Durable, Long-Lasting Laser

I am working on a project that requires the use of a laser. It will be mounted on a small pan/tilt servo kit, and its range of motion will be restricted so that it cannot end up in anyone's eyes. It will be directed across the room onto a map mounted high on the wall, approximately 30 ft from wall to laser. The laser will be on for long periods of time, up to 20 minutes at a time, and the laser will be powered by an Arduino. I have done testing with a $5 radioshack laser which has served me well so far.

Will I run into issues with the laser overheating if left on for long periods of time? I would like a higher quality, low powered laser that will last a very long time. Preferably green, but red would be fine. <$50. Any recommendations? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Lasers can be perfect used for long time. Even continuous on is possible. You will need to buy a lab laser with some active cooling ( small fan is enough ). It can stay on forever.

They look like this.

Good luck finding a lab lazor for under $50.

What you can do is buy a low power green module...Green laser module 50mW For custom build or lab [OLGLM50] - $19.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

...and a lab lazor housing...Universal 5.6mm laser diode host/holder+cooling Housing+Fans [OL-H-5.6] - $14.60 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Its an easy build. Instead of using the aluminum module that is included in the lab housing....use the green module. The spring on the module is the negative...and the brass housing is the positive. So its case positive.

How powerful of a laser do you need? Like how visible? What color?

sjkuessel said:

How powerful of a laser do you need? Like how visible? What color?

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As far as visibility, the more visible the better. I am not sure how powerful a laser will be necessary. Color doesn't matter, but whatever is most visible (green?) per its power rating would be best.

The laser will be used in a very large room, medium sunlight, and projected onto a 50 ft x 50 ft map.

ga08c said:

As far as visibility, the more visible the better. I am not sure how powerful a laser will be necessary. Color doesn't matter, but whatever is most visible (green?) per its power rating would be best.

The laser will be used in a very large room, medium sunlight, and projected onto a 50 ft x 50 ft map.

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Our eyes are most sensitive to green. A 50mW green (532nm) will work great even in a large room. I bet you'll be very happy with these specs. The greens are delicate, though. if it gets dropped (not on carpet, but on a hard surface) it might break. Buy a second module and save on shipping if you want your self covered.

pschlosser said:

Our eyes are most sensitive to green. A 50mW green (532nm) will work great even in a large room. I bet you'll be very happy with these specs. The greens are delicate, though. if it gets dropped (not on carpet, but on a hard surface) it might break. Buy a second module and save on shipping if you want your self covered.

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Good to know. Thanks for your input.

Yes you definitely want green for it's brightness. If your in medium daylight 50-150mw would be good. Just make sure the laser is actually to spec. Many places sell laser rated at say 100mw and they're more like 10mw. Do you need the beam visible or just the dot it produces on the map?

sjkuessel said:

Yes you definitely want green for it's brightness. If your in medium daylight 50-150mw would be good. Just make sure the laser is actually to spec. Many places sell laser rated at say 100mw and they're more like 10mw. Do you need the beam visible or just the dot it produces on the map?

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Just the dot visible on the map would be sufficient.