Yet another newbie questions thread

[luismanson]

Hello all, im about to start a little laser engraver project, since i already have a 3d printer and some spare motors, arduino and drivers i tought of this.

Excluding the eye glases which i will buy first i have a few other questions:

1- anyone knows what kind of power and light a laser from a printer has?

2- to power up the laser i need: the protection googles, laser diode,driver, case/disipator...what else? any specific lens? can i use the laser and optics from a DVD burner or the diode only?

3- whats the wavelenght of a DVD laser?

4- what is bether, red laser 635nM 300mW or infrared 808nm same power ?
i could also get a 500mW infrared, but i think they are also more dangerous...

more questions to come

thanks

 

[aryntha]

Hello all, im about to start a little laser engraver project, since i already have a 3d printer and some spare motors, arduino and drivers i tought of this.

Excluding the eye glases which i will buy first i have a few other questions:

1- anyone knows what kind of power and light a laser from a printer has?

2- to power up the laser i need: the protection googles, laser diode,driver, case/disipator...what else? any specific lens? can i use the laser and optics from a DVD burner or the diode only?

3- whats the wavelenght of a DVD laser?

4- what is bether, red laser 635nM 300mW or infrared 808nm same power ?
i could also get a 500mW infrared, but i think they are also more dangerous...

more questions to come

thanks

1) Generally near-infrared, 780nm or higher. Power can be pretty high on the higher speed printers, but it's very unlikely to be visible, which makes it less fun and more dangerous.

2) You'll need collimating optics. The optics from a DVD drive try to focus the light on a point - small point, short focal length, not collimated. You can get a press-in module from AixiZ and lenses there too, pretty cheap, if you want to make a red from a DVD drive. Just a matter of pressing in the diode, screwing on the lens, and attaching to the driver.

3) DVD lasers are 650nm red.

4) You'd want the 650nm 300mW.. 808nm is "near infrared", it'll appear as a dim dot even at that power. 650nm 300mW will be a bright red beam, much more satisfying

 

[luismanson]

1) Generally near-infrared, 780nm or higher. Power can be pretty high on the higher speed printers, but it's very unlikely to be visible, which makes it less fun and more dangerous.

2) You'll need collimating optics. The optics from a DVD drive try to focus the light on a point - small point, short focal length, not collimated. You can get a press-in module from AixiZ and lenses there too, pretty cheap, if you want to make a red from a DVD drive. Just a matter of pressing in the diode, screwing on the lens, and attaching to the driver.

3) DVD lasers are 650nm red.

4) You'd want the 650nm 300mW.. 808nm is "near infrared", it'll appear as a dim dot even at that power. 650nm 300mW will be a bright red beam, much more satisfying

thanks for your reply, on the power side, im a bit more interested on the engraving usage, i think i will cover the laser/machine while it works so there will be no fun to see...(but i could add a 5mw red i guess...)

that is where i was going with my question mostly, i do not know how "comparable" are different wavelenghts, can you give me an idea of which one would you choose for this?

 

[RayJay]

that is where i was going with my question mostly, i do not know how "comparable" are different wavelenghts, can you give me an idea of which one would you choose for this?

If cost is an issue and you would want the most bang for your buck so to speak just go for a 2W 445. They are great at laser cutting/engraving and you could put it together for under $100.

Second to that an 808nm IR laser would be my second choice.

It also depends on what you are engraving? You may need a much higher output for some materials (eg 2W+) and 300mW just wouldn't "cut it".

 

[luismanson]

thanks again, yes issue is a cost, but i want to get a diode from another equipment first (if i can) to learn and no to cty if i burn it.

my question is basically which one would "engrave more" per mW, red vs infra

 

[RayJay]

my question is basically which one would "engrave more" per mW, red vs infra

It doesn't work like that. Wavelength(nm) has nothing to do with power(mW)

So a 300mW 650nm will do exactly the same as a 300mW 808nm.

(dependent on what you're engraving)