Laser cutters are precision tools that use a tightly focused beam of light to cut, engrave, or etch a wide range of materials with remarkable accuracy. By directing a high-powered laser along a programmed path, it can cleanly slice through wood, acrylic, fabric, and certain metals, or burn detailed patterns onto a surface. Unlike mechanical blades, the laser beam never dulls, allowing for consistent results even on intricate designs. This makes the laser cutter ideal for creating custom parts, prototypes, signage, and decorative artwork where both speed and fine detail are essential.
A lot of people think that a laser cutter is a luxury, but we disagree. Once you learn how to use the machine and accompanying software, it saves so much time. It also allows you to reproduce items with a incredibly high degree of accuracy. If you have a part that you need many copies of, a laser cutter cannot be beat. In our studio, the laser cutter makes it possible to actually create. Most cosplay pieces need to be precisely fit, cut and processed to look good and work properly. The back problems, nerve damage and limited mobility that we have in the workshop, some of our creations just wouldn’t be possible without this device.
The machine creates amazingly clean lines, can repeat the same part over and over, and it works faster than we can in most instances. Lost Wax explores the use of a laser cutter in cosplay pretty well. I’d make a similar video, but props to Lost Wax for having it already.
The laser cutter we use is pictured at the top of the page and in Lost Wax’s video. I was skeptical about getting this one when all of the big creators are using super expensive machines like the Xtool M1, which is well over a thousand dollars. When dealing with tools, the old adage – you get what you pay for – is often true. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Actually, that isn’t true. I was downright shocked by the Ortur Laser Master S2.
It normally retails for about $250, but right now it is on sale for $219. When I grabbed mine, it was on sale for $169. I know, that is a lot to spend on a single tool, but it is absolutely worth the cost for us. We also got the expansion kit for it, doubling the cut area for an additional $139.
We opted for the expansion kit because Feral is the “Staffsquatch” – towering over everyone at 6’9″. It isn’t strictly necessary as you can cut your patterns into pieces in the software and join them after the cut, but since Feral is huge and Rilla is a Valkyrie, it made sense to make it bigger and save a lot of time in the finishing, sanding and painting stages (every seam has to be joined, filled, smoothed and sanded).
The Ortur doesn’t come with software. If you buy a more expensive laser cutter, they most often package it with bespoke software for controlling it. However, that isn’t really an issue – the machine runs on the open source coding known as GRBL which is used for a large number of CNC style machines. You can buy LightBurn for laser control (we did), or you can use the open source LaserGRBL for controlling your laser. We prefer LightBurn (because we were familiar with it when we started using the laser, but if you get the expansion kit, you are going to have to get LaserGRBL anyway to update the parameters on the machine.
Over-all, we feel that a laser cutter/engraver is a must-have in the accessible workshop if you have the money for it.
Ortur Laser Master 2 s2 on Amazon ($287.99 normally, on sale for $219 at the time of writing)
Exansion kit for the LM2 S2 on Amazon ($139 normally, on sale for $99 at time of writing)
September 26, 2025
