How we work

How we research & score

Class-based, running-cost-first, and honest about its limits. Here’s exactly how a machine earns its ranking and how a settings chart earns its numbers.

The honest limit, up front

We do not operate a laser lab, and we don’t claim to. Pass Depth aggregates and standardizes published manufacturer specifications, verified owner reports, and community-shared test grids. Every “test” on this site means analysis and standardization — not a fabricated hands-on trial.

Why class-based

Model reviews rot: SKUs churn every quarter and settings written for one unit mislead the next. So the backbone of this site is machine classes — source type crossed with real optical wattage (diode-20W, CO2-55W, fiber-MOPA-30W, and so on). A class-based chart stays true as models come and go, and it makes settings portable in the only way they legitimately are: within a class, never across one.

How machines are scored

Every review runs the same six axes, weighted toward what a seller actually pays over the machine’s life:

Real optical wattage
Verified light output, not marketing watts or diode-count math — the number that decides what a machine can make.
Cost per running hour
Source lifespan and consumables amortized to dollars per hour: tube/diode replacement, mirrors, air, filters.
Earning fit
Throughput at sellable quality and how many orders retire the sticker price for the product lines the machine suits.
Work area & fixturing
Bed size against common stock, pass-through, and rotary/jig readiness.
Software lock-in
Cloud dependence, subscription-gated features, and house-material pressure — all scored as running costs.
Safety & filtration
Enclosure class, interlocks, and how the machine handles fumes indoors.

How the settings library is built

For each material, our settings editor collects manufacturer charts, owner-reported numbers, and community-shared test grids; normalizes them to percent power and mm/s; and brackets the spread into a starting range. We publish the range plus a test-grid recipe, never a single magic number — because your lens, air pressure, and material batch move the window. Chlorinated materials are refused outright: there is no safe setting for PVC.

Freshness & corrections

Reviews and roundups are revisited on a quarterly cadence, and any date shown reflects the true last update — we never paint a stale page with this year’s number. Found an error or a better owner-reported setting? Tell us and we’ll fix it and say so.

Editorial standards →Meet the desk →

60 guides published

42 products vetted

125 reader price checks