Eye protection - complete range ?

[ShortyInCanada]

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far.
I figure that I will be swapping goggles for the different wavelengths when needed. Disable the laser(s) that I'm not protected for when I'm "tinkering" and wear the proper safety equipment for what I'm playing with.
And extra sets of all for, as stated earlier, when my son wants to be "helping" or even just near me while I'm doing things. He seems to be very responsive to safety measures and shows concern for others too so I will continue to reinforce those requirements. Better safe than sorry.
So I will spend some time this week looking into the options listed by you all and weighing the benefits/drawbacks.
But anyone else who still has something to say, please post it for consideration.

Many thanks.
:gh:

 

[Guyfromhe]

If you have a reflection free area for the PJ to run in and your not adjusting mirrors (just adding ILDA connector) you should be able to make your connections and test with the case on and you should be fine.

If you need to align mirrors or dichros you will need glasses and you can just unplug the laser or physically block it with something that won't burn.

Obviously you don't wear goggles while watching the laser show.

 

[ShortyInCanada]

"If you have a reflection free area "
Well other than the 2' x 3' wall mirror in the shop most of it is reflective free. Mostly because the sawdust/grinding debris/dust build up isn't cleaned away very often. Might take some of the newly available time to remedy that..hmmmm.

Will definitely be opening it up to check out the possibility of adding ILDA interface. Of course it doesn't need to be on for that.
The output does come out at a strange angle though so looking at repositioning the servos (not galvos) so the output is at a right angle from the unit is in order. Probably need to drill and tap a couple of new screw holes. This will require the unit to be on for alignment but I am fairly certain that I will be able to do it without goggles..but it sets a nasty precedent. That could lead to more laziness and bad habits that my son will witness. That can not be allowed to happen. Still it would be quite easy to do if I could dial down the outputs of the lasers for reference beams while minimizing the risks.
Still lots of things to consider about it all. (If I don't do anything until after my son goes to bed at night then there is no distraction AND he can't see me "breaking the rules".)

Got lots of pieces of metal that can be used as beam blockers if needed. No fire risks there.

And I keep trying to get my a$$ in gear to do the formal revue of this little unit too.
Now I have time galore. I just need to clean up a bit for the video...

 

[Guyfromhe]

Lots of things can reflect that aren't mirrors... Metal tools, foil wrappers, things like that... You have to do a thorough survey of the projection area and establish a safe zone where you can stand but have no chance of getting a beam in the eye.

EDIT: This is the reason you can safely watch a laser show without glasses, because a lot of care has been taken before the show to ensure audience safety.

I thought that thing had galvos... I thought everyone was making a big stink cause it claimed to be 20k... Servo's don't do 20k.... Your lucky to get 4k out of a servo setup which is why they aren't used.

If your son is old enough to help you could do the alignment work with your eyes closed and have him watch via a video camera and have him tell you when it was lined up right. Then you won't be putting yourself in danger or setting a bad precedent.

As far as beam blockers it's not so much the fire risk but that it will burn through it and then you will have an unexpected laser like if you use electric tape for example. Metal would be fine, just make sure you secure it with tape or something so it won't fall over if you shift the projector.

Do a formal review, everyone loves formal reviews.

"If you have a reflection free area "
Well other than the 2' x 3' wall mirror in the shop most of it is reflective free. Mostly because the sawdust/grinding debris/dust build up isn't cleaned away very often. Might take some of the newly available time to remedy that..hmmmm.

Will definitely be opening it up to check out the possibility of adding ILDA interface. Of course it doesn't need to be on for that.
The output does come out at a strange angle though so looking at repositioning the servos (not galvos) so the output is at a right angle from the unit is in order. Probably need to drill and tap a couple of new screw holes. This will require the unit to be on for alignment but I am fairly certain that I will be able to do it without goggles..but it sets a nasty precedent. That could lead to more laziness and bad habits that my son will witness. That can not be allowed to happen. Still it would be quite easy to do if I could dial down the outputs of the lasers for reference beams while minimizing the risks.
Still lots of things to consider about it all. (If I don't do anything until after my son goes to bed at night then there is no distraction AND he can't see me "breaking the rules".)

Got lots of pieces of metal that can be used as beam blockers if needed. No fire risks there.

And I keep trying to get my a$$ in gear to do the formal revue of this little unit too.
Now I have time galore. I just need to clean up a bit for the video...

 

[ShortyInCanada]

Still no eye protection yet...go ahead and blast me for it if you want. I deserve it.
Review pending.
I was awake the other night around midnight so I took the top off the unit, fogged the room a bit and carefully took some video and pictures of it all. Today I downloaded it all into the wife's computer. Will need to create the YT account and post the videos. Need some help with properly posting the pictures here too. (How do you do it so that only the thumbnails are in the OP that open the full size images when clicked on ? Feel free to PM me...)

 

[Bluefan]

Click "go advanced" and then click "manage attachments". Upload them and they'll be included with your post.

 

[dethlore]

Hey if you are looking for good goggles, we're running a GB for oemlasersystems goggles. 25+ orders gets 25% off!
http://laserpointerforums.com/f55/gb-oemlasersystems-goggles-71160.html

Anyways, a question I have about wavelength protection is this:
Many of the "full range" goggles I see don't cover yellow through red. With DPSS lasers, you can use 980 and 1064 mixed together to get teal? Do I need protection for the 480nm? or do I need it for just 980nm and 1064? or do I need it for all 480, 980, 1064?
(Numbers may not be correct.. just generalizing)

 

[Bluefan]

980nm and 1064nm are both invisible. Invisible and invisible makes... invisible?

There are very few lasers in the yellow through red. And you'd have to know that these are professional goggles. In a professional lab there is a set of safety goggles for each setup, and hardly any setup has more than 1 visible wavelength, the only one I can think of are dye lasers with their pump lasers which aren't used a lot.

 

[dethlore]

980nm and 1064nm are both invisible. Invisible and invisible makes... invisible?

There are very few lasers in the yellow through red. And you'd have to know that these are professional goggles. In a professional lab there is a set of safety goggles for each setup, and hardly any setup has more than 1 visible wavelength, the only one I can think of are dye lasers with their pump lasers which aren't used a lot.

Haha RIGHT. those wavelengths alone are invisible, but... a more common example: 808nm DPSS to 532nm. It is best to get goggles that protect from 532nm and 808nm due to IR leakage. Correct?

 

[Bluefan]

It's a 808nm diode to 1064nm solid state which is then frequency doubled to 532nm, so with bad quality lasers both 808nm and 1064nm can be present. Good lasers however have an IR filter so that only 532nm comes out.