Very impressed with the quality of this. From the second you open the box, you can see this company care about their products. The packing not only provides protection so that it arrives safely, it is a work of art and an example of care.

Removal of the machine is just a matter of peeling back the layers and lifting it out of the box, using the straps provided. Easy to follow instructions mean that everything is set up and ready to switch on in no time at all. Once the software was downloaded and the machine connected to my PC, I was able to successfully print my very first attempt at laser engraving onto MDF.

My only regret was that I didn't order the 40W version, rather than the 20W version and should have bought the Honeycomb Panel (I have now ordered this!).

Now begins my learning process, which I'm sure I will enjoy (as I did when I bought a cnc a couple of years ago)

Rod
"X-Tooliac"

When I saw the S1 reveal on YouTube I bought the 40w big package immediately. I've been using a D1 Pro which I like and will continue to use but the S1 features checked off so many boxes for me I knew it would become my go-to laser. I received it two days later. It was super easy to setup, basically removing a few packaging protectors and adding the laser. A much different process from setting up my D1 Pro (or even worse - switching to the extended rails). The S1 is much more approachable.

I received the new Air Assist a few days later. I just used another air assist I already had. The 'auto' feature of the new air assist is nice though. With the dial set to auto, if you cut it will turn the air up to level 4 (highest level) and if you engrave it will automatically turn the air down to level 1. On the other side of the air topic, the exhaust fan on the S1, which I have connected to my air purifier, works well and extracts the smoke from the laser enclosure rapidly.

I received the riser base and feeder about a week later. I immediately set up the riser base. It doesn't come pre-assembled so you do have to build it but it was easy to do so and no where's near as extensive as building the D1. I haven't set up the feeder assembly yet. I've got too many projects right now and none of them need the feeder yet.

After getting the S1 setup I started doing cut and engrave tests. I immediately saw the difference between the S1's 40w laser versus my D1 Pro 20w laser. It can cut faster but where it really shines is how much faster you can engrave. Faster engraving means less time a project is under the laser meaning I can do more projects in the same amount of time.

After getting all my cut and engraving settings dialed in, I put the S1 right to work on several engraving projects as well as a couple cut projects. It handled all of them without issue. Again, the speed at which it can engrave things blew me away. One project was a hard maple cutting board and it engraved it at speeds over twice as fast as the D1 Pro. Being able to engrave two boards in the time it used to take to engrave one board is a major plus.

If you are looking at the S1 there are some things you should consider:
1. Get the riser - without the rise the thickness of items you can engrave is very small. I do keepsake boxes and other boxes and without the rise I couldn't do those with the S1. If you do any type of rotary engraving, then you must get the riser.
2. If you already have an air purifier and air assist it will work with them.
3. Although XCS keeps getting better, it is still not on par with Lightburn. However, when using some of the new S1 features with Lightburn they are a little clunky or you can't use them at all. Hopefully the two companies will work together to resolve some of the issues. I could be wrong, but I really don't see Lightburn ever offering the S1 features you have in XCS like two-point positioning, cutting on curved surfaces, and auto focusing. The first two don't work in Lightburn and the latter is very clunky.
4. XTool needs to offer a cover you can place over the enclosure. The green protective glass collects dust and smoke, so you'll need to continually clean it. It seems like it can scratch fairly easy too.

Overall, I am very happy with my S1 laser. Using the machine has been easy. I like all the safety features they've included. My biggest benefit so far has been the time savings. The quicker I can do things the quicker I can make money.

Once I finally decided to order the S1 I could hardly wait for it's arrival. After a very short time I received an email from xTool stating that my order was on it's way. It actually arrive one day earlier than expected. Wow, I was so impressed with the care that xTool placed on their packaging of their products. I loved the velcro straps that were around the entire formed enclosure that I used for lifting the S1 from the box. The S1 looks very professional and is a product that you would not mind it even being in your home. That's how nice it looks, not some ugly thing that you want to hide in a garage. I could not believe how easy the installation and setup was. I had the S1 setup installed and up and running in less than 30 minutes. I was also very impressed with how quiet the S1 was when it was running a job. It was no louder than my open framed D1 Pro. I am looking forward to using the S1 and exploring it's many features.

I've been waiting for many years to buy a laser cutter/engraver. I've had a lot of experience with an expensive, 60W metal tube CO2 machine, and that set the bar for me in terms of performance. I use a laser almost exclusively for cutting parts from baltic birch plywood and acrylic for projects that require larger dimensions, or stronger materials than are practical with 3D printing. So for me, 40 watts has been the starting point and it is finally here. I've also been appalled by the lack of safety features on open frame diode lasers. I bought the S1 during the announcement live stream and received it about three days later. I've already used it to make several parts for a project and have been very happy with the results. Before the air assist module came I used my air compressor and 1/4" hose and it worked fine. The air assist module finally came and it works great. I added an additional ~200cfm in-line exhaust blower to the S1 and it has no problem keeping the work volume clear. I didn't feel that the included fan would be enough, but haven't tried it on its own. For me, keeping the work volume smoke to a minimum has always been critical to keeping a machine clean when cutting through materials like wood.

Received the S1 20 watt today. Impressed with quality of packing and the laser itself. The 2 point marking is super easy to use and seems very accurate. Does a good job of containing the smoke. Would like option to make fan run longer.