Laser engravers and cutters have seen a huge boom in both popularity and availability recently, with massive leaps in design and functionality, making them more appealing to causal users. You can see the best options out there in your guide to the best laser cutters.
Wecreat is one of the companies at the forefront of this movement, along with others such as XTool, with each new machine boasting more in the way of features and value.
The Wecreat Vista is Wecreat’s latest laser and has a few handy new tricks up its sleeves that you may not have seen elsewhere.
The Vista is a diode-based laser, which means there are some limitations to what it can cut, with clear blue materials causing some problems. If that is something you think you’ll need then they do offer a 2watt IR head for the Vista, which will also allow cutting and engraving of metal.
So, is the Vista a worthy purchase for your laser needs? I spent some time with it to find out.
Wecreat Vista: What's in the box?
The Vista isn't like an old gantry-style laser, instead coming pretty much ready to go out of the box, after removing a few safety tags. The bottom tray and grids come in the foam lid, along with the user manual, with everything else coming neatly in well-labelled boxes, inside the main body of the machine. I like this method of packing as it means the overall volume and amount of waste are reduced, something I've not experienced with every laser I own.
The only slight gripe I have is with the tools. Don't get me wrong, it is great that everything is included, from screwdrivers and Allen keys to spirit levels and even a measuring tape but delivering in a bag feels a bit cheap. I'm sure a simple box to keep everything organised wouldn't have been difficult and would have made the unboxing experience even better.
Accessories will depend on which package you opt for, as there are different laser heads, rotary devices and an autoloader for oversized materials.
Otherwise, everything was fantastic. Well packaged, easy to locate everything and no fumbling around wondering where to start.
Setup and build quality
I've used previous lasers from Wecreat and had some initial difficulties with them. Their customer service was excellent however and got me up and running quickly but that experience still left me wondering if I'd have a similar time with the Vista. Luckily everything was exactly as it should be and I think that is due to the way the Vista is shipped, with lugs and screws keeping everything in place. These were all very clearly labelled and easy to remove.
Adding the bottom tray and the two-piece grid was equally simple. All that's left then is to connect the air assist and extraction tube and you are ready to go. This can be vented out of a window but for my use, I have an XTool air purifier, so I plugged the Vista directly into that.
Once you have the hardware set up, which takes all of five minutes, it needs to connect to your computer. This can be done by wifi on Max, Windows, or Android and again is a short process. The manual, which is excellent by the way, with detailed instructions and photos, walks you through this process too.
Once connected you need to download Wecreat's Makeit! software. For anybody with any laser experience, this will feel very familiar and for those totally new to this, it is a simple tool that allows you to plot out paths, cut depths and so on for all your projects. Getting started with it is easy but there's lots of fun to be had working out how to do more complex projects using these simple tools.
Makeit! also has an online marketplace built in, where you can find a vast array of pomade designs, all of which are customisable. Be aware that not all of these are free. Many come with a price attached but they generally run at around $1 each and if you are looking to learn the craft, I'd suggest it is well worth grabbing a handily, just to deconstruct.
Also included in Makeit! is an AI image generator. This is becoming more common all the time and is a nice addition but is limited in use, as it doesn't generate laser projects, only images, which you might be better off sourcing elsewhere, either family photos, clients etc. Still, it is a nice option to have.
Wecreat Vista: Performance
All of this ease of use is nothing if the results don't match up, but luckily the Vista is capable of some remarkably crisp and detailed engraving. Whether you are working on projects with images to engrave, or designs to cut the 10-watt laser is very good. The A3 working area means that decent-sized projects can be done in very little time too.
Thickness of materials will play a part in your success with the Vista. It can handle nearly two inches but that's what the Vista can fit, not what it can cut. In reality, you'll be looking at a few millimetres of plywood or acrylic, although you could run multiple passes to cut deeper. Realistically my tests showed best results up to around 7mm of basswood or 6mm of birch ply. Engraving is a different matter, as that is only a surface engraving but you still need to consider the maximum material depth. Wecreat does sell a riser kit to lift the Vista up for thicker materials.
A note on the working area. If you need to produce things like signage, Wecreat does offer an autoloader, that will feed sheet materials through the Vista, making it really easy to complete this kind of task. Of course, the limit for this is the working width of the machine but that's still impressive, although I couldn't see a way to do batch processing using it, like XTool's F1 ultra.
Now, the Vista does have a party piece and that is for rotary engraving. Connect up the rotary mount and simply flip the laser head ninety degrees and you are good to go. This is pretty impressive for such a shallow machine and it's really good to have these extra opportunities for design projects, without needing a large machine to complete them one.
Another nice addition is the camera mounted in the Vista. So many laser cutters rely on tricky pins to locate a design on the m material but with a camera, things get a whole lot easier and faster. Even then there are some disadvantages, like lens distortion making for inaccuracies. However, the Wecreat makes this better yet, as the camera is on the lid and has a narrower field of view. When the lid is open the camera is higher up and covers the working area just right, with far less distortion. That means when you look set the location of your design in Makeit! you can be confident in accurate placement, reducing waste.
Big props to Wecreat for these developments. They make the Vista an engaging laser cutter that can produce really accurate results. Check out the image below. I've measured the results with a caliber and they are very good.
Cuts are also very clean, with minimal, if any, scorch marks. Air assist can be added to most laser cutters but one is included with the Vista which is good to see, as I think they really are a necessity for many materials, especially with wood, where you'd often need to sand the surface after cutting to get a pleasing result.
Wecreat Vista: Who is it for?
The Vista is a good choice for enthusiasts and hobbyists, as well as small businesses, who need a laser cutter for occasional use, gift making, or customised items. Its ease of use makes it ideal for beginners and, while it can't cut the thickest materials, blue acrylics, or metals (without extra purchases) it is capable of clean, accurate cuts.
Wecreat Vista: Buy it if
- You want an easy-to-set-up and use laser engraver
- Accuracy is a high priority
- Space is limited, especially vertically
Wecreat Vista: Don't buy it if
- You plan to do much metal engraving or cutting
- You need to cut particularly thick materials
