E6: xTool S1 Honeycomb Positioning Jig: Align Once, Cut Perfectly Every Time

The honeycomb bed on the xTool S1 is one of the most useful accessories you can have. It lets you position material without it sitting flat on the base plate, improves airflow underneath the workpiece, reduces back-marking, and gives you a useful reference surface with built-in dimensions. Magnets can also hold parts in place when needed.

There’s just one problem: the honeycomb isn’t perfectly square, and it can sit anywhere in the tray. When you push it against the right side of the frame, the long edge still doesn’t line up cleanly with the X-axis. That makes it harder to align material perfectly with the machine’s axes — especially when you’re repeating the same part multiple times.

I wanted a simple, repeatable way to lock the honeycomb into a known position that matches the laser’s processing area, with the top-left corner of the honeycomb aligned to the machine’s 0,0 and the sides parallel to the X and Y axes. That way I can place material on the honeycomb and start designing at the origin in xTool Creative Space without constant framing.

Here’s how I built a quick L-shaped alignment jig that does exactly that.

Why This Matters

• Consistent alignment of material to the X and Y axes
• Ability to place designs at 0,0 and know they will land correctly
• Faster setup when repeating the same job
• Still keeps the flexibility to move the honeycomb if you need to process larger sheets

The standard S1 makes this relatively easy. With the height extension installed it becomes a bit more involved because the bed height can change, so the jig needs to work at the height you’re using (or you make versions for different heights).

Step 1: Find the Laser’s Corner Positions

We need to know exactly where the laser’s lower-left and lower-right processing limits sit relative to the machine frame.

1. Place a piece of 6 mm plywood in the front-left (and then front-right) corner of the frame.
2. In xTool Creative Space, draw two short score lines (about 30 mm) right at the lower corner positions.
3. Run the job. You’ll get a clear mark of the laser’s lower corner on the material.

Measure the distances from the frame to those marks. On my machine the results were:

• 84 mm from the left side of the frame
• 34 mm from the front frame
• 24 mm from the right side of the frame

Your numbers may differ slightly — always measure your own machine.

Step 2: Cut the L-Shaped Jigs

I used two sheets of 6 mm plywood, each 12 × 12 inches.

Final dimensions of each L-piece:

• Overall footprint: 300 × 300 mm
• Left arm width: 84 mm
• Front arm width: 34 mm

I also added a simple centimetre scale along the edge — purely for visual reference and a nicer look.

Front stop (important)

The honeycomb itself has a scaled edge that is roughly 22 mm thick on the side facing the front frame. Since the laser sits 34 mm from the front frame, that leaves only about 12 mm of clearance. To keep the scale safely away from the laser path, I recommend making the front stop 1–2 mm less than the calculated maximum.

Glue a small stop strip to the underside of both the left and right L-pieces so they register against the front frame and push the honeycomb into the correct Y position.

Step 3: Position the Honeycomb

1. Place the left and right L-jigs in the front corners of the machine frame, sitting on top of the honeycomb.
2. Slide the honeycomb fully to the left.
3. Pull it forward until it locks against the front stops.

If the stops are glued correctly, the honeycomb now sits parallel to the axes and its useful area lines up with the laser’s processing range. The two L-pieces act as both visual guides and physical locators.

How to Use It Day-to-Day

• Drop the jigs in the corners.
• Push the honeycomb left and forward until it seats.
• Place your material against the honeycomb edges (or against the jig itself).
• In the software, put your design at the lower-left origin.

You’ll still want to frame occasionally for critical jobs, but for most work this removes a lot of the fiddling.

Notes & Limitations

• This is tuned for the height of the bed you measured. With the riser kit you may need additional versions for different bed heights.
• The honeycomb can still be moved if you need the full tray for oversized material.
• Always re-check the laser-to-frame distances if you ever change machines or heavily modify the bed.

Conclusion

A pair of simple L-shaped plywood jigs turns the somewhat floating honeycomb into a repeatable, axis-aligned work surface. Once the honeycomb is locked in place, placing material and positioning designs becomes much faster and more consistent — especially for batch work.

It’s not a factory solution, but it’s cheap, quick to make, and solves a real daily annoyance.

SNAFU… but learning!