The Sculpfun S9 is a high-end laser engraver that outperforms the Sculpfun S6 and its competitor, the Atomstack A5 Pro.

Like the Sculpfun S6 Pro, the S9 laser engraver comes with a detailed assembly manual that is easy to understand. The mechanical part is almost the same as the S6 series. All necessary tools are included. The screws and parts are in separate bags and marked according to the necessary steps in the assembly manual. The machine can be assembled in less than 30 minutes.

Laser diode

Sculpfun S9 laser engraving machine is equipped with the latest 5.5W laser beam shaping technology diode laser, and has some clever optics inside, which can make the beam focus farther distance and have higher optical density, reflecting the super cutting penetration power and precision. It can cut 15mm thick wood, 10mm acrylic, direct engraving ceramic and 304 stainless steel, which is almost beyond the effect of 90W CO2 laser.

This is the difference between the laser head of Sculpfun S9 and Sculpfun S6 Pro. By comparison. The S9 has a much larger header, and the circuit board seems to have improved.

The Sculpfun S9 laser combines a fixed focus lens with a sliding design. You just need to slide the laser and tighten the screw to complete the alignment, the focusing process is much faster than adjustable focus.

There is a protective shield around the head that filters 98% of UV rays from entering the eyes, you and those around you can watch the laser engraving without goggles, however, I still recommend wearing the included safety goggles , you only have one pair of eyes, be sure to protect them, these lasers work in the visible spectrum, and even reflections can be very harmful to your eyes! If necessary, it is recommended that you buy better goggles to protect your eyes. After all, laser engraving is always a project that hurts your eyes.

Focus program

The method of focusing the laser to the object to be engraved is: put the fixed focus column on the surface of the engraved object, slide the laser module until the edge touches the fixed focus column, fix the module screw by hand, and remove the fixed focus column to complete the fixed focus. For cutting thicker materials, it is recommended to remove the acrylic shield and focus the laser head a few millimeters lower than standard. In this way, the cutting performance will be much better.

S9 shows different performance in cutting and engraving
For engraving, it can engrave wood, leather, cotton (clothing), rubber, paper, fruit, foam, acrylic, black anodized aluminum, blackened metal, stainless steel and other materials.

Cutting aspect: it can cut wood, paper, tape, cloth, acrylic, cardboard, fabric, bamboo, plastic board, KT board and other materials

With this machine you can cut wood up to 15mm thick, acrylic up to 10mm, direct engraving ceramic and 304 stainless steel, especially poplar plywood, which is soft in texture and is the wood of choice for all laser cutters.

As a reminder, you need to avoid plastics like PVC and vinyl as it releases hydrogen chloride gas when cutting, which is toxic and corrosive and can cause your machines to rust.

Software and Supported Formats

Sculpfun S9 laser engraver supports LaserGRBL, LightBurn, Benbox, GrblController, LiteFire software, you can also use free LaserGRBL software, but I chose Lightburn, it is more powerful and very intuitive to use. Although it's not free, the software costs $60, and it has a one-month trial feature that you can use for a month to decide whether to buy the software. I personally think it's worth it because it saves a lot of time.

With LaserGRBL you can import vector files (NC, BMP, JPG, PNG, DXF etc.) and bitmap image files (bmp, jpg, png and gif),

Lightburn supports more formats: AI, SVG, DXF, PDF, HPGL, PLT and RD for vector formats, PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, TGA and GIF for image formats.

Laser engraving relies on vector files, a special type of image file that tells the laser engraver how to engrave your design. Vector files contain shapes and lines drawn mathematically by special software, the images are not affected by changing resolutions.
There are many different programs you can use to create vector files, and the best choice depends on your skill level in graphic design and what functionality your project requires. You can use free vector drawing programs like Inkscape or QCAD (for more technical drawings), which offer the most options for image manipulation.

Our test results

We have standardized tests on all major laser engravers and cutters on the market. This way, it is easy to compare results between machines. For other machine test results, you can check out other posts on the HTPOW website, a one-stop shop for all your laser engraving projects.