I'm new, but i had a great idea dealing with 445 goggles

This is my first thread so i suppose i should introduce myself, i am Ben Martin and i live in wv. I have done quite a few diy lasers and am soon to have a 445 (it is in transit). My lasers are : 10mw blu-ray pen, ~150mw blu-ray torch, 200mw 532nm pen (est. about 170mw), 30mw 532nm labby, 1 watt ir labby, soon a 445nm. All of these are diy, except my 10mw 405nm pen (o-like). I have lurked the forum every once and a while for some time so i decided to make an account.

So now to my great idea. I am not made of money, and after order my 445 and all its components i really dont feel like chucking out $60 for a good pair of goggles (and at least $120 more for some extra pairs or i cant show anybody) or maybe $30 each for some questionable (still nearly $100) ones and from all the threads ive seen this is a common problem. Of course eye safety is a main priority just it seems to be very expensive. So i was inspired after watch a video by kipkay to make my own goggles. all you have to do is buy theater gels which are $6.25 for a sheet about 2ft*2ft! the different color gels each have a data sheet that shows a graph light passed/wavelength just like you would see with laser goggles and i have chosen that the best color would be Roscolux #27, medium red and the spec sheet is here, take a look:

http://rosco.com/includes/filters/images/filters/roscolux/27.jpg
it has 0% transmission from 400nm to 580nm so these would replace your 405nm 445nm and 532nm goggles. and i assume they are tested with a high wattage theater light so they probably haave a high od but if they burn through quick just use 2 layers, all you would need to do is cut them out and glue to the inside of a nice pair of wraparound sunglasses, you could make +20 pairs from one sheet for just 6.25 plus cost of sunglasses.
you can look at a full list of color and there spec sheets here:
Rosco US : Filters : Roscolux

and you buy at this site,
Theatrical & Stage lighting supplies for your production needs | StageSpot

just click gel-all brands, sheets, and it is straight foreward from there

Also i know there will be skeptics, so i will buy a sheet, test, and if results are good i will make the glasses.

idk why the pic didnt show but i doesnt matter its at the link.

This is a bad idea. The problem isn't that the gels might not block a particular wavelength, it's that they can be burnt through in a split second with some high power lasers. Kipkay is not a well respected advocator of laser safety here. This hack may work for a relatively low power laser that would take a good few seconds to burn through this type of gel but a 1W 445? It's just not worth the risk. Certificated goggles are certificated for a reason. They not only block specific wavelengths but will block it for a known period of time.

Testing your sheet will tell us nothing about the sheet that could be delivered to us. Batch tolerances and different suppliers will not provide the same material from one purchase to another.

In the nicest possible way...

If it were that easy we'd all be doing it don't you think?

[EDIT: BTW, welcome to LPF :wave: ! Don't forget to introduce yourself in the, "Welcome", section too.]

M

I just got these today in the mail-
New Laser Eye Safety Glasses Goggles Protect 532 473 - eBay (item 280555203182 end time Sep-04-10 12:49:51 PDT)

They have been tested by Kenom here on the forum with excellent results. The seller seems to be out of them at this moment but keep checking back. It took a few days for them to repost a new auction last time they sold out.

Where in WV are you located? I am in Parkersburg.

kipkay did not dirctly say to use these in laser goggles, i just heard of the gels in one of his videos a while back and i would most definitely test first, for 6 bucks its worth a try.
also i would think these decently high powered since they are useed in very high wattage theater lamps, plus a couple layers is definitly feasable. its only 3mm thick.

nice find, i may go for these, and i am in eleanor in putnam county

How are you going to test them? Do you have an LPM, (Laser Power Meter)?

(P.S. You can use the edit button to change a previous post or, if you need to quote more than one post, you can click the multiquote button in each post you want to quote and then the quote button in the last post. This saves posting multiple times )

M

thanks for the tips, i dont have an lpm, but i meant i would test to see how many layers needed to make it take more than 10 seconds to burn through, I belive this is the reqirement for safety goggles

if it turn up to be more than like 4 layers then it wouldnt be practical but it will definitely worth 6 bucks

That is a requirement but it also requires that the maximum amount of light to pass is at 5mW, (I believe), and without an LPM you can't measure that, whatever the permissable level actually is.

Hey, they are your eyes but I don't think there will be a lot of support for your idea. It would certainly be irresponsible to let anyone else use your homemade goggles and assume they are safe. Are there any gels that protect against 808nm and 1064nm?

Aren't gels usually narrow band pass filters anyway? That is not the same as laser goggles.

The batch difference and supplier issue still stands though. Posting your evidence will not allow someone else to repeat your level of protection, however successful, and that's an important point.

M

if you had looked at the data sheet you will see that i found a filter blocking 400-580 with 0% transmission and if no beam comes through, or if a very faint dot comes through i am perfectly capable of assuming it is <5mw. also i search on google and all roscolux filters should have a OD of .4-.9 depending on the sheet and since this is one of their more dense i would say it is close to .9 and 4-5 sheets should be accurate. Also i do agree i would never let a guest use an untested pair of goggles. I dont expect to be able to convince anybody without having them and being able to create a test video. im sure if you looked around you could find small samples that you could test on for very cheap.

(Edit: Roscolux sampler of al filters 3.95 on amazon)

Lighting gels won't really make such good laser goggles, the colour coating tends to wear off if it's heated, and the pin point heat source like a 1W 445nm laser will just burn right through them.

Although, no laser goggles are meant for looking into the beam, usually just for something like a accidental swipe across the eyes etc.

No need to worry about IR with 445nm lasers, or even green lasers for that matter. The only time you'll get IR is if you are looking into the green beam already, and the green will be much more powerful than the highly divergent IR light anyway.

I am not putting much on this idea, only 6 dollars so i figured it would be worth a try. I was never planning on using these for ir, the lenses are red so it would be a stupid idea. I will order these and report back with my findings. Also i researched and these are polyester based with a melting point of 480 f well above most platics and they arent dye coated but the dye is "infused" in them through a high heat bath in the dye. i try to be skeptical but it is obvious that enough layers of this will make them qualify and from my research 5 layers should put them at OD4+ and id say that 12mm of ployester based gel should take more 10 seconds to go through but even if it doesnt i wouldnt ever STARE DIRECTLY INTO A BEAM FOR 10 SECONDS, as you said it is more for swipes. also let it be said that i am most likely making my 445 into a torch around 200-300mw.

Man just buy a pair of certified goggles. You're wasting your time, money, and putting your eyes at risk. That 445nm diode is insanely bright. No Mickey Mouse goggles are going to spare your eyes against 1W+ of blue. Experiments are cool, but get real goggles first, then mess around. You have 2 pros here telling you its a bad idea. Get a clue and listen to them. They know what they are talking about, you dont. $100 is nothing compared to your vision. The doctor bills you will get after you flash your eyes will be 10X more.

dude if i want to buy something off ebay for $6 and do a test its not your business to come and tell me im a retard for doing it, im all about eye safety but after the $150 for the laser and parts, my fund is cleaned out. I assure you i will not use this without proper eye protection.

EDIT: it will be a month for the flexdrives anyway so i got plenty of time get a pair of goggles

Reread my post. I never once said you should not buy it, or experiment.

Talking about alternative goggle solutions, Ive had some luck with cutting torch goggles and an automatic welding hood. For dot viewing though, I didn't test em with direct hits nor to see if they could be burned through (though I doubt it since they are glass). All in all I think its pretty easy to get a setup that will allow safe dot viewing, its the ability to take a direct hit that takes more testing