What you need to know
- Beamo is the third maker tool by Flux.
- The early bird price is $799, MSRP is $1499.
- The 30 Watt laser will cut through many materials and etch on to others.
- The Kickstarter launched this week.
Being a maker is becoming easier and easier. We talk a lot about 3D printing here at Windows Central, but there is more to making than that. Flux has a history of making 3D printers and laser cutters, and with its latest Kickstarter project, called Beamo, it's looking to bring those skills to a wider audience.
Whats a Beamo?
Beamo is an affordable and compact CO2 laser cutter for makers spaces and schools. The 30 Watt CO2 laser is designed to etch images — it can use JPG, SVG, DXF, and PNG — into different materials like wood, plastic, leather, and even glass and metal. It can even cut through 3mm thick materials to give you amazing models and artwork.
Beamo uses an internal camera to help align your images onto the thing you want to cut. The removable bottom allows you to fit any size material into position easily as well, giving you a lot of material choice. This is especially helpful if, say, you want to etch a logo onto a large piece of art, or woodwork.
With a build area of 10.24" x 8.27" (260 x 210 mm), Beamo is perfect for sitting on your workbench in your maker space or a classroom workshop. It's aimed squarely at the hobbyist and education market and, as such, is priced at an incredibly reasonable $799 for its early bird pricing. Even if you can't get in on time for the $799 deal, the MSRP is $1499, and that is still is an excellent price for a CO2 laser cutter.
This Kickstarter has grabbed my interest from an affordability standpoint. The feature list of the Beamo is pretty great, and add-ons are the way to make it even better. It's going to be a steal at $799, so make sure you are ready to grab that early bird special.
