JROD
0
- Joined
- May 9, 2012
- Messages
- 20
- Points
- 0
Hi All,
This is my first post to the forum. I'm from Boston, MA and just started getting into lasers.
I recently built a laser buring circuit that consisted of a 445nm 1W Blue Ray laser diode press fit into a 12mm x 30mm Aixiz module (I have this module in a heat sink). My drive circuit was a rather crude breadboard circuit. My power supply was a little overkill and I had to attach a bigger heat sink to the LM317chip I was using. But I was able to ignite matches and paper, and also burn into wood and PVC material. I made a video but you need VLC media player to view...I have someone working on converting the file so you can view with Windows media player...I will post once ready.
I have done a bit of research (there is a lot to lasers!!) and am completely aware of the dangers of working with lasers...first thing I purchased was safety glasses recommended for the wavelength range I was working with.
I want to take this to the next level and build a laser that can burn into metal :drool: (more specifically...copper). I'm still working on calculating the absorption rate of copper and trying to determine what the beam wavelength and intensity needs to be. I realize there is way more to it than this but this thread is already ridiculously long. Basically I'm hoping this forum will aid in my research. I realize there is a ton of knowledge and experience with the veteran laser users in this group.
At this point, I'm unsure about whether I want to use a fiber laser or a Nd-YAG laser. Everything I've seen so far points to the fiber laser (CO2 laser is also possibility but I'm looking for something smaller than a CO2). I'm also still abit unsure of how much power I will need.
I apologize in advance for my lack of laser knowledge or if I ask any dumb questions. I'm def a noob. Any advice I can get from this forum would be much appreciated.
Thanks and Happy Burning,
JROD
This is my first post to the forum. I'm from Boston, MA and just started getting into lasers.
I recently built a laser buring circuit that consisted of a 445nm 1W Blue Ray laser diode press fit into a 12mm x 30mm Aixiz module (I have this module in a heat sink). My drive circuit was a rather crude breadboard circuit. My power supply was a little overkill and I had to attach a bigger heat sink to the LM317chip I was using. But I was able to ignite matches and paper, and also burn into wood and PVC material. I made a video but you need VLC media player to view...I have someone working on converting the file so you can view with Windows media player...I will post once ready.
I have done a bit of research (there is a lot to lasers!!) and am completely aware of the dangers of working with lasers...first thing I purchased was safety glasses recommended for the wavelength range I was working with.
I want to take this to the next level and build a laser that can burn into metal :drool: (more specifically...copper). I'm still working on calculating the absorption rate of copper and trying to determine what the beam wavelength and intensity needs to be. I realize there is way more to it than this but this thread is already ridiculously long. Basically I'm hoping this forum will aid in my research. I realize there is a ton of knowledge and experience with the veteran laser users in this group.
At this point, I'm unsure about whether I want to use a fiber laser or a Nd-YAG laser. Everything I've seen so far points to the fiber laser (CO2 laser is also possibility but I'm looking for something smaller than a CO2). I'm also still abit unsure of how much power I will need.
I apologize in advance for my lack of laser knowledge or if I ask any dumb questions. I'm def a noob. Any advice I can get from this forum would be much appreciated.
Thanks and Happy Burning,
JROD
