Here's the thing nobody tells you before you buy a laser cutter: the "right" setup doesn't exist. Whether the xTool S1 is worth it as your 20W laser depends entirely on what you plan to make. Most of the "universal settings" guides out there were written by people who cut exactly one material, once.
I've been running an xTool S1 20W laser since April 2023. It started as a hobby and turned into a small-batch side business. Along the way, I personally made and documented 11 significant mistakes — roughly $600 in ruined materials, not counting my time. I keep a checklist in my workshop now so I don't repeat them. This article is basically that checklist, reorganized by which mistake applies to you.
The way I see it, most S1 owners fall into one of three scenarios:
- Scenario 1: You want to make laser etched coffee mugs — gifts, or maybe to sell.
- Scenario 2: You bought the machine for acrylic cutting — signs, keychains, decor.
- Scenario 3: You have projects in mind but you're stuck choosing laser engraving software.
None of these is the "correct" one. But each has its own traps, and each needs a different setup. Let's walk through them.
Scenario 1: You Want to Make Laser Etched Coffee Mugs
This is probably the most common reason people buy the S1, and honestly the most rewarding to start with. It's also where I lost the first chunk of my budget.
Mistake #1: I used real mugs as test blanks
In my first week, I bought a 6-pack of specialty ceramic mugs (~$7 each) and ran power tests directly on them. Every single one came out overburned or patchy. $42 of mugs, straight to the trash. That's when I learned the rule I now repeat constantly: test on the cheapest blank you can find. Dollar-store mugs first, nice ones later.
Mistake #2: I skipped the rotary attachment
Mugs are cylindrical. I figured I could just rotate the mug by hand between lines. The text came out looking like it was written on a wobbly carnival ride. (Which, honestly, I should have seen coming.) The rotary bundle isn't an optional luxury if mugs are your main goal — it's the difference between consistent results and a growing reject pile. I waited three weeks to buy it, and those three weeks cost me more in wasted mugs than the rotary itself.
Mistake #3: I didn't understand the coating
Here's something vendors won't tell you: most of the beautiful "laser etched" mugs you see online aren't engraved on bare ceramic. They use a laser-reactive coating (like CerMark) or laser-ready coated tumblers. On bare ceramic, a 20W diode module might leave a faint frosted mark on some glazes, but it's inconsistent. When I compared a bare ceramic mug and a coated tumbler side by side under the same settings, I finally understood why my results didn't match the ads. It wasn't the machine. It was the material.
If you're planning to sell them...
Per FTC guidelines (ftc.gov), any claim you make about your product — "dishwasher safe," "fade-proof," anything — has to be truthful and substantiated. I put one of my engraved mugs through a dishwasher cycle and watched the mark fade noticeably. Good thing I tested before I printed that slogan.
Also, factor in shipping. Mugs are bulky and fragile, and USPS rates change regularly — for context, the First-Class stamp went to $0.73 in January 2025 (usps.com/stamps). Postage and packaging will eat your margin fast if you don't price them in from day one.
Small doesn't mean unimportant — it means potential.
My first order was four mugs for a friend's mom, about $80 total. It felt almost embarrassingly small at the time. But the suppliers who treated that $80 order seriously are the ones I still work with for bigger batches today. Starting small is not a problem. It's a good sign.
Scenario 2: You Bought the xTool S1 for Acrylic Cutting
Acrylic makes the S1 look great — and also reveals where a diode laser's limits live. I learned this the expensive way.
Mistake #1: I assumed "acrylic is acrylic"
It's not. Cast and extruded acrylic behave completely differently under the beam. In late 2023, I ran a side-by-side test — same 3mm thickness, same settings. The cast sheet engraved with a clean, chalky white mark (perfect for text). The extruded sheet melted into a sloppy, clear edge that looked like a bad plastic weld. What most people don't realize is that you'll likely want both types on your shelf: cast for engraving, extruded for clean cuts — and they're not interchangeable.
Mistake #2: I ignored what color does to a diode beam
Here's something vendors won't tell you: a blue diode laser passes straight through clear acrylic. The same machine that slices dark 3mm sheeting in two passes will barely melt a clear sheet. Color isn't cosmetic for diode lasers — it's physics. If you need to cut clear acrylic with the S1, expect to use a colored or coated version, or a different approach entirely. That realization cost me a full afternoon and a sheet of material (surprise, surprise).
Mistake #3: Air assist is not optional
I skipped the air assist kit to save about $70. My acrylic cuts looked like melted candy, and smoke pooled right up into the lens area. Acrylic melts rather than vaporizes, and without airflow the debris sinks back onto the cut edge. Comparing the same file with and without air assist side by side was enough to make me order the kit that same day. And for the love of your lungs, run the S1 with proper ventilation or an enclosure — acrylic fumes are not something to "quickly check on" while leaning over the work area.
Setting expectations: in my experience, a 20W diode laser tops out around 4-6mm of acrylic depending on color and speed. It's not a CO₂ machine, and it doesn't pretend to be. The S1's sweet spot is detailed cuts in 3mm and under. Plan for that and you'll save yourself a lot of frustration.
Scenario 3: You're Stuck on Laser Engraving Software
This is the scenario nobody wants to admit they're in, because the software feels like it shouldn't be the bottleneck. For me, it was.
I used xTool Creative Space (XCS) for the first six months, mainly because it was free and already installed. And for simple mug work — names, photos, basic designs — it's honestly fine. But when I moved to multi-layer acrylic signs (engrave + cut in one file), XCS started showing seams. Imports would shift slightly, layer order confused me, and I'd burn a test piece just to figure out what went wrong. I convinced myself that LightBurn's learning curve wasn't worth it. I was wrong.
Had 2 hours to prep a client's order one afternoon. Normally I'd set it up in LightBurn and run a quick test, but there was no time. I imported the SVG into XCS, trusted the preview, and the cut drifted. In hindsight, I should have spent 20 minutes in LightBurn and done it right the first time. The order went out a day late, and I bought a LightBurn license that same week.
The lesson, if you ask me: if you're mostly engraving mugs, XCS is probably enough — its cylinder-warp tool is genuinely handy. If you're doing design-heavy work, LightBurn is worth the learning curve. As of January 2025, at least, it's my main tool; the material library alone saves me an afternoon of settings-guessing every month. (Not that I've stopped tweaking my own presets — that's half the fun, honestly.)
How to Tell Which Scenario You're Actually In
Not sure yet? Answer one question: what's the first thing you actually want to make this weekend?
- A mug or tumbler for a coworker — you're in Scenario 1. Buy the rotary, get a coated blank, test at low power and work up. You'll have a finished product by dinner.
- A sign or acrylic keychain — Scenario 2. Order both cast and extruded samples, make air assist a non-negotiable purchase, and treat 3mm as your comfort zone.
- Anything design-heavy, or you already have a machine and your files keep misaligning — Scenario 3. Download the LightBurn trial, watch one 20-minute tutorial, and stop fighting software that wasn't built for the job.
If your answer is "I don't know what to make with a laser cutter yet" — start with mugs. They're small, forgiving, cheap to test, and genuinely giftable. You'll learn the machine's personality without burning through a big material budget. (As someone who wasted $600 finding out what not to do, trust me on this.)
Whichever scenario you're in, keep a settings log. I keep mine in a battered notebook next to the S1 — because the settings I remember best are the ones that failed, and that's not the kind of memory you want to rely on.
