Cheap Safety Goggles Destructive Test: Uvex S0360X Ultra-spec 2000

A pair of similar goggles was recently tested by another member: http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/cheap-safety-glasses-tested-71621.html

I decided to investigate and do a little testing of my own. One result could be an anomaly, many results could be a trend. A good one.

So I ordered these goggles: Uvex S0360X Ultra-spec 2000 Safety Eyewear, Orange Frame, SCT-Orange UV Extreme Anti-Fog Lens

Test was done using a 2W+ 450nm Laser. I'll let the pictures do the talking :eg:

Setting Up:



Laser at full power:



Goggles in front of the laser:



Checking that the laser is still aimed properly:



It was so putting goggle back in front of the sensor:



Checking laser again:



Goggles again:



Checking where I'm at with the laser power for the last time:



The Aftermath... :evil:

Front:



Back:



While I was at it I decided to see how long it would take for these to fail altogether. This part of the test I want to recreate better in the future, but I'm confident these will stand up to at least ~15 seconds of a 2W beam focused to infinity. The reason I cut the testing short is the laser was getting a tad too warm for my liking.

I left one side of the goggles completely untouched... want to do some more testing with 405nm and 532nm. As of right now I consider this to be a decent option but for 450nm ONLY.

UPDATE 6/26/12: Tested with 405nm and 532nm;

For 405nm performance was excellent, the results were essentially the same as with 445nm.

For 532nm, green light was blocked, HOWEVER I would not advice the use of these goggles with a 532nm, or any DPSS laser if the laser is not IR filtered.

EDIT: 12/10/13 - BUYER BEWARE: http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/c...0x-ultra-spec-2000-a-73484-3.html#post1260267

It looks like these goggles may no longer be a suitable option for use with green lasers.

Good test review...

The only thing I would have added to your test sequence was to
block the Laser completely and see if the LPM reading dropped
below Zero with no input...
If it did.. then it would need to be added to the Zero readings
above...

It would probably not be much but the test would be even
more accurate..


Jerry

Very nice. I did not do destructive testing on mine. I have some extras and will do that as well. I am VERY confident that you will get even better results with the 405 based on my testing and the design specs for SCT-Orange.

532 is harder to test. We KNOW they do not block IR. or at least they make no claims to do so. You just have to know/accept that going in to the test. Don't use these for DPSS green if you don't know if there is IR filtering on your laser.

But i have Optotronics RPL's that they work great with, but not nearly as high an o.d. As 405 and 445.

lasersbee said:

Good test review...

The only thing I would have added to your test sequence was to
block the Laser completely and see if the LPM reading dropped
below Zero with no input...
If it did.. then it would need to be added to the Zero readings
above...

It would probably not be much but the test would be even
more accurate..


Jerry

Click to expand...

Actually I did that too. Prior to the test I allowed the LPM to settle for about half an hour. It was showing alternately at -2 and 0. During the test I pointed the laser away from the lpm to see that it was working properly... dropped to zero as well.

Based on what I saw with these, 1-2mW really made no difference though.

tsteele93 said:

Very nice. I did not do destructive testing on mine. I have some extras and will do that as well. I am VERY confident that you will get even better results with the 405 based on my testing and the design specs for SCT-Orange.

532 is harder to test. We KNOW they do not block IR. or at least they make no claims to do so. You just have to know/accept that going in to the test. Don't use these for DPSS green if you don't know if there is IR filtering on your laser.

But i have Optotronics RPL's that they work great with, but not nearly as high an o.d. As 405 and 445.

Click to expand...

Well, IR is a different story altogether, and requires a slightly more paranoid approach to safety IMO, less based on goggles and more on procedure. I don't own any IR blocking goggles myself, but I am very careful handling my green lasers during testing.

Certainly hope you're right about the 405nm. I'll confirm as soon as possible

Thanks for "sacrificing" your goggles! It was definitely used for a good cause.

One of my concerns is that a 445 beam might be hitting my goggles without me noticing and when it burns through (15 seconds did you say?) and BAM it hits my eye.

How do higher quality goggles compare to the burning test?
Is there a specific amount of time it needs to withstand to qualify as laser goggles?

ryansoh3 said:

Thanks for "sacrificing" your goggles! It was definitely used for a good cause.

One of my concerns is that a 445 beam might be hitting my goggles without me noticing and when it burns through (15 seconds did you say?) and BAM it hits my eye.

How do higher quality goggles compare to the burning test?
Is there a specific amount of time it needs to withstand to qualify as laser goggles?

Click to expand...

That is not a realistic worry. You will notice it. They begin to smoke and the smoke causes a very scattered reflection that is noticeable from the sides of your goggles.

I don't know how certified goggles compare, but unless you are using GLASS goggles, I believe they will begin melting at some point too.

Good luck finding someone willing to sacrifice a pair of OEMs though.

This is an interesting bit of data though...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_207

EN 207 is the European norm for laser safety eyewear. Any laser eye protection sold within the European Community must be certified and labeled with the CE mark. According to this standard, laser safety glasses should not only absorb laser light of a given wavelength, but they should also be able to withstand a direct hit from the laser without breaking or melting. In this respect, the European norm is more strict than the American norm (ANSI Z 136) that only regulates the required optical density. More precisely, the safety glasses should be able to withstand a continuous wave laser for 10 seconds, or 100 pulses for a pulsed laser.

An EN 207 specification might read IR 315–532 L6. Here, the letters IR indicate the laser working mode, in this case a pulsed mode. The range 315–532 indicates the wavelength range in nanometers. Finally, the scale number L6 indicates a lower limit for the optical density, i.e. the transmittance within this wavelength range is less than 10-6.[1]

I'm going to double post here on purpose. This is a really interesting site on laser safety.

Laser Institute of America (LIA) - International Society for Laser Applications and Laser Safety

Now if only Amazon took paypal...

tsteele93 said:

That is not a realistic worry. You will notice it. They begin to smoke and the smoke causes a very scattered reflection that is noticeable from the sides of your goggles.

I don't know how certified goggles compare, but unless you are using GLASS goggles, I believe they will begin melting at some point too.

Good luck finding someone willing to sacrifice a pair of OEMs though.

This is an interesting bit of data though...

EN 207 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EN 207 is the European norm for laser safety eyewear. Any laser eye protection sold within the European Community must be certified and labeled with the CE mark. According to this standard, laser safety glasses should not only absorb laser light of a given wavelength, but they should also be able to withstand a direct hit from the laser without breaking or melting. In this respect, the European norm is more strict than the American norm (ANSI Z 136) that only regulates the required optical density. More precisely, the safety glasses should be able to withstand a continuous wave laser for 10 seconds, or 100 pulses for a pulsed laser.

An EN 207 specification might read IR 315–532 L6. Here, the letters IR indicate the laser working mode, in this case a pulsed mode. The range 315–532 indicates the wavelength range in nanometers. Finally, the scale number L6 indicates a lower limit for the optical density, i.e. the transmittance within this wavelength range is less than 10-6.[1]

Click to expand...

I see, thanks for letting me know. In your opinion, do you think these budget glasses are in par with the certified ones like the OEM series?

Just4FunReally said:

Now if only Amazon took paypal...

Click to expand...

I'm guessing that's so because Paypal is owned by Ebay and Amazon isn't too happy with that.

I wonder why these goggles are so much cheaper than laser certified ones if they work almost as well in blocking laser light.

Is certification really that expensive? Or do they merely inflate prices for labeling them "laser safety glasses"? hmm

If I can recall correctly, I remembered you posing in tsteele's review about a warning sign in the cover saying specifically not to use these pairs for laser protection.

Perhaps Uvex doesn't want to deal with legal lawsuits?
Compensating for someone's eye damage might cost a lot of money.

RyanElectro said:

I wonder why these goggles are so much cheaper than laser certified ones if they work almost as well in blocking laser light.

Is certification really that expensive? Or do they merely inflate prices for labeling them "laser safety glasses"? hmm

Click to expand...

ryansoh3 said:

If I can recall correctly, I remembered you posing in tsteele's review about a warning sign in the cover saying specifically not to use these pairs for laser protection.

Perhaps Uvex doesn't want to deal with legal lawsuits?
Compensating for someone's eye damage might cost a lot of money.

Click to expand...

Yeah that was me, but why would they worry you see? These work pretty well as far as our tests have gone. There must be something...

I'll do testing for 405nm and 532nm over the weekend.

Actually the goggle held up just fine for much longer then 15 seconds, but it's best to be conservative...

Certified goggles have to last for 10 seconds, with a direct hit of a much much more powerful laser.

Also you will absolutely notice if you're experiencing a direct hit for even a few seconds.

Uvex specifically manufactures glasses designed for laser safety here:

P1E01

Perhaps they used the same lens technology on their cheaper versions as well?

ryansoh3 said:

I'm guessing that's so because Paypal is owned by Ebay and Amazon isn't too happy with that.

Click to expand...

I know, but it still doesn't change the fact that I WISH they would accept it. I guess I'll have to pull out the ol' plastic for once

UPDATE 6/26/12: Tested with 405nm and 532nm;

For 405nm performance was excellent, the results were essentially the same as with 445nm.

For 532nm, green light was blocked, HOWEVER I would not advice the use of these goggles with a 532nm, or any DPSS laser if the laser is not IR filtered.