Creality Falcon A1C review: I was instantly impressed with this compact, affordable, beginner-friendly laser engraver

The Creality Falcon A1C is a compact, fully enclosed desktop laser engraver and a leap forward for affordable laser engraving in a format that's far safer than the open designs I often see at this price.

While it’s more affordable, with the full plastic build, it actually pulls many features from far more expensive machines, including the slightly larger Falcon A1. Designed to sit on your desktop, it measures 336 x 377 x 341 mm, giving it an incredibly compact footprint. Essentially, it's designed to be accessible and usable whenever you need it.

While the design aesthetics might not match that of some rivals' larger machines, the workflow and robust build make it an ideal option for education and small studios where you want to experiment with the technology to create items and even have small production runs.

In this review, I had access to the 10W version, and from unboxing to setup it took no longer than 10 minutes. Activation required a single push of the button on the machine, then a few steps, and it was connected to the mobile app.

On the Mac, it took a few more steps, with the wired connection needed first before you can switch over to Wi-Fi, but in both cases it's one setup, and then you don't have to revisit it later.

When it comes to use, the Falcon Design Space software is once again well laid out, as I saw with the Falcon A1 and Falcon T1, and with a few sample designs I was able to cut directly onto the paper and the basswood supplied.

I was instantly impressed with the results, starting with the basic ruler sample. I laid out five from the outset, and with an 18-minute engraving on the small sheet of 3mm ply, the results were actually incredibly impressive, with little scorching or burning, if any, visible.

After a month of using the machine on small projects, the engraving quality across a wide range of surfaces was consistently good, with the best results coming from wood and paper.

I also had to connect the A1C to the Bambu Lab air filter because I didn't have the Falcon one to use, but it worked perfectly with no issues. So if you already have an air filter, it should work without the dedicated one from Creality.

During the test, I was purely focused on that 10W laser cutting materials on that 150 x 150mm working area. There is a lower-powered option at 5W if you mainly work with paper, and also a 1.2W IR laser module, giving you even more scope for this one small machine.

What surprises me is the price, and whilst that is slightly reflected in the design and materials used, when it comes to pure functionality, this is a level of machine for its size that you just wouldn't have had a couple of years ago. It’s far better than any of the open-frame designs still available on the market.

One thing I would watch for if you're thinking about buying the A1C: note that there are two versions, and the cheapest doesn't include the camera, and that is a major part of the ease of use for this machine.

It also cannot be upgraded, so I'd really spend that extra money to make sure you get the version with the AI camera, which is the one I’m looking at here. I'd also push and get that 10W laser. It makes a huge difference, especially if you're going to be working with wood.

Even if you start working with paper, card, and acrylic, taking that upgrade is definitely something you're going to want to do in the future.

If you just want to laser small objects, then this is an absolutely superb option at an incredible price and a really good complement to the Creality Falcon range. It will be interesting to see where the company takes laser engraving technology next.

Creality Falcon A1C: Price & availability

To me, price Creality has set is great for a small-build entry-level engraver. But in my opinion, opt for the 10W model with AI camera for maximum future-proofing.

The basic 5W Falcon AIC is $199 from Creality or $299 for the 10W model. In the UK, it's similarly priced at £199 for the 5W version and £289 for the 10W.

However, there is a version with an AI camera attached, which is definitely the model that I would go for.

The 5W Falcon A1C with AI camera is priced at $259 at Creality's store, or $379 for the 10W model. In the UK, it's £249 for the 5W AI camera version and £369 for the 10W.

I'm also seeing the models with the AI camera on sale at Amazon in the US and UK, where you can get the 5W for $259 and the 10W for $379. It's more expensive there for UK readers, with the 5W retailing for £326 and the 10W at £445 at the time of review.

Creality Falcon A1C: Design

The Creality Falcon A1C is an extremely compact, fully enclosed laser engraver that comes in a variety of different options. In this review, I've been looking at the 10W version, which I highly recommend because it works with the widest range of materials and is a great starting point for any hobbyist, small business, or educational facility.

Alongside the A1C, I would also recommend getting the air filter, which uses a tube connected to the vent hole at the back. In this review, I haven't got Creality's version, so I've adapted it for use with the Bambu Lab air filter, which is used with the Bambu Lab H2D.

What I really like about the A1C's design is that it’s so compact, with a footprint of only 336mm wide and 377mm deep. Essentially, it fits neatly on the workshop workbench.

While the design is fully plastic and you can really feel where Creality has pulled back on the material use to make this as affordable as it is, it's still of decent quality and, with its visor lid ensuring that you stay fully protected from any laser rays, it's also a great option if you're just getting into laser engraving and definitely a big step up from the open-frame designs.

The machine itself, while light at just under 10kg, is well designed and sturdy, so it sits firmly on the work surface and stays put as you lift and close the lid. It's also worth highlighting that there is a security USB key on the back, so if you are using this at home and don't want the kids to get close to it, or if you have other people in the office, you can remove the key for safety; without it, the machine isn't usable.

Also, on the safety features, it has all the usual knock and tilt kill switches, as well as lid-lifting alerts. It also has a large safety stop button on the side, so if you are using this in education, it essentially has everything needed to pass most safety checks. However, you will need to check with your institution to make sure it is fully in line.

Now, whilst the build is fully plastic, it's all of really decent quality, and that weight helps ensure minimal vibration from the laser as it works away inside. It also has full autofocus, although you do need to activate it through the app software. It's essentially a pin that lowers with the laser head to touch the material's surface, ensuring the laser is perfectly focused, and you get the best possible cut, engraving, or score.

The system is simple and effective, and throughout the month of testing, it was completely faultless on the small work area, as long as I always remembered to hit that autofocus button before processing.

Another major feature of the model that I've looked at is the AI camera. Now, this produces a preview of the material on the platform, and I found the exposure was a little dark; sometimes, if using a darker material, you can only just make out where it’s placed in the work area. The front section, in contrast, is always perfectly visible.

One of the big differences between this machine and many others that I've looked at, especially at this size, is that, like some 3D printers, it has a raising platform. So essentially you put your material onto the platform, and it raises depending on the height and type of object and material that it’s made from.

This means that despite it being really small, you can also get a rotary attachment that fits perfectly inside, so you can do mugs and cups.

The platform is manually adjusted with a knob on the side, letting you raise or lower it depending on what you're putting inside, or it moves automatically when using the autofocus.

As this is also a compact laser engraver with an air system, you can secure paper and other objects to the platform, and for wood and acrylic there's also the grill platform you can pop those on top of.

Whilst this still feels, in many ways, like an entry-level laser engraving platform, I'm surprised by the volume of features it includes. They've been taken from professional laser engravers, so whilst this is relatively cheap, especially with all the present offers, it actually offers a very compact professional option at an incredible price.

Creality Falcon A1C: Features

In this test, I've been looking at the Creality Falcon A1C 10W diode laser option, which is good for wood, bamboo, paper, cork, cardboard, leather, glass and fabric. There's also a 5W diode laser option available. This is of lesser power, so any ambitions to cut through materials will have to be reduced.

However, if you just want to score or engrave, then the 5W option is actually a good choice. My personal advice would be to spend that little bit extra and go for the 10W version. That way, you are at least future-proofing yourself.

There's also an optional 1.2W IR module available, which enables even more engraving options. Essentially, the diode lasers let you engrave wood, paper, and soft materials, while the IR laser is designed to engrave and mark metals.

Swapping between the heads is relatively easy and, although I didn't have the IR head to test, the process is very straightforward. A simple securing screw can be undone without tools: drop out the head, pop in the new one, and the system automatically recognises the new head and updates the software, ready for you to get started.

Another feature I really like is full autofocus: you put the material you want to engrave underneath, hit autofocus, the head touches the material, and it focuses the beam. It's a mechanical approach, but it worked incredibly well.

Speed-wise, it can engrave at up to 15,000 mm per minute, which is relatively fast for such a small laser. For most of the test, I reduced this to a more standard 6,000 mm per minute for fill and line engraving, and 450 mm per minute for line cutting. These are the default settings, but after testing above and below, I found the factory defaults were by far the best.

One of the things I really liked on the other Falcon machines is that you use the Falcon Design Space software, which is available for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. It's really easy to use, well thought out and gives you plenty of options.

If you want to use third-party software such as LightBurn, that's also supported, so if you're working with other laser engravers and want everything under one roof, that is possible.

For connectivity, you can connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. Mobile workflows are really easy: connect through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, quickly upload, select your settings, and move on.

On the Mac/PC, using Falcon Design Space, you initially connect through USB and, once set up, you can connect through Wi-Fi, which gives you plenty of options and has proven to be a really solid way of working.

Alongside the machine, there’s a range of accessories, including the rotary engraver, which is a standard accessory for most engravers. It's great to see it here as an upgrade option. There's also the air purification accessory, which I would definitely recommend if you are thinking of buying this or, for that matter, any laser engraver.

Creality Falcon A1C: Performance

Getting started with a Falcon A1C doesn't take long. It's a small machine, so unboxing and setting it up on the desktop takes no more than five minutes. Once the packaging is removed, the power is plugged in, and the cutting surface is installed, you can lower the platform using the dial on the right-hand side of the machine so the cutting platform and material can be slipped into place.

Before I got started, I also just wanted to check the emergency stop: testing this simply involved hitting the red button. Everything shut down, and it was the usual twist to power the machine back on.

Having a stop button on the side of machines is essential. This button enables you to kill the power, so that if one of the materials that you've popped inside catches fire, you can deal with it quickly. Hit stop, and that kills the power, so you're only dealing with the fire and not the laser moving as well.

I then popped in the first piece of 3mm ply, loaded up the iOS app and quickly ran through a couple of test engraves. I was surprised by how easy it was to connect to the app and get started; it took no more than five minutes.

I then moved over to the MacBook Pro and, again, it took a couple of minutes to connect the USB cable, do a quick test card and then disconnect the Mac, at which point I could use it over Wi-Fi back in the house.

Popping in materials was all easy enough, with that dial on the side basically activating the motor so the platform raises or lowers. You can then place your material in, hit autofocus once the lid is down, and it's then primed and ready to go. Back in the Falcon software, you can activate the camera to preview the material and the design you've loaded, move it around, and you're almost ready to go.

If you've downloaded a pre-designed cutting path from the Creality site, it's very easy, as the different cuts and engraves have already been highlighted. However, if you're importing paths from your chosen software, then you'll need to select the path and allocate line cutting or engraving.

Essentially, if you import your logo and want it to be a placemat with the logo engraved, Then you want the placemat to be cut out in a disc obviously, what you need to do is select the logo as your first engraving layer and assign that as a line engrave, and set the speed to 6,000mm a minute at about 60% with a one-time pass for 3mm basswood board.

Then, for the letters, create another layer with the text, select Fill Engraving, set the speed to 6,000 mm/min and power to 60%, and run one pass. Finally, you want your logo cut out of that mat, so select a circle from the shapes, draw it around your logo, select line cutting, set the speed to 450 m/minute and power to 80% with one pass, go to Processing and wait for your placemat to be cut.

Another level of ease is that there are loads of materials present; just select the material type and a preset for that is loaded. Through this test, I used basswood ply or paper for the majority of cuts, and these materials could be selected in the presets. With the AI camera enabling you to line everything up perfectly, it was very quick and straightforward to start getting impressive results from the outset.

During the test, I found that the small 150 x 150mm work surface was a little restrictive. For example, a placemat for a mug measuring 90mm x 90mm means you can only do one at a time. Also, if you want to do anything larger, then you will need a larger machine. However, for small home projects, there’s still plenty of scope.

The camera, while useful, is also limited. Seeing the material at the top left in the preview can be difficult because of its position on the laser head and, unless you have bright lighting in the workshop, the preview can look a little dark. There’s also a stop on using the camera while the laser is in action; this is just to review the material, not to monitor the project's progress.

Checking the quality of some engraving, it's exceptionally high, with a good, accurate laser delivering outstanding results considering the size and scale of this machine.

For fine detail, as you'll see on some of the coasters, you have to be very careful about how you convert the image for laser engraving. Still, after a few runs and a little bit of experimentation, you'll settle on the best results for the material that you're using.

Likewise, when it comes to cutting, there's very little, if any, scorching, which means that if you are doing small production runs, you can quickly wipe the wood afterwards and go straight to finishing with a bit of wax, depending on what you're doing.

Overall, the performance and quality this small machine can produce are exceptionally high, and for anyone or a small business looking to get into laser engraving, this is a great starting point and will absolutely show what can be done with this technology.

Creality Falcon A1C: Final verdict

Creality Falcon A1C is an interesting machine. It’s a Class 1 laser, and interchangeable modules enable you to swap between a 5W (optional) or 10W diode laser and a 1.2W IR head (Optional), and there's plenty of flexibility in what you can do with this machine.

My one thing to point out is that there are two versions of the machine. Just make sure you're opting for the slightly more expensive one with the AI camera, which is the version I've looked at in this review. The cheaper version doesn't feature the AI camera, so positioning is a little bit trickier, and you can't preview exactly where things go.

When it comes to use, the studio software makes things easy. Although there’s still a learning process, especially with putting your cutting and engraving paths onto different layers, after a few runs it's relatively easy to work out.

If you are totally new, I highly recommend downloading some pre-made templates and seeing how they are made; it all starts to make sense pretty quickly as you click through those layers.

Whilst the machine itself is cheap, you will have to pay extra if you want to purchase many of the accessories, including the 5W diode or IR heads, but even then they're not usually expensive compared with other laser engravers. One real limitation is the 150 x 150 work area, a size I normally associate with a fibre laser, not a diode like this.

However, that small size also means you can easily sit it on a desktop. It's great for a small workshop or anyone wanting to dabble in laser engraving, as it gives you a superb idea of what larger, more expensive machines can do, and 10W in a small machine like this is still substantial enough to create some pretty impressive products.

When it comes to cutting quality, it’s exceptionally good, and the engraving quality is, too; at this level it's well above what you would normally expect.

If you are looking for a small, compact laser engraver, this is a great place to start. I would suggest spending that little extra and buying the air filter at the same time, and if you can afford it, the rotary addition is always a worthwhile accessory.

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