My First Impressions of the xTool M2: Unboxing, Setup & First Miniature Projects

I’ve wanted to experiment with laser cutting for quite some time, especially for making dollhouse miniatures, fairy garden accessories, and custom crafting projects. When xTool sent me their M2 Color Craft Laser Cutter and Engraver, I couldn’t wait to test it out.

This isn’t a long review; at least not yet.

Instead, this article documents my very first experiences with the machine, from opening the box to completing my very first laser-cut project, a cute little miniature fairy garden bridge.

As I continue exploring everything the M2 can do, I’ll keep adding more experiences and, of course, our miniature projects!

I have a personal discount for you using my codes if you purchase the xTool M2 on their website:
$80 off orders over $999: LIZZY80
$100 off orders over $1,699: LIZZY100 

As an Amazon, Etsy, xTool, and Anavrin associate, I earn a small commission from your purchase, with no extra charges for you.

What’s Included in My xTool M2 Deluxe Bundle

I was fortunate enough to receive the xTool M2 Deluxe Bundle as a gift from xTool to test and review here on Everything Very Small.

Disclosure: xTool kindly provided me with the xTool M2 Deluxe Bundle free of charge for testing and review. However, I was not compensated to write this article, and all opinions and experiences shared here are entirely my own.

Since this article is all about my first experiences with the machine, I thought I’d start by showing you exactly what was included in the bundle.

Inside the package, I found:

• xTool M2 Color Craft Laser Cutter & Engraver (20W)
• CMYK Inkjet Module for full-color printing
• RA3 Lite Rotary Attachment
• xTool Desktop Air Purifier
• An extended exhaust hose for connecting the machine to the air purifier
• A selection of sample materials to experiment with
• All the necessary cables, accessories, and setup tools

Check out the Xtool M2 on their website here.

Unboxing the xTool M2 Deluxe Bundle

When my xTool M2 Deluxe Bundle arrived, it came in three large boxes—although it was technically four products, as the RA3 Lite Rotary Attachment was packed neatly inside the main M2 box. You can see exactly how everything was packaged in my unboxing video below.

I’ll admit I felt a little overwhelmed when I unpacked everything. There were far more components and accessories than I had expected!

At this stage, I am still mainly focused on one goal: learning how to laser cut wooden pieces for my dollhouse miniatures and fairy garden projects, and maybe even a complete dollhouse kit in the future!

Looking at everything spread out on the table, I quickly realized there was so much more this machine could do, and I have plenty to learn.

Rather than pretending to know everything from day one, I’d like to discover the machine step by step and share that learning process with you along the way.

Everything was securely packed, well protected, and arrived in perfect condition. My first impression of the machine and its accessories was also very positive: they all felt sturdy, well-made, and gave me confidence that I was dealing with a quality product.

Especially for a hobby crafter. I’m not sure if it would be suitable for creating products in bulk and to sell the actual products worldwide, but we will find out someday!

Installing and Setting Up the xTool M2

After unpacking so many different components, I expected setting up the xTool M2 to be quite complicated. As it turned out, the installation was surprisingly simple.

There were only a few things to do before switching the machine on.

We connected the smoke purifier using the exhaust hose, applied the supplied grease to the linear shafts, installed the laser module (which simply attaches magnetically), and connected its cable.

After that, it was basically a matter of connecting the power supply and switching the machine on!

The smoke purifier itself was also very straightforward to set up. It connects to the back of the M2 and contains a replaceable filter and filter pad, with two spare pads included.

The Smoke Purifier is particularly useful in my crafting space because without it, I would need to position the M2 close enough to a window to vent the exhaust hose outside, which would be difficult with the way my room is set up.

xTool Desktop Smoke Purifier for M2, F2, F1, M1 Ultra, Fume Extractor with 3-layer filtration

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If you can easily position your M2 near a window, you don’t absolutely need the purifier, as you can vent the exhaust directly outside. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to have that window open whenever you’re using the machine, which might not be so pleasant in the middle of winter!

And that was pretty much it; it really wasn’t difficult! Absolutely manageable for a complete laser-cutting beginner.

Of course, having the machine assembled is only half the story. The next step was connecting it to my computer and figuring out xTool Creative Space: and that’s where the real learning began!

Experimenting With xTool Studio

Once the M2 was assembled and connected to my computer, it was finally time to figure out how to actually make something with it.

This meant getting acquainted with xTool Studio, the software used to prepare and send projects to the machine.

Again, I was pleasantly surprised by how approachable it was as a beginner.

One feature I particularly liked is the built-in distant-view camera.

Once the M2 is connected, xTool Studio shows you the piece of material that’s actually sitting inside the machine, allowing you to position your design directly over the area where you want it to be cut.

I immediately found this useful because I could use the remaining space on a piece of 3 mm plywood that I’d already cut something from, rather than throwing it away.

I could see the previously cut areas on screen and simply move my new design onto an unused section of the plywood.

For miniature making, where I’m often working with fairly small pieces, I can see this being a great way to avoid wasting material.

I explain it all in my next video:

Discovering Projects on Atomm.com

I also started exploring Atomm.com more, xTool’s online creative community and project platform.

This was quite a discovery because there are lots of ready-made projects that you can browse and open in their software, including miniature projects and even dollhouse designs and dollhouse kits!

Just browse through it when you get the chance; there are so many tiny projects that I would try and print something every time haha!

For someone just starting out with laser cutting, I found this a very easy way to experiment without having to design everything from scratch immediately.

And that’s exactly how I ended up making one of my first proper projects with the M2: a tiny wooden bridge for my fairy garden, a miniature school desk, and I also started to cut out a fairy door.

(More about the latter later, because I will be creating another fairy house first)

And I Already Triggered the Flame Detection!

The M2 also has a separate flame-detection camera, and I actually discovered that feature in action while it was cutting this mini school desk:

While the machine was working, it suddenly stopped and gave me a fire warning. As a complete laser-cutting beginner, that was certainly a bit alarming!

If you look closely at the video above, you can see a small part of the back of the chair with a dark ‘cut’. This is where it stopped cutting until I checked if there was a small fire or not.

Fortunately, there wasn’t an actual fire, but it did show me that the machine was actively monitoring what was happening inside while the laser was working.

So yes, before I’d even properly started experimenting with the M2, I had already managed to trigger one of its safety features, which is a very good thing, by the way!

Why I Bought the Honeycomb Riser Platform

The M2 comes with magnets that you can use to raise and hold your plywood in position (as explained above in my second video)

So technically, you don’t need to purchase an additional platform.

Honeycomb Laser Bed, Desktop Laser Engraver Accessories. 400x400mm

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After my first test project, however, I decided that I preferred a different setup. 2 reasons why:

1. I didn’t want to keep on engraving the base plate.

One reason was that when the laser cuts completely through the plywood, it can reach the metal plate underneath and leave marks on it. I contacted xTool about this, and they confirmed that this is normal and that the plate is designed to handle it.

2. Pieces falling on the metal plate after cutting

But there was another reason that mattered even more to me. When small pieces are completely cut out of the plywood, they can drop down onto the metal plate underneath.

With the honeycomb riser platform, those cut-out pieces are supported by the honeycomb structure instead.

During my first miniature school desk project, some of the already-cut pieces moved or dropped, and the laser ended up cutting in places where it wasn’t supposed to. That project also triggered the M2’s fire warning and stopped the machine.

(In my opinion, that’s what happened. I hope you understand what I mean.)

For that reason, I decided to purchase the honeycomb riser platform separately.

It’s not an essential purchase for using the M2, and xTool didn’t tell me that I needed one. It was simply a change I decided to make.

To be honest, it feels ‘safer’ now, although the machine itself IS SAFE, just to be clear!

Wrapping up: My First Impressions of the xTool M2

So far, I’m genuinely enjoying getting to know the xTool M2. As a complete beginner to laser cutting, I expected the whole process to be much more complicated than it actually was.

The only ‘scary’ thing was setting off the fire alarm, but it proves that the detection camera works!

I’m only scratching the surface at this point, so I’ll definitely be sharing more projects, experiments, mistakes, and things I learn along the way.

I wish you happy crafting!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

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