Setting Up Your xTool P3 | From Unboxing to First Cut

In this guide, we will be setting up the xTool P3, a powerful CO2 laser cutter that tries to bring industrial level features to a desktop format and price tag, and we are going to walk through the entire assembly process, from putting together the stand to getting the machine running. Now, a quick heads-up before we start: if you are assembling your own, please definitely consult your setup manual and safety instructions in addition. Consider this guide a visual primer to complement those documents, sprinkled with some tips and tricks we found along the way to make the whole process a heck of a lot easier. We will be going through setting up everything included in the full P3 kit, so if you didn't grab that specific accessory, feel free to just skip ahead to the next section.

Let's get into it!

Assembling the Stand to kick things off, go ahead and grab your stand box. Inside, you'll find four column pieces (the order for these doesn't really matter) and four shorter side beams. You want to slot these shorter beams into the columns to create the "sides" of your stand. They should fit easily into those funky wave joints, but here is a big catch: ensure that for all the beams you put in, the drill holes are facing inwards.

Next, find the four longer beams and slot them in as well. Two of these will have the xTool logo on them, so feel free to place them wherever you find it aesthetically pleasing. All of these beams should slot together freely, but don't be afraid to use a mallet to tap one or two in if they are being stubborn.

Once the frame is loosely together, place the stand on its side and use 16x 16mm M6 bolts to fasten the beams to the columns. A quick tip here: try not to shift the frame around too much on the floor, as you don't want to scratch it up before you've even started.

Now, grab six of the remaining bolts to fasten six of the board brackets to the top beams of your stand. If you didn't orientate the beams with the bolt holes facing inwards back in step one, you will certainly find out.

Next, get your boards and mount them to the top of your stand with the wood screws. There are little pre-drilled holes on the boards to help you line up with your board brackets. We found we had to lift the frame a tad to get everything to line up perfectly, so it might be smart to prop it up with a few layers of cardboard or something similar to make this easier.

With the top boards securely mounted, flip the stand upside down. We would definitely recommend using some of the packing foam from the box to stop your brand-new benchtop from getting scratched on the floor. Mount the four caster wheels onto the bottom using 16 of the 10 mm M6 bolts.

Once those are mounted, flip your stand back upright, and you are done! You may find you have a few spare bolts and board mounts lying around; these are spares so that you can install a shelf underneath if you want, though you will need to source your own panel for that.

P3 Assembly Now, let's get into the meat of it: our P3. Open the box and remove all the packaging. We actually opened ours up and removed all the accessories from inside the machine first. We were just a little too excited, but we are going to pretend we did it to make the unit a little lighter- because now you have to lift the P3 onto the stand.

This machine is heavy. It is a bit over 100 kilograms, so you will need at least four people to lift it. Lift with your knees, not your back, and plan out the route of your lift carefully; you are handling a very heavy and expensive machine here. Also, ensure that you lock the wheels on the stand before lifting the P3 onto it. Once it is safely on the stand, you can wheel it around - we wheeled this whole operation into our Makerverse.

If you haven't already, remove all the remaining packaging from inside the machine, as well as the tape holding on the back panel and the four green clips preventing the gantry from moving. There is one on each side of the cutting head, and one on each end of the gantry. I would keep these clips around just in case you ever want to throw your P3 in a truck and move it anywhere.

In your little toolbox, you will find your USB access control key. Insert it into your machine. This is your key, by the way—do not lose it. The machine simply will not work without it. While you are there, also familiarise yourself with the e-stop switch on the other side of the machine.

A quick check to do here: very slowly move your laser head along its gantry. We are just checking that everything moves freely and nothing happened during shipping.

Before powering on your P3, you will need to fill up the water loop in the cooling system. You will need to source some purified water to fill this up with, as well as a measuring jug. Avoid using tap water as the impurities are not good for the machine. You may also need to add antifreeze, which does come with the machine. This is where you might really want to check your manual, as it will tell you exactly how much you will need based on how cold it gets in your area. Here in Newcastle, it almost never drops below zero, so we don't need any antifreeze, but we put a little bit in just in case.

On the back of the machine is your water level indicator. It is worth checking this once in a while. Also, after running the machine for the first time, this level may drop a little as the air bleeds out, so don't panic thinking it's leaking everywhere (unless you find unexpected puddles). Once you have water and antifreeze in your cooling loop, you can finally plug in and turn on your machine.

Once you have water and/or antifreeze in your cooling loop, you can plug in and turn on your machine.

And one final thing: if you have the CO2 extinguisher bottle, you can pop open the side panel and screw it into the machine.

Before connecting it to xTool Studio and running your first cut, you will need to set up your air filtration or extraction system. We are using the AP2 Max as it filters enough so that the air can be spat out back into the room. However, if you have an existing filtration or extraction system, or if you are dumping the air outside, you might want to set up the IF2 inline fan instead.

Setting up the IF2 is pretty straightforward: grab your inline fan, ensure that you have the airflow going the right way, and connect your hoses. The hoses have this twist-on adapter for each end to help it nicely connect into the machine.

If you do have the AP2 Max, go ahead and crack it open. Have a play around with the funky foam packaging it comes with, then assemble it. There are a series of layers here, starting with the dynamic layer on the very bottom, and then numbers 1 to 6 stacking on top of it, with 1 being on the top, and 6 being the bottom.

You will also need to remove the plastic bag from each filter layer in the process. The filters, by the way, do have a correct orientation as well. The number on the side has to be the right way up, and there is an NFC tag on the side that has to point to the back of the machine. With the filters in the correct orientation and the layers in the right order, place your NFC baseplate on the rear of the machine. This will read the NFC tags in each filter to know when they need replacing.

With that done, you can finally connect the hosing from your AP2 to your P3. Now, we were even a little confused about this, but as it turns out, you do not need the IF2 fan if you are using the AP2 Max - it may even hinder it as the airflow capability on the AP2 is far greater. Also, as a sidenote, the clips holding in all the filters can be a bit of a pinch point, so don't put your hand above the clip when you undo it. It hurts.

Software Set up and Pairing AP2 Max Now, we can get started with the software. Go ahead and install xTool Studio and open it up. Plug your P3 into your computer with the provided USB cable, create a new project, and hit connect—you should be able to connect to your P3 right away. You will be able to set up Wi-Fi later on, but for this first time, you will need to manually connect it this way.

From here on out, follow whatever xTool Studio says. The instructions I can give are nowhere near as good as what the software can provide. One thing that xTool does really well is software, and it will walk you through the entire process of watching the mandatory safety training, updating the firmware of your P3, checking the alignment of your laser with this cool tape trick, fixing that alignment if it is a bit off, and finally, getting you going with a cutting tutorial using the included sheet of ply. A word of advice: I would avoid closing out of this cutting tutorial as it is surprisingly difficult to get back into once you have dismissed it. All of these steps are integrated heavily into xTool Studio, and it makes the whole process super easy.

There is one more thing to cover, and that is syncing your IF2 or AP2 Max. If they don't automatically sync, you can do so manually through xTool Studio. Under device settings, you'll find accessory information and a button to add a new accessory via Bluetooth. On the IF2 or AP2 Max, ensure it is turned off, then press and hold the power button for 5 seconds until the pairing light flashes. You should then be able to sync your P3 to it through Studio. When the IF2 or AP2 Max are synced like this, they should automatically turn on when you start cutting, as long as they are plugged in and switched on. Just note that for the cutting tutorial that Studio runs through, you will likely need to manually turn on the AP2 Max as you usually sync it after that tutorial.

And that is how to set up your new xTool P3! In total, we reckon it would take about 2 to 4 hours to get going with this - maybe less if you are on the ball - but overall, it is such an easy thing to get up and running. 

If you want to check out our overview of the P3 and why we are using one, we have a guide on that as well. Or if you need a hand with anything we covered in this guide, feel free to head on over to our community forums; we are all makers over there and happy to help.

Until next time, happy making!