Is Lumitool a Scam or Just Half-Baked? - Lumitool F28 Review (Lumitool F20 Successor)

0:00
Right. So, yeah, this isn't a 3D
0:02
printer. I know. I'm just as confused as
0:04
you are. Actually, I bet I'm more
0:06
confused. Now, I've had some ideas
0:09
lately, laser ideas, potentially
0:11
dangerous ones. And there's another
0:12
reason I wanted to get into this, but
0:14
I'll come back to that in a moment. When
0:16
Lumi Tool reached out and initially
0:18
said, "We want to send you two of our
0:19
laser machines." I thought, "Wow, yeah.
0:21
All right. How hard can lasering be?"
0:23
especially when this is supposed to be
0:25
one of the fastest, most easy to use,
0:27
most precise laser engravers on the
0:29
market. Well, what I got was something
0:32
else entirely. And even though what I
0:34
got was a $2,000 plus freebie, I still
0:38
can't help but feel like I got scammed.
0:42
Hi, I'm Ross. This is Fammer Videos.
0:45
Now, obviously to my usual audience, I
0:47
don't normally cover laser engravers. I
0:49
do 3D printers, but I've had some ideas
0:51
I really want to try out. And if I'm
0:52
completely honest, I'm kind of hoping
0:54
lasers will help me black my way into
0:56
reviewing the shiny new bamboo H2D laser
0:59
version at some point. And if you're new
1:01
here, I need to be 100% clear up front.
1:03
I don't review stuff by reading off the
1:06
spec sheet and nodding along like it's a
1:08
PowerPoint presentation. I want to show
1:10
you what different maker products are
1:12
actually like to use. So, let's get
1:14
stuck in. Looney Tunes initially emailed
1:16
me offering both the F-20 and F-28 for
1:19
review. And I replied with something
1:21
along the lines of two free laser
1:22
engravers. yeah. Okay. How do I not
1:25
come across as desperate? So I said,
1:27
"Uh, yes, please. I will have two laser
1:29
engravers. Thank you." But then it was
1:31
suddenly, "Oh, we need to check with our
1:33
manager before we can send anything."
1:35
Right? So look, why make the offer in
1:37
the first place? Maybe they jumped the
1:39
gun a bit there. And I'll check my
1:40
YouTuber privilege right here and say,
1:42
"Yeah, getting offered anything at all,
1:45
especially for free, is already more
1:47
than fair. It's just that why reach out
1:50
if that's not already an agreed thing."
1:52
Anyway, a bit of back and forth later,
1:54
and they said, "Yeah, we'd like to send
1:56
you the new F28, the newer, shinier,
1:58
more expensive one." And that is
2:00
fantastic, right? A free $2,000 plus
2:03
laser engraver. Now, in hindsight,
2:05
getting just one might have actually
2:08
been a mercy, just not as much of a
2:10
mercy as them not sending me either. So,
2:13
two parcels were sent out on April 28th.
2:16
One tracking number didn't work, and
2:17
there was weeks of ignorance when I
2:19
asked for clarity so I could track them
2:21
both. And then on June 15th, everything
2:24
showed up. And it's worth pointing out
2:25
that this is from a company that claims
2:27
a 7 to 15 day delivery time. Mine took
2:30
48. Now, maybe because this was a
2:33
freebie, they went with the Slowboat to
2:35
save a bit of cash. That's fair enough.
2:37
I know. Again, I'm lucky to get a
2:40
machine like this for free. So, yeah,
2:41
another little privilege check, but
2:43
these quirks and clumsy moments in the
2:45
journey do matter. And there's more
2:47
coming because if you stack them all up,
2:49
this is where it starts to feel a lot
2:51
like a scam. And besides, back when this
2:53
did show up, I was still super excited.
2:56
Genuinely, this one even skipped all of
2:59
the review cue because I wanted to get
3:01
it straight onto my bench. Now, taking
3:03
it out of its nicely branded box, it
3:05
immediately looks solid. Machined
3:07
aluminium, clean finish, this felt like
3:09
a proper bit of kit. Compared to some of
3:12
the plasticky toy-like printers I'm used
3:13
to, and it felt like that right up until
3:16
I came to use it. Now, the standout
3:18
specs used to make this sound impressive
3:20
include a 28W true fiber laser. And
3:23
based on the only proper review I've
3:25
seen, it apparently is the real deal,
3:27
not just a rebranded infrared diode. And
3:29
alongside that, there's also a 20 W blue
3:31
diode laser, which, if I'm getting this
3:33
right, isn't just for show. It's meant
3:35
to handle materials the fiber laser
3:37
can't, like wood. Basically, it gives
3:40
this machine more flexibility. And they
3:42
also boast a 12,000 mm a second
3:45
engraving speeds and a claimed precision
3:47
of 0.001
3:50
mm. That's one micron. Now, the website
3:54
name drops LightBurn 2, but if you read
3:56
carefully, that's only mentioned for the
3:58
F20. And even then, it's not actually
4:01
supported yet. According to them,
4:03
they're working on it. So, for software,
4:05
it offers iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac
4:08
apps. So, you've got something that
4:10
sounds on paper like an intuitive
4:12
multimaterial engraving speed demon.
4:15
Now, whether any of that's actually
4:16
true, well, that's kind of the whole
4:18
point of the rest of the video, isn't
4:20
it? So, with all those shiny specs
4:22
rattling around in my head, I fired it
4:24
up and I immediately hit a wall. There
4:26
was an instruction manual in the box,
4:28
but calling it that is beyond generous.
4:30
It's basically a multi-page pamphlet
4:32
that doesn't explain what any of the
4:34
options actually do or what the hardware
4:35
is. Instead, the captions literally
4:38
describe what you can already see in the
4:40
pictures beside them, which I guess is
4:42
handy if you've managed to somehow make
4:45
it this far in owning a laser machine
4:48
without having working eyes that
4:51
suddenly do work. Honestly, these are so
4:54
bad. It's like slapping an unlabeled
4:56
graph in front of someone with the
4:57
caption, "This is a graph."
5:00
There's no setup guide, no this part is
5:02
this, no wiring instructions, no
5:04
assembly instructions, no software
5:06
walkthrough. This is useless paper. So,
5:09
we go straight to the website and this
5:11
isn't much better. Uh there are no clear
5:13
links from the homepage to any kind of
5:15
setup guides unless you count their blog
5:17
page which when you go and actually
5:19
interrogate it, it's just a hole of
5:21
beyond highlevel AI generated articles
5:24
using laser projects with zero relevance
5:27
to their own products. I actually had to
5:30
go and find the guides through Google
5:32
and even then what I landed on was a
5:34
complete mess. No structure, terrible
5:36
layout and the videos I I I just can't
5:39
even seriously go and watch them.
5:41
They're like telling someone who's never
5:42
seen a car, step one, drive the car. And
5:46
then we get on to using the software.
5:48
And somehow this is even worse. Now,
5:51
there is an iOS app, but existence is
5:53
its greatest achievement. I wouldn't
5:55
even call it a beta. Sure, a bit more
5:57
than half the UI is translated, but what
6:00
is translated is barely coherent.
6:02
Honestly, download it and have a look.
6:04
This is an absolute embarrassment. And
6:06
when it comes to the desktop version,
6:08
well, once you dodge all the Windows
6:10
security warnings, you'd be forgiven for
6:12
thinking you'd installed malware until
6:13
you stumble across the button to switch
6:15
it to English. Then you realize that
6:17
what you've got is just a Chinese
6:19
Android emulator running the same
6:21
halfbaked mobile app. Okay, fair enough.
6:24
The Android version does have a few more
6:25
features than its iOS counterpart. And
6:28
apparently there was a separate pro
6:30
version of the app at one point, but
6:32
that's now been pulled from the Play
6:33
Store, and I've got no idea where to
6:35
find it because the brand haven't
6:37
published it. Now, at this point, I
6:39
hadn't quite reached out of my depth,
6:41
but I was rapidly running out of
6:43
patience. But hey, the machine did turn
6:46
on, so progress. Yeah. Well, after
6:49
several failed attempts to guess the
6:51
setup process, I eventually stumbled
6:53
across a buried video that half
6:54
explained how to prepare it for
6:56
engraving. And basically, you're
6:58
supposed to marry up the two red dots by
7:00
raising and lowering the head. That's
7:02
easy enough, except out of the box, my
7:05
dots wouldn't line up. One just passed
7:07
under the other entirely. So, I went to
7:10
the support part of the website and I
7:12
reached out to Lumi Tool, which takes
7:14
you to a chat via WhatsApp, and their
7:16
advice after explaining all of this,
7:18
marry up the dots. Yeah, thanks guys.
7:21
Incredibly helpful. So, after a bit more
7:24
time of learning, a day or two, it turns
7:26
out you can move the secondary guidance
7:29
laser, just not easily. I tried twisting
7:31
it, pushing it, and even disassembling
7:33
half the machine just to see if I could
7:35
loosen it, and nothing. What they
7:37
suggested was using a tool, which isn't
7:40
included in the box, of course, to
7:42
manually rotate it. And I did, and after
7:44
a lot of fiddling, I got the dots lined
7:46
up, but then nothing would engrave. Now,
7:49
this is the point where I need to
7:50
mention for those of you experienced in
7:52
laser printing, I know I'm coming across
7:54
like a winging baby. So, this is where I
7:57
want to reiterate that I am brand new to
8:00
lasers. I review tech, sure, but I'm a
8:03
complete beginner in this specific
8:05
field. And I know I am probably being
8:07
stupid. I've got a lot to learn. And
8:09
yes, if you've used a laser before,
8:11
you're smarter than me, obviously. But
8:13
please, I'm all I'm asking you to do is
8:15
treat me with the respect you'd offer
8:17
anyone just starting out in this hobby
8:19
because that's the perspective I'm
8:21
reviewing this product from. And if I've
8:24
made mistakes, I'll pin corrections in
8:25
the video description. I'm not here to
8:28
be unfair, just honest about my
8:30
experience. So, as it turns out, and I
8:33
learned, aligning the dots doesn't
8:35
actually do squat unless you've already
8:37
focused the laser. And yeah, in
8:39
hindsight, that is pretty damn obvious.
8:41
But how do you actually focus the laser
8:43
on this machine? Well, turns out you
8:46
guess. Step one is enable repeat mode,
8:50
so the machine keeps trying to engrave.
8:52
Step two, raise or lower the head using
8:54
the buttons until the beam looks the
8:57
brightest or sounds the loudest because
9:00
obviously nothing says precision
9:02
equipment like eyeballing it. But once
9:05
you've guessed it's dialed in, then you
9:08
line up your red dots. Now again, maybe
9:10
I missed something, but if I did, I've
9:11
missed a lot of things over the course
9:13
of two days, but I just don't think I
9:16
should have to dig through obscure
9:18
YouTube clips, forum comments, and
9:20
broken English WhatsApp messages just to
9:22
get its most basic feature working. And
9:25
I'm probably still a mile off accurate.
9:27
Surely, there should be a calibration
9:30
process, a test card, anything. No,
9:33
seriously, that's a question. Tell me.
9:35
I've seen some indication online of how
9:37
you can do different accuracy tests, but
9:40
no idea how to get that working with
9:42
this thing, but after all the mcking
9:44
about, I did manage to get the laser
9:46
focused enough to make Bernie things.
9:49
Then I got the dots aligned, and I was
9:51
more eager than ever to actually engrave
9:53
something. Just before we move on,
9:56
here's a kicker. This machine has two
9:58
lasers as I mentioned, a red fiber laser
10:00
and a blue diode laser meant for
10:01
materials the red can't handle and vice
10:04
versa. The problem is they don't share
10:06
the same focus length. So that guidance
10:08
laser we just spent ages aligning, yeah,
10:11
it's only lined up properly for one of
10:13
the two lasers. So every time you're
10:15
switching between red and blue, you're
10:17
basically guessing where the laser is
10:19
focused again, aligned or not. And
10:22
before we go on to the engraving results
10:24
and the conclusion or lack thereof,
10:26
let's talk about the device itself.
10:28
First up, it's loud. And not only is it
10:30
loud, but the fan runs constantly
10:33
whenever the unit's powered on. There's
10:35
no quiet or idle mode. So even when it's
10:37
just sat there idling and not doing any
10:39
engraving, it does sound like a small
10:42
jet engine warming up. And before I got
10:44
it, I was expecting a green safety cover
10:46
like the F20 has. But no, Lumi Tool have
10:49
actually told me that that cover is
10:51
exclusive to the F-20. The F-28 uses
10:54
this big clunky orange box instead. Now,
10:56
two things about that. One, why is it a
10:59
recommended accessory for the F28 on
11:01
their website? Just an update to this,
11:02
they've now actually removed it from the
11:04
website. And two, if the orange box is
11:07
the safety cover, why doesn't it come as
11:09
standard? Especially when their site
11:11
boasts about safe operations being their
11:13
foremost concern. And if there is no
11:16
green cover, what's the point of the
11:18
stand that you get in the box with it?
11:20
If you're never going to use this
11:22
motorized stand because there is no
11:24
safety cover that goes with it, what
11:26
what's what's the point in the stand?
11:29
Why why not just ship the F28 and the
11:31
orange box in the same Yeah, this all
11:34
sounds like total bollocks to me. Now,
11:36
this orange box, it connects to the F28
11:39
using Ethernet and USB, but here's the
11:42
crappy bit. The USB powers a fan that
11:45
runs inside this orange box. And that
11:48
runs nonstop when the F28 is plugged in,
11:51
regardless of whether the laser unit is
11:53
switched on or off. So, as long as the
11:55
USB is plugged in, that fan is spinning
11:57
its guts out. And the actual internal
12:00
base, as in the thing you sit the stuff
12:02
on to be lasered, is flimsy as hell. It
12:06
wobbles and tilts like the mechanism
12:08
must have come from a cheap caravan
12:10
window. What this means is your
12:11
workpiece isn't sitting flat and
12:13
parallel to the laser, which is a
12:16
massive problem for precise engraving,
12:18
as you're about to see. So, armed with a
12:20
rough focus and a design loaded up, I
12:23
hit go and let the machine do its thing.
12:25
The laser fired up, the material
12:26
crackled, and yeah, I noticed a slant in
12:29
the engraving surface right away. That
12:31
tilt on the base showed up in every
12:33
single pass. One side of my engraving
12:36
was clearly deeper and darker, the other
12:38
side barely there. So, I just stuck with
12:41
using the flat base and no safety shield
12:43
other than the safety glasses they
12:45
provide. And I need to say lasers are no
12:48
joke. Yeah, fumes and all that, but
12:50
honestly, just accidentally catching an
12:52
unprotected glance of that blue light
12:54
reflection off wood while filming was
12:56
enough to leave a blue blur in my vision
12:58
for a good minute or two. This was an
13:00
accident. Yeah, it was a stupid
13:02
accident. Accidents happen. They happen
13:04
to me. I'd rather say it and point it
13:07
out than risk it happening to you. This
13:09
isn't the sort of device you take a risk
13:11
with. So, it would be incredibly helpful
13:13
if one or the other safety shield came
13:15
as a standard accessory. But anyway, the
13:17
long and short of it is the quality of
13:19
this machine is far from what I
13:20
anticipated from something with these
13:22
specs or this price tag. But I imagine a
13:25
lot of that does come down to me having
13:28
no clue how to dial it in. And I don't
13:31
think that's all on me. I tried. I tried
13:34
really hard. And when using the blue
13:36
light, all I got went from no markings
13:38
on wood to just burning holes in the
13:41
surface. And this was with the pre-built
13:43
profiles in the app. Now, I've since
13:45
learned, yeah, you need things like
13:46
airflow. And I understand lasering isn't
13:49
plugandplay like printing has become.
13:51
There are things to learn. But across
13:54
the two lasers, I did dozens of tests. I
13:57
was just completely lost between bad
13:59
results and not knowing if that was due
14:00
to poor focus, bad settings, bad
14:04
hardware, or me. And this is where I
14:06
reached out to the brand and told
14:07
Lumiol, I said, "This could be great
14:09
hardware, but you're not explaining to
14:11
anyone how to use it or how to even get
14:13
started with it." And after a bit of
14:16
back and forth, they kind of panicked
14:17
and said, "Oh, give us a week to update
14:19
the website." Here we are two weeks
14:22
later and they've they've done all. All
14:25
I'm asking for is that they have a clear
14:28
here's the support section and then a
14:30
user guide. Step one, how to get the
14:32
software. Step two, how to set up your
14:35
hardware. Step three, how to dial in the
14:37
focal range. Step four, crack on and
14:40
learn from there from this, that, or the
14:43
other resource. And considering they've
14:45
got the time to generate all of these
14:47
AI articles, then I question
14:50
why they've prioritized that over actual
14:54
useful user guides or fully developed
14:57
software for their own products. And as
15:00
for the speed they mention, I'm just
15:01
going to defer to Kobe Schmidt's video
15:03
where he runs through the speed claims
15:05
and points out some, I would say,
15:07
serious discrepancies along with the
15:09
inference that the brand uses time-lapse
15:11
photography to visually inflate the
15:13
speeds. Kind of like those old Steven
15:15
Seagal movies where they just sped up
15:16
the fight scenes and hope you didn't
15:18
notice. I guess much like modern
15:20
printers, this may be a 10 times faster
15:22
device than other hobby laser engravers,
15:25
but I also expect those comparable
15:26
engravers are probably a few years old
15:28
by now. All in all, I have to say as a
15:32
beginner, I ended up with a device that
15:34
certainly exceeded my expectations based
15:36
on the advertising. It just exceeded
15:39
them in completely the wrong direction.
15:41
Now, before wrapping up, it's worth
15:43
noting why all this adds up to making
15:45
the whole thing look a bit like a scam.
15:47
It's the unprofessional communication,
15:49
the lack of community updates, lack of
15:51
support. Facebook group is all but a
15:53
ghost town, excessive short form
15:55
advertising, disjointed software that
15:57
reports as security threats when you
15:59
install it, apps pulled down by the Play
16:02
Store or App Store, unresponsive
16:04
support, and completely misleading
16:06
marketing and AI generated articles that
16:08
are probably just there to be filled
16:10
with keywords that drive your attention
16:12
to laser engraving product. If you add
16:15
all those pieces together, yeah, I think
16:18
it becomes easy to see why I'm quite
16:19
skeptical. So, here's the deal. I
16:21
honestly don't know if this is a good
16:23
product or not. If you have one and
16:24
you're using it, brilliant. Pop it in
16:26
the comments. You tell us. But I'm going
16:29
to say not. I can't properly tell cuz I
16:32
can't get it working. And I'll
16:34
confidently say I pushed it way beyond
16:36
what I'd consider reasonable. When I
16:38
shared my honest thoughts with Lumi
16:40
Tool, they actually asked me not to make
16:42
this video, saying, "We didn't expect
16:44
this kind of feedback, which is a bit
16:46
rich considering their first email to me
16:48
said they watch my content and like my
16:50
attention to detail." So, how could they
16:53
not expect this? They didn't even need
16:55
my thoughts. They could have just
16:57
listened to any of their Kickstarter
16:58
backers comments. And look, when I calm
17:01
down and put my objective head on, I I
17:04
don't think this is a scam. It's a real
17:06
product and a few people have them from
17:08
what I understand. And I feel bad making
17:11
a negative video about a startup. This
17:14
kind of thing can affect people's
17:15
livelihoods and stall development
17:18
further for those people who backed it.
17:20
But also, come on, Lumiol. It's been a
17:23
year, guys. I honestly think the
17:25
situation is this is just a very
17:27
immature company with a CEO who's
17:29
probably obsessed with tech specs and
17:31
hoping marketing is going to cover the
17:33
rest. But development, support, and
17:36
service matter far more than they
17:38
currently realize because without focus
17:40
there, all I can realistically do is
17:42
wish them luck. So, for now, I'm just
17:45
going to put this back in the box. I'll
17:46
revisit it in a few months if they get
17:48
their act together and actually face
17:50
their problems. But honestly, in my
17:52
opinion, they shouldn't even be
17:54
considering releasing new machines like
17:56
this F28 until they finish fixing the
17:58
F20, the last one. Scratch that. just
18:01
get it so iting works. So, despite my
18:05
usual approach to reviews, maybe this is
18:08
a device where the specs matter more
18:10
than the usability to some people. If
18:12
you bought it for its specs and you love
18:14
it and you're watching, hey, I hope all
18:17
six of you enjoy it. Seriously though,
18:20
and that was just a joke. Seriously, if
18:23
you do, please, please tell me how to
18:26
actually use the damn thing. I want to
18:28
say thanks for watching with a huge
18:29
thanks going to our members whose names
18:31
are on screen now. They get Discord
18:33
rolls, early access, all of that stuff.
18:35
You've heard me talking too long. Until
18:38
next time. Wait a minute. This is the
18:40
future. Where are all the phaser guns?
18:43
Faux hammer out.
18:48
[Music]

Is Lumitool a Scam or Just Half-Baked? - Lumitool F28 Review (Lumitool F20 Successor)

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