Old 7w lab laser with missing interlock

[hedgehog69420]

I have a laser at uni which I think might be missing an interlock plug of some sort. It’s a ”Laser Quantum” brand, aka Novanta Photonics. The model is a Finesse. It has over 10k hours on it. It turns on but smells a little bad when it runs. It’s very clean because it’s been in a photonics lab its whole life. It has a control screen which says “disabled: key switch/interlock”. The key is set to “on”, but I’m thinking there may be a missing interlock plug. I’m guessing it’s meant to be used in the RS232 port. Can I bridge some pins or does It need an actual device? Would be a shame to see it get binned. There are some manuals around but they are basic and the only mention of an interlock is essentially “red dot, red led” or something. I have seen one on eBay but for the price it’s probably not worth it.

 

[kecked]

Looks to be a 16w 632nm cw laser. Don’t toss. Even just the parts are worth keeping.

 

[hedgehog69420]

Looks to be a 16w 632nm cw laser. Don’t toss. Even just the parts are worth keeping.

There’s a power unit and a head.

The power unit says
“Model: Finesse 7w
CW <30w 800-820nm”

The head says
“CW <10w 532nm, 1064nm”.

They’re connected via an “umbilical” - like a parallel cable, and the fiber is hardwired in on both ends. The head is nitrogen purged and hermetically sealed. There is no physical documentation. When I turn it on, it seems the maximum power I can set it to is 8w. It has a shutter and a button for it- the shutter works because I can hear it actuate.
There’s also a modem jack on the back, RJ type I guess, 3 pairs - it’s labelled “modem”

 

[atomd]

in case you'd be throwing it out I'm ready to buy it!

On more serious note if you disassembly unit you should be able to find connector that's in series with a switch, that should be interlock.

 

[hedgehog69420]

So perhaps it’s in series with the keyswitch? That would explain why the message on sceen doesn’t make a distinction between the two. Thanks, I’ll take a look under the hood. What country are you in?

 

[atomd]

Poland.
Yes, I expect them to be in series from error message but you never know for sure with this things.

 

[hedgehog69420]

I think you’re right about disassembly. On closer inspection, inside front (Photos), it is a little dusty, and some wires cut near the laser unit, not sure if that was the manufacturer or the last researcher who used the system, I think it’s common to cut wires in lasers that are discarded. Curiously though, they haven’t been all cut, it seems it has been carefully dissected to disconnect 5 or 6 wires. Not sure what the plug is at first glance but there’s what looks like an RF socket on the motherboard nearby. The 2 wires that are still connected look to be for a temperature sensor. I have a feeling there might be a peltier cooler in there. In the photo where the 2 8 pin plugs connect to the motherboard, the green and blue wires are for the keyswitch. The other 4 wires on the plug are for the enable button and its LED. On the other plug are 3 LEDs - Power, Ready, Enabled. I’ll post more photos as I go - I will be disassembling it to trace the interlock through the keyswitch, hopefully over the next few days.
If all else fails, the power supply looks chungus, so I’ll salvage that and the diode and cooler and other bits. You’re very far away from me, not sure if this thing could be shipped from where I am. If I do salvage it, I’m particularly interested in what is inside the head, as it’s quite large compared to others I’ve seen

 

[atomd]

Com'on don't disassembly it for parts in head. If you sell it on ebay you'll probably be able to afford more parts. It's probably very scaled OPSL or DPSS, either way there will be thermally stabilized LBO crystal, well cooled laser medium and pump diodes. I don't think you can use IR pump diodes for much, neither stabilized frequency doubling crystal so it's much better idea to get everything to work or sell it to someone who will and buy parts you want from that money.

Typical disclamer. I assume you have apropriate glasses for both wavelengths? Even reflection of diffusion of reflection can blind you instantly. And you have only 2 chances!

 

[hedgehog69420]

I’d have to look into the legalities of selling it on eBay, but considering the size and weight and the packaging required to survive international shipping, I can’t see it fetching much on eBay to be worthwhile, I don’t even know what it cost new, over 10 years ago and before it had 11000 hours on it. I still want to try to get it to work first. And don’t worry, I can blink really fast and my third eye will still be safe anyway…

 

[atomd]

If I can ask where are you located?

 

[hedgehog69420]

Australia