Finally posting something

Hello I'm a Louisiana Tech University student, and a research associate for the Trenchless Technology Center.
I have peeked into the this world of phenomenal plinking photons many time before but now have the oportunity (and a little money) to build a laser.

For work I need to mark the inside of a pipe that has been lined with felt that is covered in a resin. The liners are hard and white on the surface that needs to be marked (can't remember what type of material). In the future we might cut the liner in the laser but for now i have been given permission to build a laser that can mark it. I would like the laser to be over powered so i get to use it for other applications.

I have been reading on the forum for days now (literally days) :yabbem: and believe I should use something in the 1-4W IR range or 405nm range or maybe somthing else i just can't decide .:undecided:
I have significant facilities and abilities (Kern laser table, Omax water jet, CNC Lathe, Manual Lathes and mills, mini cnc mills, rapid prototyping , CAD packages and FEA....)

I am a mechanical engineer but very capable in electronics.

What is boils down to is can someone help me decide on laser type, and driver, i will be using some sort of line voltage and making the host :thinking: (housing right) and making sure it has the proper heat transfer and all that.

In the future i would love to be able to offer some of my services to further LPF and if the design is good find someone with good QC to make them for production

jad052 said:

I am a mechanical engineer but very capable in electronics.

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I'm a student as well and you can't say that yet, at least not until you graduate and start your career.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you you come up with those resources at your disposal. Your going to need a lot of power to mark on a white surface, and thick goggles too to not go blind.

Sound like you need to be on point before you start marking. I'd say IR would be good for that, but have a guide laser that doesn't burn (say 5mw of green) so you can get on precise point before you engage the IR to burn

I plan on using a smaller red marker laser to identify if i use ir.

to TheDukeAnumber1 I have but one class left and am actually doing work in my field already and thus should have said I have an ME concentration

any suggestions for power requirements

jad052 said:

to TheDukeAnumber1 I have but one class left and am actually doing work in my field already and thus should have said I have an ME concentration

any suggestions for power requirements

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I am a mechanical engineer

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I am a Civil engineering major, have 3 classes left, and am also doing work in my field, but don't yet tell people I'm a Civil Engineer. I just feel that in our major we shouldn't throw that around lightly since you must be aware of how much work it takes to get there.

Agreed

I think i will end up using something like this
>1 Watt Fiber Coupled IR Laser Diode Burns! made by SDL | eBay

I thought others might be interested in this laser also.
Now that i know what wavelength i'll be using i can buy some eye protection

Very cool, same guy also sells the eye protection for it.
IR Laser Protection Goggles Safety Glasses NEW | eBay

You need to be certain that the wavelength that you select will be able to be absorbed by the target material and will therefore burn it. You probably have samples of the material available. White materials will often not absorb at the wavelengths that common IR laser diodes produce. My 2W 808nm handheld will not do anything to white paper or white styrofoam, unless the beam finds some dark colored dirt, or I put a black sharpie mark. To burn white, a 12x 405nm diode, or a 445nm M140 or 9mm with a G2 lens might be lasers to test. These two wavelengths are well known on the forum, with lots of info and the diodes themselves available. Welcome to LPF and I hope that this project goes well for you. Make sure to provide for eye safety.

Thank you and that was the exact information I came to this forum for

I got the Diode and Goggles and 2 lenses (expanding and culminating)
I set it up with a digital power supply to remove any error and possible damage to the diode yet managed to seemingly destroy it in less than 30 min. I Never ran it above current it had a heat sink inside of a heat sink. Only touched the fiber which is 2m long to prevent static discharge (with a hurricane blowing through there is so much humidity you couldn't produce a charge with ten balloons and a wool sock)

I believe i killed it by turning the supply off one time without disconnecting the diode
:yabbem: :yabbem: :cryyy: :cryyy:

Mow I get to tell my boss the $100 diode is now just a small hand warmer and buy a new one
The diode did burn exceptionable well in a nice compact package even with 2 meters of fiber and. Only got to test it out on some black plastic and the fiber sheathing which is white and if you do not rim it back far enough the light being dissipated from the fiber ends will set it on fire quite quickly. I have no video as my recording software did not cooperate during my experiments.

Pictures of the setup and if you ran the diode continuously would help diagnose the problem.

Link to laser Photos
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/voudm3aug40oxw4/_7XBYd8ibR

Goggle pic


Here is the data sheet http://www.orcontech.com/data/SDL_2364_L2_datasheet.pdf