xTool S1 laser settings guide — wood, acrylic, leather, slate, and more

The xTool S1 is one of the best-selling enclosed diode lasers for home studios, partly because it solves the two main complaints about open-frame lasers: fumes and fire risk. The enclosed lid contains smoke, the built-in air assist clears the kerf while cutting, and the camera system lets you place your design on the material without guesswork. It works with LightBurn natively, which means the same workflow as most other hobbyist lasers.

The S1 comes in two versions: 20W and 40W. The 20W is enough for most craft and Etsy use. The 40W cuts thicker material faster and handles 6mm basswood in a single pass. The settings below are separated by version where they differ significantly.

Focus and setup

The S1 has auto-focus via the camera system and the companion app. For most materials this works well. If you get inconsistent engrave depth or cutting power, check your manual focus: the xTool focus ruler should place the laser module at the correct height above the material surface. Even a 0.5mm focus error noticeably affects engrave quality and cut power.

Air assist is always on via a small built-in pump. It is not adjustable on the S1. If you are engraving photo-style grayscale where you want a softer, more graduated mark, the air assist can clear the char too aggressively and reduce contrast. For photo engraving, some users cover the air assist nozzle partially or reduce power enough that the air assist is not removing the mark. Test on scrap.

3mm Basswood — Cut and Engrave

3mm Clear Acrylic

Note: diode lasers cut clear acrylic poorly because the 450nm diode wavelength passes through transparent material rather than being absorbed. Use coloured, opaque, or frosted acrylic for the best results with a diode laser. If you need to cut clear acrylic, a COâ‚‚ laser is a better tool.

Genuine Leather — Engrave

Leather engrave quality varies a lot by tannage. Veg-tan leather engraves a rich medium-brown and holds detail well. Chrome-tan leather is trickier — it often engraves grey or dark grey rather than brown, and thin chrome-tan can distort from heat. Test on a scrap piece from each roll.

Slate — Engrave

Slate is one of the easiest materials for an xTool S1. The contrast is naturally high — the laser oxidises the surface to a bright white against the dark grey background. No prep needed, no finishing. Wipe the surface clean after engraving to remove any dust.

Cork — 2mm Sheet

LightBurn settings for the xTool S1

The xTool S1 uses xTool's own controller but has full LightBurn support via USB or Wi-Fi. In LightBurn, add the S1 as a new device: choose xTool as the brand and S1 as the model, or use the generic GRBL profile with the correct work area dimensions (400Ã - 400mm for S1 20W, same for 40W).

Speed units in LightBurn for the S1 are mm/min by default. Some settings shared online are in mm/s — to convert, divide mm/s by 1 to get mm/s or multiply mm/min by 60 to get mm/s. Double-check the unit shown in the Cut Settings panel before entering settings from any source.

For engraving photos and detailed artwork, use the Grayscale or Threshold image modes. Start with 300 DPI for most materials. Slate can go to 400–500 DPI. Wood and leather rarely benefit above 300 DPI because the material texture is the limiting factor, not the laser spot size.