Cubiio Reviews - What Is It?
DO NOT USE Cubiio!!! You Must Read This Review!
Fully Researched: Price, User Feedback and More!
Cubiio is a palm-sized 800mW laser engraver in the shape of a cube. It is a quite controversial Kickstarter project with many varying personal opinions. To have a really nice maker's toolbox, it is vital to complement your 3D printer with other DIY-enabling tools, like the laser engraver. But laser engravers are usually large and expensive. This is probably the reason why the Cubiio laser engraver was well-received when it hit Kickstarter in 2017. The major benefits of this laser engraver include its reasonable price and compact size. But can this device cause irreversible eye damage and the blink of an eye? Is it a good idea to use it with many different engravers available on the market? We are still to answer these questions, but before that it is important to take a look at the major characteristics of the product.
Cubiio is a portable device with a 5-cm 150-gram compact laser module. The manufacturer behind the product is badly known but they claim that it is safe to use due to the overheat shutdown, motion-trigged stop, and password lock. The device is easy to use, since it is wirelessly controlled by a smartphone. It can be used by such specialists as the maker, carpenter, baker, leatherworker, handcrafter, designer, and just anyone who is fond of engraving. In reality, any laser device may be harmful for the human health. Cubiio has taken certain safety measures to protect their users. Every Cubiio package comes with goggles which can be worn while working. Password is required every time you are going to operate the device, so only authorized people are allowed to use it. Is Cubiio as great as claimed by the manufacturer? Let's find out by taking a look at some additional characteristics and real customer reviews.
Customer Reviews - Does Cubiio Really Work?
According to the manufacturer's website, the Cubiio engraver has many positive features. In addition to those that have been mentioned higher, it also has Laser Processing Indication in the form of a bright LED that indicates when the laser is operating. There is also Overheat Shutdown. The device is expected to work well in the environment where heat dissipation is enough. If the inner temperature gets close to the damaging threshold, the device turns itself off. Another feature is Motion Detection provide by a sensitive three-axis accelerometer. Once accidental movement happens when the device is operating, Cubiio will shut down. The CubiioShield is special upgraded protection but the manufacturer does not describe the details to potential users.
During our research, we have noticed two major controversies. The first one concerns safety. Initially, the Kickstarter campaign started with an option to get the laser itself without any safety shield. According to their video, the laser is placed on a tripod without protection. This was criticized because of danger. A cat could move the laser and start a fire or a child could enter the room and get blinded. This was resolved by the company by re-shooting the video commercial and forcing every user to get the safety shield. It shipped with a tripod, and one can still disable the shield with the help of the phone app. One famous Youtuber AvE posted a video online showing that this laser mechanism would not work well, since the focal distance needs to be variable. People who have used the device claim that these points are often true.
There is a limited number of customer reviews about Cubiio online. Not all users are pleased with the device. The reasons are quite varying. For instance, one customer says that it is meant for artwork only. Metal and plastics are of low quality. Their campaign emphasize the speed, but the product itself is far from professional systems. What most users appreciate is the ease of use. It is a package that is ready to go. It can be somewhat difficult to setup. Some customers do not find it reasonably priced. Many users have shared the pictures of what they have been doing with their device and they are not always satisfying. Cubiio is very noisy while operating. You can hear motors inside spinning. One user reported that his unit's microSD card slot broke after one day of use. He says his slot is stuck in push-out mode. The man is fixing it by using tape to hold the microSD card in. Most users claim that the shield is well built. Nothing is loose or shaky. However, the baseplate is not a good fit so the base slides around by a millimeter. This is a problem because this can make your material get misaligned.
Most customers are not impressed with output quality. The laser brightness varies as it goes slightly. There is an extraction fan but it is ineffective because the box is too air tight. The beam width is too thin. It is difficult to do straight diagonal lines. It seems that the motors cannot keep consistent speed, which is very annoying if you do a lot of vector line art. Slowing down the speed does not help with this. It means that the motor speed must be constantly variable as it spins. Depth of engrave depends on the grain of the wood. When you use a BMP file, the pixel darkness controls the laser brightness, but the final work may appear very dark. Modulating laser brightness does not help to solve the problem. Some users have difficulties with the 100% speed setting. It is better to using 50% speed. It is high time to take a look at the actual user experience.
"I have bought the Cubiio engraver and have had some fun at first but then I experienced frustration. I have had many problems and difficulties with the features of this device. I need to learn how to use inkscape and to convert a bmp into GCODE with the hatch feature. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not provide any directions."
"I am not satisfied with Cubiio at all. I cannot find the app in English for my android phone. I do not even know where I can get it. The one on google play is cubio.ro but it doesn't look like it is for the Cubio (it isn't in English too) . I have emailed to the company's customer support and he app developer but have not received any response. I need help."
"Cubiio is not a real engraver, it is more of a toy. It is very slow and the laser is too weak to do any serious work. The engraving is smeared and not finely detailed. I cannot do shades of grey, only white or black. It is hard to center items on the platform. I like the app, though."
My Final Summary
Based on our deep research, Cubiio does not seem to be a worthy engraver, since it has too many disadvantages. Even though it seems to have a sturdy construction, its accessories (tripod, mainly) are frustrating and flimsy. Some customers found it difficult to pick up and begin engraving. It is not as intuitive as claimed by the manufacturer. The app is beginner-friendly, though. The laser is very weak and the air filter is ineffective. Cubiio Shield lacks user aids (e.g. positioning gridlines). The Cubiio seems to offer many nice ideas, but a buggy app interface is often frustrating. Based on customer reputation, this product is hard to call an engraver. It burns wood too much and does not have the power to engrave wood well. One of the few advantages is the build quality, especially of the enclosure, but it is not big enough to accommodate a phone case. Taking into account all pros and cons of the product, I cannot recommend the Cubiio engraver.
Where To Buy Cubiio In Stores?
This compact laser engraver can be bought from the official website of the manufacturer. The retail price of the device is $449, but currently you can grab it at only $249. Cubiio suit that consists of a Cubiio itself and a CubiioSheild costs $669. The price of the device on Amazon is $777.00 plus free shipping with Amazon Prime.