.
But Elegoo also manufactures and sells FDM printers.
Their Neptune Series FDM printers have been a massive success and many independent reviewers called it one of the best beginner 3D printers of 2022. Even though the Neptune series are Ender 3 clones, they actually improved and added enough features to make the printer unique and reliable.
And now, in 2023, they want to expand their array of hobby machines and dive into hobby laser engraving machines.
What will the PHECDA be Able to Cut and Engrave?
The PHECDA laser engraver is not a CO2 laser. Meaning it can´t cut transparent materials such as transparent acrylic glass and it can´t cut metal.
The laser will be able to cut wood, MDF, leather, fabrics, dark acrylic sheets, foam, and more.
The 10W laser will probably be able to cut wood with a thickness of 4 mm in one pass and up to 6 mm in multiple passes.
The 20W pro laser version will probably be able to cut wood with a thickness of up to 10 mm in one go.
Elegoo has not yet shared any numbers on this but we can look at similar laser cutters such as the Atomstack s10 pro to see how well the PHECDA will be able to cut wood.
When will the PHECDA be Released?
Elegoo will share a first look at the PHECDA laser engraver and start preorders on the 1 of April. It is yet to be seen if this turns out to be an April fools joke or if they are serious.
Elegoo will also launch a Kickstarter page where you can support the PHECDA and get the machine early.
I am personally not a big fan of established companies doing Kickstarter campaigns for new machines because they often don´t need it to launch a new product.
Why is the Machine Called PHECDA?
Elegoo has a very interesting naming convention for its machines. All their machines are called after celestial bodies.
There is the Mars series, the Saturn series, the Neptune series, and the Jupiter series.
But then what is the PHECDA?
The PHECDA is a star in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is the lower left star of the Big Dipper.
It is larger, brighter, and hotter than our sun which is probably why Elegoo chose to name their laser engraving machine after it.
