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xTool M1 settings — power & speed cheat sheet
Looking for xTool M1 settings, xTool M1 settings for wood, xTool M1 acrylic settings or xTool M1 engraving settings? Quick answer: xTool's own 10 W reference PDF has bitmap engraving on basswood plywood at 70% power and 10500 mm/min, and pine plywood vector engraving at 90% and 2400 mm/min. Those numbers come from xTool's published M1 table, not from our own shop; its laser-cut rows are left out because they do not reconcile with our chart. Run a test grid first. This is the original M1 (10 W blue laser plus blade cutter, 385 × 300 mm), not the M1 Ultra. xTool's PDF has no leather, glass or tumbler laser rows, so this page does not guess any; speeds are in mm/min.
xTool M1 settings (power % / speed mm/min / passes)
Every row below is copied from xTool's own support document xTool M1(10W) Materials parameters for reference, a PDF on support.xtool.com that xTool says is based on laboratory conditions. xTool prints speeds in millimetres per second (mm/s); the tables convert them to millimetres per minute (×60) to match the other guides on this site. These are xTool's starting points, not results from our own shop — Grafline has not run an M1 — so confirm each one with a material test grid on your own stock. Rows are kept whole, with the operation xTool lists them under; where the document leaves a row incomplete, or a number did not fit physics or our other pages, the row is left out.
Laser cutting rows: left out
xTool's PDF has two rows labelled “Tool cutting” (3 mm basswood plywood and 3 mm black acrylic, both at 100% and 4 mm/s). The label is the blade's, but 4 mm/s is a laser speed, so the rows are ambiguous, and read as laser cuts they are several times faster than our own power & speed chart, which has a 10 W diode taking 3 mm plywood in 3–4 passes at 180 mm/min. Rather than guess which reading is right, we left them out. For cuts, start from the chart's 10 W row, use air assist, and build a test grid. Clear acrylic is not on xTool's list for a reason: a blue diode passes straight through it.
Engraving, vector (line) mode
| Material | Job | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Pine plywood | Engrave, vector | 90% / 2400 / 1 pass |
| Cherry plywood | Engrave, vector | 100% / 1200 / 1 pass |
| Mahogany plywood | Engrave, vector | 80% / 1800 / 1 pass |
| Black walnut plywood | Engrave, vector | 60% / 2400 / 1 pass |
| Rubber engraving mat | Engrave, vector | 70% / 3000 / 1 pass |
| Rock coaster | Engrave, vector | 60% / 3000 / 1 pass |
| Colour scratch paper | Engrave, vector | 20% / 4800 / 1 pass |
Engraving, bitmap (raster) mode
| Material | Job | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Basswood plywood 3 mm | Engrave, bitmap | 70% / 10500 / 1 pass |
| Pine plywood | Engrave, bitmap | 80% / 3600 / 1 pass |
| Cherry plywood | Engrave, bitmap | 80% / 4500 / 1 pass |
| Mahogany plywood | Engrave, bitmap | 80% / 5400 / 1 pass |
| Black walnut plywood | Engrave, bitmap | 70% / 4200 / 1 pass |
| Rubber engraving mat | Engrave, bitmap | 100% / 2400 / 2 passes |
| Rock coaster | Engrave, bitmap | 60% / 4800 / 1 pass |
| Colour scratch paper | Engrave, bitmap | 20% / 6000 / 1 pass |
Plywood rows: xTool lists the pine, cherry, mahogany and walnut rows against its own 30 × 30 cm “materials library” sheets and does not state a thickness for the engraving rows. Different woods and glues burn differently, so treat them as a spread to start from rather than a ranking.
Blade cutting
| Material | Job | Setting (value / speed / passes) |
|---|---|---|
| PU heat transfer film | Blade cut | 90 / 4800 / 1 pass |
| PET heat transfer film | Blade cut | 105 / 4800 / 1 pass |
| PVC heat transfer film | Blade cut | 60 / 4800 / 1 pass |
| PVC self-adhesive lettering film | Blade cut | 75 / 4800 / 1 pass |
| White self-adhesive material | Blade cut | 78 / 4800 / 1 pass |
| Kraft paper 200 g | Blade cut | 234 / 4800 / 1 pass |
| PU artificial leather with knit fabric | Blade cut | 190 / 4800 / 1 pass |
Blade rows: the first number is the PDF's “Power %” column. For blade jobs it is a cutting-pressure setting in xTool Creative Space, which is why it runs above 100. Blade values are for thin sheet only (see limits below), so use them for vinyl, film, paper and thin leather, not wood.
Get an exact price for the xTool M1
Settings give you the speed; the cutting time calculator turns your file's path length into a real job time. A 3 mm cut takes several passes on a 10 W diode and far more machine time than on a 20 W machine, so run the numbers before you quote. For a full quote with materials and machine rate, use the calculator on the homepage.
M1 vs M1 Ultra: what is actually different
The original M1 is the machine this page covers; the xTool M1 Ultra is its successor and has its own page. From xTool's published specifications: the M1 has a wider laser area, 385 × 300 mm (365 × 300 mm in blade mode), against 300 × 300 mm on the Ultra; the M1 comes as 10 W or 5 W, while the Ultra is a 10 W or 20 W laser; and the Ultra adds a pen module and an inkjet module to the laser and blade. The Ultra's numbers on its page come from a community mirror of xTool's library, while this page is built on xTool's own PDF, so a few rows (3 mm basswood and black acrylic cutting, for example) are close but not identical. A 10 W M1 and a 10 W M1 Ultra use the same class of laser, so the cut times are in the same range; the 20 W Ultra module is the real step up.
What an M1 owner buys next
The M1 is a 10 W diode with a blade, so the useful extras are sheet stock and a safe work surface.
Basswood sheets 3 mm: Check price on Amazon ↗
Slate coasters: Check price on Amazon ↗
Honeycomb bed: Check price on Amazon ↗
Safety glasses, 455 nm OD6+: Check price on Amazon ↗
Disclosure: some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Prices are approximate list prices at the time of writing; always check the current offer.
Bed size: what actually fits
xTool's M1 FAQ gives a laser working area of 385 × 300 mm and a blade-cutting area of 365 × 300 mm. It states a laser spot of 0.08 × 0.08 mm, engraving accuracy of 0.01 mm, and maximum engraving speeds of 250 mm/s (bitmap) and 160 mm/s (vector).
| Common stock | Size | On this machine |
|---|---|---|
| A4 sheet | 297 × 210 mm | Fits |
| 300 × 300 mm craft ply | 300 × 300 mm | Fits |
| 12 × 12 in scrapbook card | 305 × 305 mm | Fits the 385 mm side only; 5 mm over on the 300 mm side, so trim it |
| A3 sheet | 420 × 297 mm | Does not fit — cut it down first |
| 400 × 400 mm sheet | 400 × 400 mm | Does not fit — cut it down first |
Fitting parts onto the sheet is where material cost is won or lost. Our nesting tool takes your file and this bed size and tells you parts per sheet; the sheet yield calculator does the same from plain dimensions.
What the xTool M1 cannot do
- Thick stock is limited. xTool's lab maximum for the 10 W M1 is 8 mm basswood and 3 mm for the 5 W. Treat that as a ceiling reached with patience, not a normal job.
- No clear acrylic or glass cutting. A blue diode beam passes through transparent material. See can a diode laser engrave glass? for what does work.
- No bare-metal cutting. A diode only marks coated or anodised metal. xTool's PDF has metal sample rows (dog tag, business card, money clip) but does not say what coating they carry, so we left them out.
- Blade limit 1.5 mm. xTool's theoretical maximum blade-cut thickness is 1.5 mm or less, depending on the material, the cutting mat's grip and the blade tip angle.
- Software. xTool's FAQ names xTool Creative Space for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, over Wi-Fi or USB. It does not list LightBurn support.
Still sold? Not reliably. xTool's M1 announcement page, as it appears in search results, says the M1 is being discontinued because of product iteration and production planning, and xTool has since discontinued its successor, the M1 Ultra, as well (July 2026). Stock may still turn up at resellers, but this guide is mainly for people who already own one. Check with the seller before buying new, and look at what xTool currently sells for blade and laser in one machine.
Troubleshooting: symptom, cause, fix
| Symptom | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 3 mm cut does not go through on one pass | Focus off, no air assist, or xTool's optimistic lab speed | Re-measure focus on the actual stock, then add a second pass at the same speed before changing power. |
| Engraving is faint at the listed power | Dirty lens, or wrong material or thickness chosen in XCS | Wipe the lens with a clean lens cloth and re-check the material height. |
| Edges charred | Smoke and heat building up on slow cuts | Use air assist where fitted and prefer faster passes; see how to stop burn marks on wood. |
| Blade lifts or tears vinyl | Mat grip is worn, or the pressure is too high for the film | Use a fresh mat and drop the blade value in small steps on a test square. |
| Lines wavy or doubled | Loose belts or vibration at high speed | Check belt tension, then slow the engraving speed to confirm it is mechanical; see banding, ghosting and double lines. |
If a cut still fails, work through why won't my laser cut all the way through?.
Material cost per sheet
xTool does not publish material prices, and they move with the supplier. Our where to buy laser materials guide lists suppliers worth comparing; once you know the price per sheet, the cutting time calculator combines it with this machine's speeds into a per-job cost.
FAQ
What are good xTool M1 settings for wood?
From xTool's own 10 W M1 table: basswood plywood engraves in bitmap mode at 70% and 10500 mm/min, and pine plywood in vector mode at 90% and 2400 mm/min. xTool's laser-cut rows are left out of this page because they are ambiguous and faster than our chart, so start cuts from the chart's 10 W row and add passes until the back face is cut through.
What are xTool M1 acrylic settings?
xTool's M1 10 W table lists black acrylic 3 mm for cutting, but that row is left out here (see the cutting note above). It lists no clear acrylic, because the blue diode beam passes through transparent plastic. Use dark, opaque acrylic only, in several passes with air assist.
What are xTool M1 engraving settings?
xTool lists vector (line) and bitmap (raster) engraving separately. Bitmap examples: basswood 70% / 10500 mm/min, pine 80% / 3600, rock coaster 60% / 4800. Vector examples: pine 90% / 2400, rock coaster 60% / 3000. The speeds are xTool's mm/s figures multiplied by 60.
What are xTool M1 settings for glass, tumblers or leather?
xTool's 10 W M1 PDF has no laser row for glass, tumblers, bamboo cutting boards or leather, so we publish none. For glass see the diode laser glass guide; for tumblers see the rotary setup guide; for leather start from the general leather settings page and run a test grid.
What is the xTool M1 working area?
xTool lists 385 x 300 mm for laser processing and 365 x 300 mm in blade-cutting mode. The M1 Ultra is smaller at 300 x 300 mm.
How thick can the xTool M1 cut?
xTool's laboratory maximum is 8 mm basswood for the 10 W M1 and 3 mm for the 5 W. The blade's theoretical maximum is 1.5 mm or less depending on the material, mat grip and blade tip angle.
What is the difference between the xTool M1 and the M1 Ultra?
The M1 has a 385 x 300 mm laser area and 10 W or 5 W laser; the M1 Ultra has a 300 x 300 mm area, a 10 W or 20 W laser, and adds pen and inkjet modules. Both pair a diode laser with a cutting blade. xTool has moved on from both, so check availability before buying.
Is the xTool M1 still sold?
xTool's M1 announcement page says the machine is being discontinued, and it has since discontinued the M1 Ultra too. Resellers may still hold stock, so check with the seller. Settings in this guide apply to owners of the machine either way.