xTool S1 FAQ: Metal Engraving, the 40W Module, Laser Safety Goggles, and What It Really Costs

I manage purchasing for a 28-person manufacturing company—roughly $600K in annual spend across 40+ vendors, reporting to both operations and finance. When our product development team asked for a benchtop laser cutter to make one-off components and internal signage, the xTool S1 ended up at the top of my list.

Marketing pages give you the basics. But when you're the person signing the purchase order, you need answers to the questions nobody puts in the FAQ. Here's what I dug up before buying—hopefully it saves you some of the same digging.

Can the xTool S1 engrave metal?

Short answer: yes—with important conditions. The xTool S1 with the 20W or 40W laser module will engrave coated metals like anodized aluminum and powder-coated stainless steel. On bare steel, you can use a marking spray to make the surface laser-reactive. So "can xTool S1 engrave metal?" is a genuine yes, not a marketing trick.

Here's the catch: reflective metals—bare copper, brass, raw aluminum—won't mark reliably. That needs fiber laser technology, which is a completely different price bracket. And no, it can't cut metal sheets. If someone tells you a desktop diode laser slices 1/4" steel, that conflicts with basic physics. Walk away from that conversation.

(To be fair, the marketing pages oversell this. The real material compatibility table is buried in the manual's appendix. Per FTC advertising guidelines, claims have to be substantiated—but the substantiation lives in the fine print, and the fine print has limits. Read it before you build a workflow around metal engraving.)

What does the 40W laser module for the S1 actually add?

Speed, depth, and reliable metal marking. The 10W module is a fine learner tool, but it's noticeably slow—or rather, painfully slow when you're on a deadline. The 40W, which is the ceiling for the S1, cuts 4mm birch plywood in about a third of the time the 10W needs, and it leaves clean, dark marks on coated stainless steel where the 10W often produces nothing visible.

(Should mention: the 40W module is physically larger and heavier. The S1 handles it without issue, but if your unit sits under a low shelf, measure your space first.)

This is also where I did my total-cost math. The 40W bundle costs more on day one. But adding a second module later costs more overall—you pay full retail, plus downtime while it ships. In our 2025 budget cycle, I had about 48 hours to decide; fiscal year-end was approaching, and the budget was take-it-or-lose-it. Normally I'd run a two-week comparison, but there was no time. I went with the 40W based on the spec sheet and two review videos I trusted.

So glad I did. We'd have hit a wall on our first coated-metal job with the 10W, and the retrofit would have cost me hours of rework and a very annoyed product development team.

Is the xTool S1 a "real" laser cutter, or just an engraver?

To be fair, diode lasers get dismissed by people who learned on CO₂ machines. There's some truth to it: CO₂ lasers cut thick acrylic more cleanly and have a longer track record. I'm not going to argue that physics doesn't exist.

But the S1 handles more than skeptics assume. With the 40W module, I've cut 5mm basswood and 6-8mm acrylic without drama. That doesn't cover every workshop need—clear 12mm acrylic? At that thickness, a CO₂ machine is the right answer—but for a small business doing signage, prototypes, panels, and enclosures, the S1 covers a solid majority of real jobs.

There's also a maintenance angle that rarely shows up in reviews. CO₂ machines have a glass tube that eventually wears out; replacement runs $300-$500 plus shipping and wait time. The S1's diode modules are solid-state. No tube to replace. Over a three-year ownership window, that shifts the total cost of ownership more than people expect.

Do I really need laser safety goggles?

Yes. Non-negotiable. The xTool S1 with the 40W module is a Class 4 laser product under FDA rules (21 CFR 1040.10)—the same hazard class as industrial laser systems. The enclosure and interlocks protect you during normal operation, but you'll want eye protection for any alignment, open-enclosure work, or troubleshooting around the beam path. I've caught myself leaning toward a partially open lid to peek at a cut; that's exactly when goggles earn their keep.

Here's the detail everyone gets wrong: goggles must match the laser wavelength, not just any label that says "laser safety." The S1 operates around 455 nm (blue diode). If someone hands you goggles rated for 1064 nm fiber lasers, they're useless here. Look for OD 6 or higher at 455 nm, ideally with an ANSI Z136.1 certification mark. xTool's own goggles qualify, but third-party options work too if the spec sheet is explicit.

If the spec sheet doesn't list a wavelength-specific OD rating, those goggles don't belong near this machine.

What should the real budget for an xTool S1 include?

This is where my purchasing math kicks in. The base machine price is the teaser, not the total. Here's the list I worked from:

• S1 base unit—10W, 20W, or 40W
• Air assist—substantially reduces charring and fire risk
• Honeycomb workbed for through-cuts
• Riser base, if you'll ever engrave items taller than about two inches
• Rotary attachment, if mugs or bottles show up in your future
• Proper laser safety goggles (see above)
• Ventilation or fume extraction. A laser cutter makes smoke. A typical office HEPA filter will not cope.

A realistically equipped 40W setup—machine, module, air assist, riser, ventilation—cost us roughly $2,200 to $2,500. Don't hold me to the exact figure; xTool runs bundles that shift the math from month to month. But anyone who quotes only the bare machine price is leaving half the shopping list off the quote.

That's the TCO lesson in miniature. The cheapest quote is the one that arrives incomplete, requires a second order, and leaves your engineer waiting an extra week. The complete configuration at a higher upfront number is often the cheaper transaction once you count setup fees, shipping, and time.

How much is a laser welder, and is that what I should be buying?

Since this article keeps getting found by people comparing the xTool S1 against laser welders, let's settle that directly. A functional entry-level handheld laser welder runs roughly $4,000 to $8,000. Industrial units go higher—$15,000 to $50,000 is not unusual. Take this with a grain of salt; prices shift quarterly, and import brands undercut established names significantly.

More importantly: a laser welder is a completely different tool. It welds metal. It does not engrave wood, cut acrylic, or mark coated steel. If you landed here with a metal welding job in mind, the xTool S1 cannot solve it. Conversely, if your real need is engraving or non-metal cutting, a $6,000 welder is massive overkill for what a $1,200 setup handles comfortably.

How long until we get useful work out of it?

Realistically, set aside a couple of evenings for setup and test cuts before you run real jobs. The software is approachable, but materials have personalities. You'll need a test matrix—a grid of speed and power settings per material—because 4mm basswood behaves nothing like coated stainless steel.

There's something satisfying about that first perfect job. After a week of test cuts and tuning, finally getting a clean engraved logo onto a coated steel panel—that's the payoff. The best part is knowing exactly what your machine can do, in quantifiable settings, instead of guessing.

I'd also budget part of that first evening for a safety conversation. If nobody at your shop has run a Class 4 laser before, read the manual's safety sections out loud. I'm not being dramatic. Ventilation, fire watch, eye protection... they're not optional accessories.