Lasers Made in USA?

Hi, laser NEWB here (although I'm a flashaholic) -

I'm wondering what (if any) lasers are Made in USA - or, rather, not made in Asia?

Thanks!

john

There are many lasers made in the US, Germany, etc., but you pay a premium for them. There aren't really any notable portables in our price range, but a whole line of laser modules, optoelectronics, gas lasers, etc are made out of Asia. Some notable companies are: Newport, Coherent, and Melles Griot.

Thanks, pseudonomen137 -

Like you mentioned, I would indeed want a portable red or green laser - does any US/German company come to mind - regardless of price?

Thanks,
John

Sorry, not unless you're the US military and have many many thousands to blow. Why is it that you don't want to buy an Asian-made laser? There is tons of plain crap coming from China as far as lasers go, but if you have the budget there are some good, dependable units that are very tried and true.

The diodes used in the Aries and Hercules from Laserglow are US-made (nLight and Osram), and the final assembly and testing is done in Canada. The housing and optical components are put together in Asia, because if we tried to do that part of the manufacturing process in North America the prices for the lasers would be completely unaffordable for any "normal" person. If price is absolutely not a concern, then you can probably get a US company to make one for you, but you will end up spending tens of thousands when you could have gotten an equally good unit for under a grand.

pseudonomen137 said:

Sorry, not unless you're the US military and have many many thousands to blow. Why is it that you don't want to buy an Asian-made laser?

Click to expand...

It's a personal choice of mine, to not buy Chinese-made items - has been for a long time now. However, I don't have thousands of dollars, and I'm not in the military, so there goes that!

Justin - thanks for the response - I'll check those two lasers out.

Thanks guys,
John

Husband ---

You can avoid all this by building your own red torch --- Lots of posts telling how to do it.
Now it's home made ;D Don't underestimate the power of a 300 mW red.

Mike

herbsandspices said:

[quote author=pseudonomen137 link=1188247650/0#3 date=1188249907]Sorry, not unless you're the US military and have many many thousands to blow. Why is it that you don't want to buy an Asian-made laser?

Click to expand...

It's a personal choice of mine, to not buy Chinese-made items - has been for a long time now. However, I don't have thousands of dollars, and I'm not in the military, so there goes that!

Justin - thanks for the response - I'll check those two lasers out.

Thanks guys,
John[/quote]

Hi John,

As far as I know all portable lasers and any lab lasers that aren't way overpriced and out of the price range of 99% of consumers are made in China.
although Optotronics is a USA company and LaserGlow a Canadian company, we both only do final testing as were both distributors of Chinese companies. I suppose you could say we both do "final assembly" if that means putting our labels on them and packaging them for shipment.

The truth is, even if you think your not buying from China or the far east, you probably are as it would be hard for any US consumer not to.

For instance,
Do you own or use a computer or cell phone?
If so, it is either made in the far east or if not, most of it's components are.
Even american made cars rolling off the Detroit assembly lines have a large percentage of components from the far east.

Do you shop at Walmart or Sam's club? If so, ~95% of their items come from the far east or have parts made in the far east.

Do you use batteries in anything? If so, they are probably made over there too.

Even goods you think as made in America, like brand name shoes, clothing and other items are no longer made here.

It's really a shame, hardly anything is made here anymore...except the corporate CEOs.
All the USA companies, in an effort to lower prices and or increase profits have outsourced their labor and often their whole operations to the far east.

Here's a link to a story about a family who tried.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mxachina7-19aug19,0,55168.story

Good luck in your effort though.
I got laid off and my job outsourced to the far east, so I decided that if you can't beat them...join them. So I went into business for myself and started Optotronics.

Jack

Yeah, you pretty much have to buy Chinese. The Laserglow products are made by a company called CNI, and many of their products are top-tier as far as quality goes - I assume its either your concern over quality, or racism that motivates not buying Asian products. If its the quality issue, there are still a few options out of China like some of Laserglow's products. The optotronics lasers are great too.

Of course though, all of those are ultimately manufacturered in China, so you may have to make some compromises with your demands

pseudonomen137 said:

I assume its either your concern over quality, or racism that motivates not buying Asian products.

Click to expand...

YIKES!! I shudder at the idea that my motives are fueled by racist intents - my principles couldn't be anywhere further away from such concepts, and I hope I don't have to defend myself any further! Rest assured, my decision to not support Made in China is partially about caring about the Chinese people/workers, not disliking them for being Chinese! We're all people after all!

I don't think this is an appropriate forum to delve into the details of my convictions (however it tied into my search for a laser that fit into the constraints of them), so I'll leave it at that! But I care deeply about all people, and the rest of the living things on this earth for that matter!

bootleg2go said:

Hi John,

As far as I know all portable lasers and any lab lasers that aren't way overpriced and out of the price range of 99% of consumers are made in China.
although Optotronics is a USA company and LaserGlow a Canadian company, we both only do final testing as were both distributors of Chinese companies. I suppose you could say we both do "final assembly" if that means putting our labels on them and packaging them for shipment.

The truth is, even if you think your not buying from China or the far east, you probably are as it would be hard for any US consumer not to.

For instance,
Do you own or use a computer or cell phone?
If so, it is either made in the far east or if not, most of it's components are.
Even american made cars rolling off the Detroit assembly lines have a large percentage of components from the far east.

Do you shop at Walmart or Sam's club? If so, ~95% of their items come from the far east or have parts made in the far east.

Do you use batteries in anything? If so, they are probably made over there too.

Even goods you think as made in America, like brand name shoes, clothing and other items are no longer made here.

It's really a shame, hardly anything is made here anymore...except the corporate CEOs.
All the USA companies, in an effort to lower prices and or increase profits have outsourced their labor and often their whole operations to the far east.

Here's a link to a story about a family who tried.
chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mxachina7-19aug19,0,55168.story

Good luck in your effort though.
I got laid off and my job outsourced to the far east, so I decided that if you can't beat them...join them. So I went into business for myself and started Optotronics.

Jack

Click to expand...

Hey, Jack.

Thanks for the link - I read that book ("A Year without 'Made in China'") when it came out, and thought it was pretty good.. a humorous take on something that IMHO is not all that humorous! But I could relate to a lot of what she talked about.

I realize that there are inevitabilities if one wants to live in the modern/computerized world - computers and cell phones are the two prime examples of such. It's next to impossible (as that book illustrates) to live in today's times without supporting "Made in China" - as tedious as one can be with research and label-checking, one cannot know where 100% of components are made, or where certain parts of something is made, however, a good (and sad!) portion of my time is spent trying as best as I possibly can to be sure that I'm doing everything I can to go without something that I see as a problem. Now, my computer (Apple) is made in China, along with my cell phone (I don't even have to check) - I'm not perfect, and certainly never claim to be! But aside from that, I'm trying, and that's the best I can do!

NOW, onto LASERS!!! (I think that's what this thread was supposed to be about! ;D), I'll check out Optotronics and LaserGlow - I don't blame you for doing the things you do - after all, it's the 21st century, and in order to make it in today's "Sink or Swim" world economy, you do what you gotta do!!   Anyways, I'll check out your products, and I'd feel good about buying one that does have US/Canadian parts/labor in them.

Thanks guys, and sorry you've had to put up with such a stubborn and strange Newbie! Just imagine what my girlfriend has to put up with! :

John

herbsandspices said:

[quote author=pseudonomen137 link=1188247650/0#8 date=1188257921]I assume its either your concern over quality, or racism that motivates not buying Asian products.

Click to expand...

YIKES!! I shudder at the idea that my motives are fueled by racist intents - my principles couldn't be anywhere further away from such concepts, and I hope I don't have to defend myself any further! Rest assured, my decision to not support Made in China is partially about caring about the Chinese people/workers, not disliking them for being Chinese! We're all people after all!

I don't think this is an appropriate forum to delve into the details of my convictions (however it tied into my search for a laser that fit into the constraints of them), so I'll leave it at that! But I care deeply about all people, and the rest of the living things on this earth for that matter!

bootleg2go said:

Hi John,

As far as I know all portable lasers and any lab lasers that aren't way overpriced and out of the price range of 99% of consumers are made in China.
although Optotronics is a USA company and LaserGlow a Canadian company, we both only do final testing as were both distributors of Chinese companies. I suppose you could say we both do "final assembly" if that means putting our labels on them and packaging them for shipment.

The truth is, even if you think your not buying from China or the far east, you probably are as it would be hard for any US consumer not to.

For instance,
Do you own or use a computer or cell phone?
If so, it is either made in the far east or if not, most of it's components are.
Even american made cars rolling off the Detroit assembly lines have a large percentage of components from the far east.

Do you shop at Walmart or Sam's club? If so, ~95% of their items come from the far east or have parts made in the far east.

Do you use batteries in anything? If so, they are probably made over there too.

Even goods you think as made in America, like brand name shoes, clothing and other items are no longer made here.

It's really a shame, hardly anything is made here anymore...except the corporate CEOs.
All the USA companies, in an effort to lower prices and or increase profits have outsourced their labor and often their whole operations to the far east.

Here's a link to a story about a family who tried.
chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mxachina7-19aug19,0,55168.story

Good luck in your effort though.
I got laid off and my job outsourced to the far east, so I decided that if you can't beat them...join them. So I went into business for myself and started Optotronics.

Jack

Click to expand...

Hey, Jack.

Thanks for the link - I read that book ("A Year without 'Made in China'") when it came out, and thought it was pretty good.. a humorous take on something that IMHO is not all that humorous! But I could relate to a lot of what she talked about.

I realize that there are inevitabilities if one wants to live in the modern/computerized world - computers and cell phones are the two prime examples of such. It's next to impossible (as that book illustrates) to live in today's times without supporting "Made in China" - as tedious as one can be with research and label-checking, one cannot know where 100% of components are made, or where certain parts of something is made, however, a good (and sad!) portion of my time is spent trying as best as I possibly can to be sure that I'm doing everything I can to go without something that I see as a problem. Now, my computer (Apple) is made in China, along with my cell phone (I don't even have to check) - I'm not perfect, and certainly never claim to be! But aside from that, I'm trying, and that's the best I can do!

NOW, onto LASERS!!! (I think that's what this thread was supposed to be about! ;D), I'll check out Optotronics and LaserGlow - I don't blame you for doing the things you do - after all, it's the 21st century, and in order to make it in today's "Sink or Swim" world economy, you do what you gotta do!! Anyways, I'll check out your products, and I'd feel good about buying one that does have US/Canadian parts/labor in them.

Thanks guys, and sorry you've had to put up with such a stubborn and strange Newbie! Just imagine what my girlfriend has to put up with! :

John

[/quote]
No problem,
I know where you're coming from; I've had 3 of my previous engineering jobs outsourced to the far east.... But the worst thing is Lenovo's buyout of the IBM thinkpad...It almost makes me want to cry.

Jack

Anyone else concerned about this kind of thing should check out a documentary called "Manufactured Landscapes". It's pretty interesting and deals with some of the "side-effects" of a globalized economy. Knowledge is power!

Justin said:

Anyone else concerned about this kind of thing should check out a documentary called "Manufactured Landscapes". It's pretty interesting and deals with some of the "side-effects" of a globalized economy. Knowledge is power!

Click to expand...

Wow! I just watched a trailer on that movie - looks VERY cool! I'm a photographer by trade, and the aesthetic that the photographer whose photos this movie is about is very up my alley!

Thanks for that, Justin! I can't wait to check it out!

john

John, If money is really no object... and you're not looking for a high powered unit, you could ask Melles Griot if their lasers are USA or whatever made.

Here's a link to what they offer and their prices... ya, they're pricy
http://shop.mellesgriot.com/products/lasers/lasers.asp?TD=Y&plga=093744&CatID=119

But hey, if you do buy one... you gotta snap 50 pictures and share them simply because I would never pay $100+ for a 0.6mW green laser ;D ;D

--DDL

Daedal said:

John, If money is really no object... and you're not looking for a high powered unit, you could ask Melles Griot if their lasers are USA or whatever made.

Here's a link to what they offer and their prices... ya, they're pricy
shop.mellesgriot.com/products/lasers/lasers.asp?TD=Y&plga=093744&CatID=119

But hey, if you do buy one... you gotta snap 50 pictures and share them simply because I would never pay $100+ for a 0.6mW green laser ;D ;D

--DDL

Click to expand...

Thanks, Daedal!

I just called Melles Griot, and their lasers are Made in USA - I do know that can mean that there are components that may not be from the US, but I feel good about it!

I was actually looking for a simple red laser, and theirs are only $41, for either the .6mW or the 3mW... I might just buy both and see which works better for my needs!

The greens are $94 for either .6mW or 4mW... not all that powerful, but hey, I'm not lookin' for a replacement for my Zippo!

john

John, I'm sorry to say, but you will be very disappointed with these laser pointers' power output. The average $1 keychain laser will output about 4mW. This will not do anything similar to what we are doing or remotely be as impressive. For $120, which is what this might end up being more expensive, a 200mW greenie from www.dealextreme.com will net you 50X the laser that you would buy from Melles... Ofcourse, they may not be as 'stable' or as 'calibrated' or whatever Melles claims to justify the HUGE markup, but unfortunately they are born of China...

If you want to get a batter red laser, may I suggest RadioShack? They have some Maid in USA lasers for about $30 last I checked. I had bought 2 of them just to try, and they actuall put out about 15mW at 635nm when over-powered a slight bit

--DDL