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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Hello!! Manufacturing Tech intro thread!

Joined
Sep 29, 2013
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97
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Hi guys, getting more interested in lasers. I have a 2 year electro-mechanical tech degree and work as a support tech for a company that makes the arm or "suspension" that holds a read/write head of a hard drive perfectly in place.

We use many robots as well as lasers, as the other more experienced tech (some specialized laser techs) and so I figure I'd better start learning....

I don't know a WHOLE lot... But I know I've heard/seen the words, excimer, coherent, trumpf, jdsu, sdl, lumonics etc. Some of the larger lasers use flash lamps to excite the YAG rod, some use gasses like krypton and fluorine. Not sure what the wavelength was but while aligning a beam on some white paper (very slow rep rate) it flouresced a brilliant blue! Some of the more common tasks I have yet to learn about are the Autofills and Gas injections on the larger gas lasers. Flushing and purging and backfilling and re-checking the alignment of the optics with a 1mw HENE laser for some reason....

Anyways, I'd like to build a small DIY either 405 445 or a green 532 maybe? Not sure yet exactly... Seems like the 445's are more common for 100mw plus. We had a junk SDL laser I took apart out of curiousity and it contained a 15 watt SDL 3450 diode array but unfortunately it's in the infrared spectrum so it would be invisible. Ill try to upload a pic of the beauty.

ezetmu.jpg
 
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Dec 17, 2012
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The way they couple those to fiber is amazing. Welcome to the forum!
 
Joined
Sep 29, 2013
Messages
97
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8
The way they couple those to fiber is amazing. Welcome to the forum!

Thanks! And yes the technology is incredible! So much cool stuff thrown in the recycling bins (such as these 15 watt SDL lasers...) I had to peel it open!

Welcome! I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay!

Thanks!

Say, does anyone know why optical resonator seemed to have ANOTHER smaller laser/led diode in the side? A weak reddish color. Haven't had any leads on to what it might have been used for. It aims into the crazy mirror maze...

Here are a few more pics for entertainment
Outer label
10xanx2.jpg

Inner diode array
sn2wc8.jpg

Overall assembly with optical resonator
33bhgdd.jpg

Iso view
vg66py.jpg
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2013
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Probably for APC uses. Not sure in your case, but many used to use a weak diode to regulate the power cycle. Some of the older resonators use a weak IR OR 680nm diodes to help maintain stable output.
 
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Joined
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Messages
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WELCOME -with the size of our membership most any laser subject there is at least one member has some knowledge about. You may want to take the rest(of this thread) to the proper section-- if unsure try doing a search of one or two words - and click on what comes up then see which section the thread/post was in.

Kind words about pics on LPF- best to re-size then to medium- as the way yours are posted they cannot be seen without a lot of tedious side scrolling Or crtl - to make smaller- and anyone wanting to see then bigger can likewise use ctrl + to enlarge them.

About the warning labels found on lasers== if your read that the laser is 15W MAX or <15W it could be WAY less than 15W -- most are accurate about the kind (like CW)and wavelength of the laser but the output --not so much ( all the time)

take special care around any that have 'invisible' on the label-

About a hard-to-see reddish color- that is often an IR laser and for sure a dangerous wavelength-

AFAIK we ALL like to see lots of pics (med or smaller).

And also like to hear about how lasers are used aside from what most here own- SS-gas lasers- used for handhelds- (wavelength collectors) and light show/ laser show projectors etc.

New uses for lasers seem to be invented on a daily basis- some now say the the laser is a far more significant invention that Edison's light bulb( soon to be obsolete)

Just a quick mention about a few things aside forum pic sizes- try not to double post- if yours is the last post you can add more using the edit feature-

...however if what you want to add has great significance then by all means double post -this way any who have posted also or subscribed to that thread will get an email -- We often double post in a FS thread to keep them closer to the top of the BS&T section.

Many here would love to have your job- (any job with lasers!!)


also you are not alone in WI-there are some fine members there and in all the other 49 States--(and world-wide) many of us have no one around that also speaks 'Laser'.
So making laser friends that are local is special.

Feel free to PM me anytime- I do not have in ANYWAY near ALL the answers, but i DO have friends that DO.. lol ( 99% of the time).

A lot can be learned by going to every section here and reading the threads that are stickied.

and you will find a comprehensive collection of data at ..Sam's Laser FAQ-

For Qs about forum useage ask any Mod here- they are very helpful.

Daguin, Phoenix 77, Things, Spyrorocks,and PED.--

welcome

Hak


BTW you have taken great close-ups - don't change that part!! +3
(and a friend request)
 
Joined
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wow....my advice, if you see more lasers or laser components like that just lyin' in the trash, snag them. never know what may be of use :D

who knows, maybe one of them just has a broken lens somewhere or something of the sort.
 
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Joined
Sep 29, 2013
Messages
97
Points
8
Probably for APC uses. Not sure in your case, but many used to use a weak diode to regulate the power cycle. Some of the older resonators use a weak IR OR 680nm diodes to help maintain stable output.

Sure ill take a look into that.

WELCOME -with the size of our membership most any laser subject there is at least one member has some knowledge about. You may want to take the rest(of this thread) to the proper section-- if unsure try doing a search of one or two words - and click on what comes up then see which section the thread/post was in.

Kind words about pics on LPF- best to re-size then to medium- as the way yours are posted they cannot be seen without a lot of tedious side scrolling Or crtl - to make smaller- and anyone wanting to see then bigger can likewise use ctrl + to enlarge them.

About the warning labels found on lasers== if your read that the laser is 15W MAX or <15W it could be WAY less than 15W -- most are accurate about the kind (like CW)and wavelength of the laser but the output --not so much ( all the time)

take special care around any that have 'invisible' on the label-

About a hard-to-see reddish color- that is often an IR laser and for sure a dangerous wavelength-

AFAIK we ALL like to see lots of pics (med or smaller).

And also like to hear about how lasers are used aside from what most here own- SS-gas lasers- used for handhelds- (wavelength collectors) and light show/ laser show projectors etc.

New uses for lasers seem to be invented on a daily basis- some now say the the laser is a far more significant invention that Edison's light bulb( soon to be obsolete)

Just a quick mention about a few things aside forum pic sizes- try not to double post- if yours is the last post you can add more using the edit feature-

...however if what you want to add has great significance then by all means double post -this way any who have posted also or subscribed to that thread will get an email -- We often double post in a FS thread to keep them closer to the top of the BS&T section.

Many here would love to have your job- (any job with lasers!!)


also you are not alone in WI-there are some fine members there and in all the other 49 States--(and world-wide) many of us have no one around that also speaks 'Laser'.
So making laser friends that are local is special.

Feel free to PM me anytime- I do not have in ANYWAY near ALL the answers, but i DO have friends that DO.. lol ( 99% of the time).

A lot can be learned by going to every section here and reading the threads that are stickied.

and you will find a comprehensive collection of data at ..Sam's Laser FAQ-

For Qs about forum useage ask any Mod here- they are very helpful.

Daguin, Phoenix 77, Things, Spyrorocks,and PED.--

welcome

Hak


BTW you have taken great close-ups - don't change that part!! +3
(and a friend request)

Thanks!! I've been a member of various forums for years, and have made many many friends through forums over the years that have stayed friends to this day even though some I've never even met! So I'm fairly familiar with forums in general. As far as pics the car forum I'm used to auto-resizes pics for you so I haven't had to deal with all that before. Yes I am familiar with the dangerous invisible wavelengths, luckily we have all sorts of protective gear and high quality goggles.

As far as laser USES there is a wide variety of uses... Ill list as many as I can think of...

1 - measurement - lasers are VERY frequently used to measure extremely precise angles, heights and tolerances down to .000001 of a degree or less sometimes. Something called a Wyko probe is an example of these high precision measuring lasers. They have plain visible red dots as far as I can tell.

2 - Welding - lasers also used to weld some very small precise sheets of metal together, the metal sheets are sometimes as thin as .001 of an inch thick. Lumonics JK700 (I think) or a Truphf laser is used for this. Run through a fiber optic and directed with a galvo with two rotating mirrors that can make up to 26 of these micro welds in under a second.

3 - Polishing - some parts are actually polished by a large excimer laser. (I think) LPX pro or something maybe? This is the one with all the gasses fluorine and what not... This is the one I assisted aligning/changing the outer optics on. This is the one that flouresced the brilliant blue when shown on a certain white paper.

4 - Ablation - not super familiar with this one but its something about lasers being used to remove material in a machining type process. Haven't seen it but I know the machine cost 2 million dollars....

5 - Precision adjustment - the suspension arms need to be adjusted to have the PERFECT gram load, angle, pitch roll etc... The precision adjustments are made by hitting the parts with lasers at very precise powers. This will melts a small section of the part which when cools contracts and adjusts towards the beam impact. (Imagine a beam hitting the intersection of a right angle from the inside. When cools it will be a slightly acute)

Probably some more I don't remember right now...


Wow, great pics. Welcome to the forums:)

Thanks! I know that's what people like to see!!

Dang, i wish i knew what half of that stuff was :D :D

Not that long ago I knew basically none of that.. Lol

wow....my advice, if you see more lasers or laser components like that just lyin' in the trash, snag them. never know what may be of use :D

who knows, maybe one of them just has a broken lens somewhere or something of the sort.

Absolutely, it's incredible what gets thrown away. Sometimes things are trashed for incorrect reasons, or relatively MINOR efficiency or speed or precision issues that make it NOT suitable for a high volume high precision manufacturing application. Or a a bearing might be a couple thousandths off on something.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Just Like Pete sez--your closeups are they way we like (once re-sized--lol)


I like to give the impression I am big on re-cycling but actually I am at heart, a die hard dumpster diver- latest good find a friend made was a> 6 X 3 foot sound controller/console next to a dumpster (prolly would not fit) it was near where cruise ships dock and we figure it got replaced by a new and better (& smaller) one. must have had 40 sliders on it and tons of buttons and switches. it was prolly a very cool/spendy thing back in its day.
 

SKeeZ

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Sep 2, 2013
Messages
463
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Sweet picture! i think a 445 may be difficult to heatsink in this host, i would go with a 100mW green module. If you are comfortable soldering diodes, you can use a DX 100 or 200mW green. You can also just use the module straight up but I would personally get a better driver. (100mW LINK) (200mW LINK)
 
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
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Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you have access to some cool laser tech on a daily basis... looking forward to your future shares!

Have a great time getting to know folks here and learning. This is, imho, THE laser spot on the Internet. There are some really sharp folks here and a ton of cumulative experience. I'm a newb, but I learn something new everytime I stop by the forums.

This hobby is addictive. Be forewarned. :)

cheers!
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you have access to some cool laser tech on a daily basis... looking forward to your future shares!

Have a great time getting to know folks here and learning. This is, imho, THE laser spot on the Internet. There are some really sharp folks here and a ton of cumulative experience. I'm a newb, but I learn something new everytime I stop by the forums.

This hobby is addictive. Be forewarned. :)

cheers!



LOL Kap

your warning is too late-

Both of us being photographers, we can say its often the pics of lasers and videos too that first catch our eyes.--

From there the slope is way too slippery to ever go back.

WE can go from a button battery red cat toylasers to a DIY +W RGBs in a short time.

If I had it to do all over i would choose to just skip handhelds and go to lasershows from the get-go.

I think many will agree that the blame/credit for our addiction falls on the green pointer- especially for those who got started when these first became affordable..

BUT say what you will-- I am sure more LPF members came here as a result of a KipKay VID, his links to LPF over the years are responsible for many newcomers as well as Vids by members like Spyro.

After that I think i have referred more than any others.

I did not think to keep track of this-- i se we have a place in our profile about referrale but just how those number grow in an unknown to me.

I have handled more than 100 customer support Qs for my dear friends at AixiZ and without exception I do my best AND try to get them to join any or all laser forums-hopefully they are become good members-

I think most have a good idea of how to join a forum and do it right- i NEVER just give a LPF link and say 'JOIN'- I try to help them get off on the right foot here-something that does not always happen and we have seen way too many that do NOT get a good start at LPF.

WL got us a crap-load of new members too... but many were a BIG waste of the forums time.










:wave:
 
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Welcome to the forum!

I'm loving the photos! Very nice! I hope to see more!

I actually have a fiber array package kind of like yours. They are really cool! They need lots of juice though!
 

Pman

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Better listen to Kap!!! You will quickly get way deep in and $ will be flying out your bank account faster than you thought possible Lol.
Len (hakzaw) is dead on with the 532nm comment and how they get you sucked in. I still can't believe how even a 25mw 532nm will create an entire beam at night. Hope I never lose the wonder of it.
Hope you are still thinking seriously about the projector C! I'm telling you, it's the right progression for you to take.
Was hoping to see my QS today but it didn't come:( Oh well, made a giant 4.5' x 9' glow-in-the-dark canvas from black-out cloth and glow in the dark spray paint which turned out fantastic for the old 405nm "drawing with light". We have too much fun here:) RESPONSIBLE fun that is.
Seriously, my friend len should be respected and listened too. Not only has he been around awhile but is a wonderful person too.
If you can actually keep those parts that would be fantastic. Keep the pics coming. We eat that stuff up.
I think I already REPPED you but if I didn't there's an incoming super.
I'll pass on the same advice I give everyone besides all the safety stuff. Be overly kind!
Pete

Weird, says I've given out too much REP in the last 24 hours so I can't give it today. Have been recovering at home from kidney stone issues and have had way more time than usual to spend on the forums so I guess that is what happens. I'll have to take a look at what the rules say.
 
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