LaserPecker 3 Metal & Plastic Handheld Laser Engraver

Jul 11, 2023

We take another dive into the world of LaserPecker, a company that has developed a number of incredible laser engraving solutions over recent years. One of its most recent models was the LaserPecker 3 (or LP3) Metal & Plastic Handheld Laser Engraver. One we have been using for some time now as we engrave/etch our way through a number of surfaces to see how well it holds up.

The design of this one takes us away from the smaller portable models the company has produced, swapping the little tripod out for a sturdy stand. Something more similar to a microscope, this makes it a lot easy to obtain a stable job out of it without the legs sliding around.

Instead, the stand keeps it in place at all times. While also making it quite easy to maintain the exact distance you need between the laser and the item you are trying to engrave (130mm or 13cm).

This is because it is an electric stand that can move up and down by 1mm precise steps. So you will always be able to get the distance you need. Only limited by the height of the stand. Although the plate at the base can be removed so you can place something underneath it or hold the base against something for those more abstract jobs (like etching a wall surface or other object that cannot be placed on the base).

It comes with everything you need for most flat surfaces/objects. Anything that can be placed on or under the base/plate area. Including the power supply/brick, protective glasses (always make sure you use these when the laser is running), some supports for the plate to hold items in place, a USB cable for the stand, ruler, and some thin sheets of plastic to practice (create your own etched business cards, etc).

Assembly is easy as it only requires a few screws to attach the two parts of the stand together, then a built-in thumb screw to attach the laser module. From there, all you have to do is run the USB cable between the two parts and attach the power supply. So there isn’t a lot to do for this.

There four connections on the back of the unit. Including it’s own power connection, a USB-C port to run to a computer (optional), and two USB ports for accessories (the left-most is for the stand, where the right one is for the optional roller accessory).

Everything can be managed using the app, making for a friendly experience over Bluetooth. Or, you can use that USB-C port to connect it to a Windows or MacOS system for desktop control using LaserPecker Design Space software. The latter of which isn’t exactly explained in the instructions, so you are left to figure that out yourself by doing your own research.

There are two buttons at the top of the laser module that allow you to trigger the preview mode of the current design uploaded to it and pause/resume the current job (you can also turn it off by long-pressing the pause/resume button). These buttons are touch-sensitive so you just have to touch them.

You won’t really have to use these though, unless you put your phone down and left it in the other room or something. Since these functions can be performed in the app just fine.

There are also two buttons at the top of the stand that allow for easy adjustment of the height. These buttons are also touch-sensitive, one raising and the other lowering.

A single press of these buttons results in a 1mm adjustment in either direction, allowing you to fine-tune that distance. Where if you long-press either, it will trigger a constant movement into that direction until you press it again or it reaches it limit.

You will be making use of these buttons consistently between jobs as you need to maintain that 130mm distance between the bottom of the laser/lens and the object being engraved. If you don’t, either the accuracy of the engrave will lack quality, it may not angrave in the right spot, or it may not engrave anything at all.

This control (height adjustment) can also be performance from the app as well, but we found ourselves using the buttons more often than the app for this function.

The learning curve this round was easy to get around since we are no stranger to this company’s products. But what’s nice, is that it is easy by default since there isn’t really a lot of learning curve to get around. Not like your typical X/Y axis engraver that requires the use of intense software similar to that of a 3D printer. Instead, you just need the app that acts as a soft of wizard to mask all of the hard parts behind a simple to use interface.

You will find yourself reading the instructions first if you have never used one of these before, but you won’t find any of it intimidating. Some instructions may be a little vague but you work your way around that pretty easily.

As for using the software on a PC or Mac, things are a little different, but still friendly all-the-same. Still not anywhere near as intense as some of those larger engraving machines. The software also acts as a bit of a wizard and you should find your way through it quickly.

However, in our experience, we were able to obtain everything using the app. At least, outside of the initial design of some of the content (which we typically use something like Photoshop and then transfer those images to the phone to be used within the app).

Once you have the images you want to engrave/etch transfered over to your phone, you can find them in the “Album” section of the app. Allowing you to browse your phone for files. You can choose a logo, or you can choose a photo (which can be hit and miss depending on the level of detail and shading within the image). We prefer logos and other designs similar as black and white images of such objects are easiest and most common to engrave.

The app also provides a clipart section, or you can take a photo right there on the spot and engrave it. Then there is the “Create” section where you can create text, barcodes, QR codes, or even hand-paint something onto the screen. Then send it right to the engraver to do the job.

From there, it walks you through your various settings for the types of materials you are trying to engrave.

It does a pretty decent job when it comes to engraving the materials it was designed for. Certain types of light metals and almost any kind of plastic except for transparent or highly reflective materials.

An example of a failed attempt was a typical empty spray bottle that had a diffused-white plastic design. Something you’d use to spray water or chemicals (ie, cleansers). The laser shown right through the plastic to the other side, lighting up the bottle in a cool way but nothing was engraved.

However, other solid surfaces work just fine for the most part. Especially, if your metal surfaces have some kind of layer on the outside (like your typical thermos bottles). It will engrave right through that layer, showing the metal underneath for a nice effect.

For everything else “metal”, it ranges from a simple soft effect to a deep cut that is quite noticeable. Seen in the above image. Our attempt to etch the top of a network switch resulted in a soft effect. Where etching a NVMe enclosure (a softer aluminum) resulted in a much deeper engraving that your fingers can feel when running them across the surface.

It could even engrave wood, but this is hit and miss and mostly miss on more dense wood materials (like a 2×4, which resulted in nothing for us). This just wasn’t designed for wood, so this doesn’t hold anything against its score. However, the fake wood panel we tried etching worked great (ie, compressed wood and other similar types should work well). So you can cheat the rules some.

For plastics, it generally does a great job. You just have to watch your depth setting so you don’t cut too deep. A nice soft engrave looks great almost every time. Where a deeper engrave looks a lot more like the NVMe enclosure of the previous image, which can look a little messy at times.

You will find that many things can easily be etched with this machine and you will have a lot of fun finding new things to engrave. Like the above image of a case for a pair of wireless earbuds that one of our colleagues etched their name onto.

From using it for business, to simply adding your name or logo to just about everything you own. There is a lot of use for this machine for those looking to be able to engrave small objects or just any surface since you can take the middle plate out and hold it against something (wall, table, etc).

The optional roller accessory is for the second USB port on the back of the laser module. This can either be bought seperately or more affordably as a bundled item. It since on top of the base/plate and allows you to engrave cylinder objects (like those liquid thermoses, soda cans, and similar.

Surprisingly, this is also pretty friendly to use. All you have to do is drop it onto the plate, plug it in, head to the settings of the app and choose “electric roller” and make sure “Cylinder” is selected.

It will automatically control the roller as it engraves whatever is sitting on it. Your only limitation is, again, the material of the object, and the distance between it and the laser. If the object is too large, you may not be able to obtain the 130mm distance. This part can get a little tricky and limiting at times.

Also, when working with certain things that are reflective, like soda cans, you may have to drive up the intensity of the job so it can properly be seen. In the above image of the 7-Up can, we used the default setting for “Aluminum” and it didn’t quite turn out so well. So we would have been better off doubling the intensity likely (or even further). In case you feel like putting your name on the side of a coke can.

Another thing to take into consideration is that your object is sitting sideways on the roller, so you’ll have to spin your design 90-degrees if you want it to view properly when your can or other item is standing up. So your content should engrave with the top of your design pointing left. In the above image of the can, we didn’t do this since we were just playing around. Thus the logo came out sideways (or spun 90 degrees to the right).

If the object spins in place on the rollers due to its surface area now being graspable, the company does provide thin rubber bands so you can create some grip around the object.

As with previous models (above image contains items engraved with previous models), there is just so much you can engrave using it. The end result determines heavily upon the material, the condition it is in, density, and other variables. So it would always be smart to test it out on an area or sample piece ahead of time to make sure you get the desired result on what you really want to engrave.

But again, you will find so many things to use it on and the base/plate approach it quite useful for using it on various types of surfaces and objects.

This brings me to one last mention for something it could be used for before I close things out. A bonus idea for what these engravers go a great job with. One of my colleagues ran around using it to etch randomly created logos he cooked up (all in play/jest) on 3D printed objects. This engraver works great with designs that were printed using PLA, PLA+, and PETG. Quite possibly with other filaments as well, but that is what he had used it against. The result was a crisp/clear logo that was worth gawking at. I tried snapping some pics of his creations but he ran off with everything claiming that he didn’t want anyone stealing his logo ideas. I’m assuming that was in jest too. But for now, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

This is a flexibility and powerful engraver for its size. It’s a bit pricey for its features, but you do get a lot of use out of it. There are so many things you can engrave with it and you will have a lot of fun finding new things to try out.

We like the design better than the tripod of some of the portable models. This one has so many other usable scenarios in comparison and it engraves a lot faster as well, which is quite notable. The adjustable height allows for accuracy and everything seems so well designed.

Is is very plug-and-play and easy to use. The app is friendly as well and is the same app you use with any of the company’s engravers. Although, it would have been nice to see better details about the desktop software for advanced users within the instructions, instead of the consumer having to learn about this via their own research efforts.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

Additional Images:

Specifications:

Average Power

1000 mw

Resolution

1k, 2k, 4k

Maximum Power

10kw

Preview Mode

Square Preview + Graphical Preview

Laser Wavelength

1064nm

Preview Speed

5000mm/s

Laser Source

1000mW/ II VI Laser Enterprise/Pulsed Infrared Laser

Engraving Speed

6mm/s-800mm/s

Unit Size

168.6mm*62.1mm*169.5mm

Wireless Connection

Bluetooth 5.0+

Stand Size

194mm*153.5mm*261.1mm

Support File Formats

G-code, JPG, PNG, BMP, SVG, DXF, and more

Weight

2.54 KG

Support System

Phone: Android & iOS PC: Windows & Mac OS

Engraving Area

Ellipse: 115mm*80mm Square: 65mm*65mm

Output

12V 5A | 100-240V | 50-60Hz

Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.