xTool P2S Review: The Desktop CO2 Step Up
A 55W desktop CO2 laser with dual cameras and passthrough. It cuts clear acrylic and thick hardwood that no diode can - if you have room for 45 kg and an exhaust run.
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The P2S is what you buy when you have outgrown a diode laser, or know before buying that you would. It is a different kind of machine from the xTool S1, not a bigger version of one.
Why CO2
A CO2 laser runs at a wavelength of about 10.6 micrometres, against roughly 450 nanometres for a blue diode. Clear acrylic is transparent to blue light and opaque to CO2, so a diode’s beam passes through it while a CO2 beam cuts it cleanly, with a flame-polished edge. Wood is the same story by degree: the 55W tube cuts thick stock in one pass where a diode needs several slow passes and leaves a charred edge.
xTool rates the P2S at 20 mm acrylic and 18 mm black walnut in a single pass. Those are best-case figures from the maker. Even with a large margin, it is in a different class from any diode. See diode vs CO2 vs fibre for the full comparison.
What makes it easy to live with
Cameras. Two 16MP cameras cover the bed, so placement is drag-and-drop on screen, including on irregular offcuts. The P2S also maps curved surfaces so it can engrave onto them.
Passthrough. Slots front and back let stock longer than the machine feed through in sections, which is how you engrave a long sign on a desktop machine.
Built-in cooling. CO2 tubes must be water-cooled. Older budget CO2 machines handed you a pump and a bucket; the P2S has a sealed 1.4 L cooling loop inside.
What it asks of you
Space and weight. It weighs about 45 kg and measures roughly 1000 x 640 mm. It will not move once it is placed.
Exhaust. CO2 cutting makes a lot of smoke, especially on acrylic and MDF. The built-in fan is strong, but the hose has to reach a window or a filter rated for the volume. See laser safety and ventilation.
Consumables. The CO2 tube degrades with hours of use and will eventually need replacing. That cost does not exist with a diode.
Against the Glowforge
The P2S is the nearest Amazon-buyable equivalent to a Glowforge. The P2S is more powerful than Glowforge’s top 45W machine and has a larger bed. It also runs its software locally, where Glowforge’s runs in the cloud.
What works
- A 55W CO2 tube cuts clear acrylic, which diode lasers physically cannot, and xTool rates it at 18 mm of black walnut in one pass
- Dual 16MP cameras let you place designs on the material on screen, including across the whole 600 x 305 mm bed
- Passthrough slots take stock longer than the machine, so signs and long boards are not limited by the bed
- Water cooling is built in, so there is no separate chiller and bucket to plumb in
What doesn't
- At about 45 kg it needs a permanent, solid bench and two people to move it
- Needs a proper exhaust run to a window - the fan is strong, and the fumes must go outside or through a filter rated for CO2 cutting
- The CO2 tube is a wear part and will eventually need replacing
- Little changed from the original P2, so owners of that machine have no reason to switch