AlgoLaser Delta 22W Laser Engraver Review: Fast & Powerful

The AlgoLaser Delta is a 22W smart laser engraver that promises to deliver an unparalleled combination of precision, power and speed, in an easy-to-assemble package.

This machine incorporates user-friendly features such as a built-in touch screen, WiFi connectivity, and several safety mechanisms, in an effort to target consumers with different levels of experience, from seasoned crafting professionals in need of a robust engraving solution, to hobbyists looking to expand their creative practice.

In this review, I’ll take a look at the features, performance, and overall user experience of the Delta, hoping to give you all the information you need to decide if this powerful laser engraver is the right one for you.

What’s in the package?

The AlgoLaser Delta comes in a large cardboard box, with its contents protected by a foam material. When you first open the package, you’ll be greeted by two smaller boxes.

The orange one includes the user guide for the laser engraver itself, as well as a manual for the air assist pump that comes bundled with it. The blue box is a “consumables package”, and its contents are a bit disappointing to be honest. Inside it you’ll find a cleaning brush, a few zip ties, three metal cards, one 3mm plywood sheet and a 3mm piece of black acrylic. It would have been nice to get a few more materials for the initial tests with the machine.

Once you remove this first layer of foam, you’ll find the open-frame machine, which comes pre-assembled, and a few more components and accessories, including the air assist pump, a small toolbox and protective goggles, which come secured in a nice case.

Getting Started

This is where the Delta really started to impress me. Assembling a machine like this can sometimes be a daunting task, but the Delta was extremely easy to put together. I was ready to start playing with it in less than 10 minutes.

The machine comes mostly pre-assembled and the user manual is very detailed and easy to follow. The manufacturer has also prepared a video that takes you through the process step by step.

One thing I should mention here is that during the assembly process, I must have accidentally pressed the rotary switch located inside the frame and ended up with a locked Y-axis when I first tried to “home” or simply move the laser module using the touch screen. Once I flipped this switch back from “Y Rotary” to “Y Motor” everything worked as I intended, so this is all you need to do if you find yourself in the same situation.

Design & Build Quality

The AlgoLaser Delta is a large open-frame laser engraver, coming in at 650 x 730 x 175mm, with a generous 440 x 415mm working area. It features a sharp industrial look that incorporates a few modern elements.

Cable management within the frame is excellent and I haven’t had any issues with cables getting caught during use. The external cables however, such as the air hose and power control for the air assist tool, can get a bit messy, as you can see on the left side of the image below.

The practical built-in touch screen is positioned at the front of the frame. It works quite well and is fairly intuitive, allowing you to adjust settings, connect to WiFi, and engrave directly from the machine, without the need for a computer. The integrated 32GB storage includes a few sample images, and you can also use a USB stick to load up your own designs.

The AlgoLaser smartphone app on the other hand, isn’t great. It can be a bit buggy and is not very well designed, so I mostly used LightBurn or the integrated touch screen during my testing.

Continuing along the front of the Delta, there’s an RGB light strip which changes from a rainbow pattern when the machine is on standby to a different color, depending on the situation. For example, it will turn yellow when a warning message is being displayed on the touch screen, or full white when it is in operation.

Directly above this fancy light strip you’ll find a few safety components, including an emergency stop button and a locking mechanism. The Delta is also packed with a number of other safety features, including machine offset detection, tilt detection, voltage detection, and more.

All the connections of the Delta are located on the left side of the machine, including one USB-A port, one USB-C port, an I/O socket for the air pump and a connection for the 24V power supply.

One feature that is missing on the AlgoLaser Delta is auto-focus. Instead, you’ll have to use a spring loaded mechanism, which is part of the laser module, in order to adjust the focus every time you change your materials. The process is pretty simple:

• Flip the top bar down (1). This will allow you to freely move the laser module up and down
• Push down the black focus rod (2) all the way until you hear a ‘click’. You can now push the laser module down, making sure that black rod is touching your material.
• Once you’re happy with the placement, you can flip the top bar (1) back up, which locks the module into position, and then press the small circular button (3) to reset the focus rod.

The bottom of the module also includes a detachable magnetic metal cover, which is very easy to remove when you need to do some cleaning.

It’s worth noting that the Delta doesn’t come with a laserproof metal plate, which would have been a nice addition for people like me who are using this machine on a wooden table. I ended up using one of the plates I already had, from a different laser engraver.

Overall, the AlgoLaser Delta is a really well-built machine that feels extremely solid. It features a number of considered design and safety elements that were clearly developed with the end user in mind. It’s worth noting however, that due to its large size and open-frame design, the Delta is perfectly suited for a workshop or warehouse, but less than ideal for a house or apartment. If you’re looking for a smart engraver and cutter you can use at home, you would be better off with something like the xTool M1 we previously tested.

Performance

As I mentioned earlier, the user manual is very detailed and easy to follow when it comes to assembling the machine. However, the package doesn’t include any information about the recommended settings for cutting and engraving different materials, which would’ve been an invaluable resource for anyone starting out with the machine. I reached out to the AlgoLaser team and they provided me with this spreadsheet, which includes some material parameters for LightBurn. I would have loved to see something like this included in the package as an information sheet, or as part of the user manual.

To make sure I was working with the right parameters, I started off my experiments with a material test pattern in LightBurn. This helped me dial in my preferred settings for engraving on plywood. I then engraved this simple design on a piece of birch plywood as my first test.

The engraving turned out great and I was very impressed with the speed of this machine. The Delta can reach speeds of up to 30,000mm/m, which is extremely fast. It completed this little design job in no time, so I decided to try an engraving of my furry friends next.

The Delta did a great job again, but in hindsight I could have adjusted my image contrast and other settings a bit better to produce nicer details on these portraits.

Next up, I wanted to try something a bit more complex and detailed, so I engraved this Christmas wreath design. I then used the Delta to cut its outer shape out of the plywood sheet, with excellent results throughout.

Before I moved on to more cutting, I tested another simple design engraved on a metal card. Here’s the result:

It was time to put the machine’s cutting ability to the test, and I started with this simple reindeer model, using a 3mm piece of plywood.

I then cut a polygonal whale figure out of plywood and finally a large, leaf design, with more intricate details and patterns.

It’s worth mentioning that wood cutting with this powerful machine can produce a fair bit of smoke, but as long as you have proper ventilation in your workspace, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

The Delta was performing admirably with wood, so I decided it was time to move on to a different material, acrylic. A quick word of warning here – you should not try to cut acrylic inside the house, or any enclosed space without proper ventilation. Acrylic laser cutting produces some nasty fumes, so you’ll want to either do it outside, or use a proper exhaust/ventilation system for this.

To kick things off, I made some little plaques for my video game collection. The Delta was able to cut all of these 0.5mm pieces of acrylic in one pass, although I had to adjust the speed down to 40mm/m to cut through the white acrylic sheet.

I also learned that the Delta (and any other diode laser engravers) can’t cut blue acrylic, as the blue light of the machine is just absorbed by the material. The “stenciled” SEGA logo you’ll see in the picture below was cut out of black acrylic and then painted blue. It still needs a bit of work, but it doesn’t look too bad.

My last project with acrylic was a reinterpretation of the Nuka-Cola bottle from Fallout 3.

In the end, the Delta performed extremely well on a range of different projects during my testing. I was very happy with the results, and super impressed with the speed of this machine. Some of the projects took less than a third of the time to complete, when compared to other laser engravers.

Price

The Delta is currently available on AlgoLaser’s website at a price of $999 (USD). This makes it an incredibly attractive option, as it not only outperforms some of its direct competitors in terms of speed and power, but also comes with a lower price tag.

Pros & Cons

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the AlgoLaser Delta 22w.

Pros

• Easy to assemble in less than 10 minutes
• Extremely fast, with engraving speeds of up to 30,000mm/m (500mm/s)
• Powerful cutting ability, goes through acrylic and MDF in one pass
• Comes with an air pump
• Built-in touchscreen
• Advanced safety features

Cons

• The open-frame design isn’t ideal for use inside a house or apartment
• No auto-focus functionality
• Doesn’t come with a laserproof metal plate

Verdict

The Algolaser Delta 22W Smart Laser Engraver stands out as a powerful and incredibly fast machine. Its impressive specs are complemented by an easy setup process, as the machine comes mostly pre-assembled. This feature alone sets it apart, making it a breeze for both beginners and experienced users to get started on their projects quickly.

The integrated touchscreen adds to the user-friendliness and functionality of the device, and it also comes with an air pump, which is usually an accessory you have to buy separately. These elements, combined with some considered safety features like emergency stop, offset and tilt detection, make the Algolaser Delta not just a powerful tool, but also a safe and reliable one.

While it may lack auto-focusing capabilities, a feature found in some of its higher-priced competitors, this minor drawback doesn’t diminish the overall value proposition of the Algolaser Delta. Given its price point, the machine offers an impressive suite of features and capabilities that make it an excellent choice for those seeking a high-performance, cost-effective laser engraver.

---

This post contains affiliate links to partner brands. We earn a small commission if you click the link and make a purchase. There is no extra cost to you, so it’s just a nice way to help support the site. The products included in this article were provided by their manufacturers for review purposes, however, the opinions expressed are entirely our own.