Hi!
I'm in a class of product development and we need to create a prototype of a cutting laser. The materials that it needs to cut are paper and OPP (similar to the plastic chips package).
We have never worked with laser before and so we have made a quick research. We saw that a 300 mW was able to at least cut plastic. We didn't buy diodes with higher power because they were more expensive and thought these were enough to perform the test in plastic.
The problem is that we built a driver circuit and the diode wouldn't even heat anything. We've ordered 2 diodes and it was the same result with both.
This is what we've used:
- 2 x 808nm 300mW laser diodes
- Focusing lens
- Driver circuit with 3.6 Ω resistance between the depicted left and middle pins of the LM317 to obtain a current of 350 mA (the operating current referred by the manufacturer)
http://postimg.org/image/xzx0e373x/
Here is an image of the light output of the diode:
http://postimg.org/image/971gyozuf/
What do you think is the problem? Are we missing something?
- The diodes laser were bought from ebay, are they trustworthy?
- Any regular focusing lens is enough to heat the plastic with 300mW diodes?
- What wavelength is most suitable for cutting paper and a grey OPP sheet?
Regards,
jmgo
I'm in a class of product development and we need to create a prototype of a cutting laser. The materials that it needs to cut are paper and OPP (similar to the plastic chips package).
We have never worked with laser before and so we have made a quick research. We saw that a 300 mW was able to at least cut plastic. We didn't buy diodes with higher power because they were more expensive and thought these were enough to perform the test in plastic.
The problem is that we built a driver circuit and the diode wouldn't even heat anything. We've ordered 2 diodes and it was the same result with both.
This is what we've used:
- 2 x 808nm 300mW laser diodes
- Focusing lens
- Driver circuit with 3.6 Ω resistance between the depicted left and middle pins of the LM317 to obtain a current of 350 mA (the operating current referred by the manufacturer)
http://postimg.org/image/xzx0e373x/
Here is an image of the light output of the diode:
http://postimg.org/image/971gyozuf/
What do you think is the problem? Are we missing something?
- The diodes laser were bought from ebay, are they trustworthy?
- Any regular focusing lens is enough to heat the plastic with 300mW diodes?
- What wavelength is most suitable for cutting paper and a grey OPP sheet?
Regards,
jmgo
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