What is the most powerful laser I can get?

[joeyss]

Re: Proper 16340 Batteries for my 445nm 4W Laser

I think it is more like '5W of 445nm would be instant occular/eye damage.' Agreed, that 5W is not a toy by any means.

didn't someone almost slice a vein with 1 watt?

i remember reading it here.

if 3 watts can light a match backwards instantly then it can blow your optic nerve too.

 

[CurtisOliver]

I hadn't heard about the vein slicing, but in all honesty it doesn't surprise me.
At that power (3W+) you would most likely hear a popping sound in the back of your eye. That's a thought that would scare most people off misusing lasers.

 

[Jumala]

I hadn't heard about the vein slicing, but in all honesty it doesn't surprise me.
At that power (3W+) you would most likely hear a popping sound in the back of your eye. That's a thought that would scare most people off misusing lasers.

I have no intention of misusing the laser by any means. I'm not an idiot. I planned on reading safety precautions to take in order to keep safe, as well as preventing any possible ways for other people to get a hold of the laser.

 

[Jumala]

Re: Proper 16340 Batteries for my 445nm 4W Laser

How old are you ?

Do you know how to use google? Google "lab laser 20W" Don't forget 20W of what? Specifiy a wavelength.

Try using the forum search function also.

So, do you have any experience with lasers more powerful than 5mW?

5W of 445nm could be instant occular/eye damage that is permanent. Blindness, total and complete in less than time than the human blink reflex of 0.25 seconds. So fast that you have no possible way to make a correcetion or avoid an accident once one is initiated. OVer and done faster than the blink of an eye.

You can google YouTube and see what a 5W laser can burn other than your eyes.

You need to study up on laser safety---high power lasers are not toys. Even much lower output power are incredibly dangerous.

See as a starter: http://www.lasersafetyfacts.com/resources/FAA---visible-laser-hazard-calcs-for-LSF-v02.png

HAve a llook at and study: Laser Pointer Safety - Laser safety technical information

A little knowledge combined with daydreams and imaginings can be a very dangerous--a serious accident looking for a place to happen.

Here buy a 20W 447nm blue laser from CNI $14,500 see:20000mW (20W) 532nm DPSS Laser :: 532nm DPSS Lasers :: Ultralasers, Inc or better yet get a CNI 20W 532nm green for $31,200 see: 20000mW (20W) 532nm DPSS Laser :: 532nm DPSS Lasers :: Ultralasers, Inc

My age would be considered irrelevant if I know what I'm doing, wouldn't you think? I'm over the age of 21, so I'm not a minor who's stupid enough to get hurt by toying with powerful equipment in an inappropriate manner.

 

[CurtisOliver]

I have no intention of misusing the laser by any means. I'm not an idiot. I planned on reading safety precautions to take in order to keep safe, as well as preventing any possible ways for other people to get a hold of the laser.

This is good, safety is a big deal with Class 4's.

My age would be considered irrelevant if I know what I'm doing, wouldn't you think? I'm over the age of 21, so I'm not a minor who's stupid enough to get hurt by toying with powerful equipment in an inappropriate manner.

No you are right, age is irrelevant to a point as there are many adults who have misused lasers in the past. We also have some younger members on here, who are responsible.
As long as you follow all the safety recommendations, you will be fine.

 

[NightExplorer96]

I agree very much with everyone else as I was reading over this thread. The amount of power in general which you blink reflex will protect you is 5mW. We're talking about 5W's here, or 5000mW so if shone in your eye it would cause damage about 1000x quicker then you could blind. AKA, you'd be screwed before you even knew what happened and you would just see black from then on.

Eagle Pair glasses are good, but if you have the extra funds I would look into more "professional" goggles sets.

-Alex

 

[CurtisOliver]

Scary prospect IMO. You have to remember also that this power has potential for moderate/serious skin burns as well.

 

[AaronT]

I'm a 33 year old, disabled veteran, gunsmith and ammunition manufacturer.

A. I had been using Class IV lasers (1 watt and under) for 2 years before I decided I wanted more power.

B. I bought a 2 ish watt M140 based host and it frightened me a bit. Not out of safety/handling issues but simply because I had to start thinking about where it was pointed like it was a loaded firearm. It would instantly scorch anything it was pointed at.



My recommendation to you is pretty simple.

START with a 1 Watt laser and properly rated glasses. Get used to it, burn with it, pop balloons see what materials you can light/cut/melt.

Once you feel comfortable go ahead and buy the super powerful laser you want. However you might find that for what you want to do maybe things like divergence, mode, and wavelength matter to you.



Or go ahead and order a 5 Watt handheld and keep in mind that it has the ability to destroy whatever you point it at. Treat it like a loaded gun.



P.S. If you keep an eye on the sale section you can get up to 7 Watts with better quality than any mass produced laser. Also it looks like a buyers market, many people on here selling lasers are selling them for less than they payed/have invested in materials.

 

[CurtisOliver]

Good advice Aaron. Another safety note to those who are new to Class IV's. I have noticed that the danger level doesn't go up in a linear fashion either. The burning capability of a 2W seemed to be more than 2x that of a 1W. It also seems that way with a 3W compared to a 2W. So don't fall into the trap of assuming, that a 5W will only be 5x more dangerous than a 1W. I have started getting used to the power of the 3W, but the 7W NUBM44 is still scary.

 

[AaronT]

I would also highly recommend full wrap or full goggle (no light leaks) safety goggles for anything over 1 watt.

I have a pair of cheap china "steampunk" goggles that I modified with foam and lenses that I cut from rated glasses.



Just splash from 2 Watts of 445nm starts to make my eyes feel dry/tired/funny with the rated aviator style glasses and those are supposed to be good enough for 5 watts plus...

Bottom line, if you feel eye strain/change of any type, even just dry eyes or a light headache STOP IMMEDIATELY and don't continue tell you upgrade your eye protection.

 

[steve001]

Re: Proper 16340 Batteries for my 445nm 4W Laser

Thanks! And the prices look really nice for these lasers. I'm glad you told me about Sanwu. Thank you. But let's say I want a lab-grade laser that reaches 20W or more, where would I go to get one of those?

The web is where you go.

 

[AaronT]

You say 20 Watts. I missed that, but I'll field it.

First of all keep in mind all the safety issues that were mentioned still apply and even more so.

A rout to 20+ Watts that I am looking at is using several types of optical devices to combine visible beams. When you learn more these little lines will make more sense.

NUBM44 + NUBM44 --> PBS = 14 Watt
NUBM06 + NUBM06 --> PBS = 12 Watt
2xNUBM44 PBSed + 2xNUBM06 PBSed --> Blue/Blue Dichro = 26 Watt

The short answer is that each pair of diodes can be combined by orienting their polarized light (one beam has light waves oriented vertically the other horizontally) with a "polarized beam splitter" Basically one beam passes right through the cube and the other is reflected.

So the 4 diodes are now 2 beams of 16 and 12 watts. These can be combined with a dichromatic mirror. So the PBS works with the "polorized" up down and left right moving photons. A dichromatic mirror uses the wavelength "color" to combine beams. Again like polarizing one beam passes through the mirror and the other is reflected.

The Blue/Blue dichro is new tech to the market. As far as I know, nobody in this forum has built a device using one.

I have my eye on 2-3 forum members likely to produce such a device.



The much easier way would be to buy a 20 Watt (or better) CO/CO2 laser tube and power converter, it will set you back about $500.

However this is an non visible IR laser. IMHO these are more dangerous as there is no visible beam for reference, you can't see how bad splash or reflections are.

IMHO you shouldn't mess with class IV IR lasers without an IR camera as otherwise your just guessing at what is going on.

At 10-20 watts your not talking about burn injuries any more. Your talking maiming injuries like lost fingers, huge slow to heal disfiguring scars etc, and many of these can be from simple reflections.

The only "nice" thing about IR lasers is that nearly all protective eye wear is opaque to IR (IR won't pass through).

You can get CO2/CO laser tubes from ebay as high as 200 watts.

It's fun to watch youtube videos of these lasers CUTTING STEEL...

 

[diachi]

Y
The much easier way would be to buy a 20 Watt (or better) CO/CO2 laser tube and power converter, it will set you back about $500.

However this is an non visible IR laser. IMHO these are more dangerous as there is no visible beam for reference, you can't see how bad splash or reflections are.

IMHO you shouldn't mess with class IV IR lasers without an IR camera as otherwise your just guessing at what is going on.

At 10-20 watts your not talking about burn injuries any more. Your talking maiming injuries like lost fingers, huge slow to heal disfiguring scars etc, and many of these can be from simple reflections.

The only "nice" thing about IR lasers is that nearly all protective eye wear is opaque to IR (IR won't pass through).

You can get CO2/CO laser tubes from ebay as high as 200 watts.

It's fun to watch youtube videos of these lasers CUTTING STEEL...

FYI, no CCD or CMOS camera will see the beam from a CO2 laser - it's too far into the IR.

All protective eye wear isn't opaque to IR - it depends on how far into the IR you are. They're all opaque to CO2, but 808nm for example will mostly pass right through anything not designed to block 808nm.

Anyway - I agree with others here, start with something smaller. Don't just jump in at 5W, that's asking for trouble. You'll have scorch marks on your furniture, walls and curtains in no time. 5W is not only a skin/eye hazard, it also presents a fire hazard.

I'd start no higher than 1W if I were you - probably lower - seeing as you have mentioned no experience with anything higher than 5mW.

 

[Jumala]

FYI, no CCD or CMOS camera will see the beam from a CO2 laser - it's too far into the IR.

All protective eye wear isn't opaque to IR - it depends on how far into the IR you are. They're all opaque to CO2, but 808nm for example will mostly pass right through anything not designed to block 808nm.

Anyway - I agree with others here, start with something smaller. Don't just jump in at 5W, that's asking for trouble. You'll have scorch marks on your furniture, walls and curtains in no time. 5W is not only a skin/eye hazard, it also presents a fire hazard.

I'd start no higher than 1W if I were you - probably lower - seeing as you have mentioned no experience with anything higher than 5mW.

Alright, I'll take your advice into consideration. I'm probably going to start with 800mW or lower to start off. I might get a 1W, but from the things that I've read on this thread, I'm nowhere near prepared for a laser more powerful than 1W. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it. I have the money to invest and I was prepared to buy safety goggles, a tripod to hold the laser steady, and barriers if needed, as well. But I think I'm going to just go with a 1W or less for now.

 

[CurtisOliver]

There is plenty of time in this hobby to step up the power, but it is good to practice safely first. If you want to continue enjoying lasers, then safety is paramount.
I hope you enjoy your laser.

 

[Jumala]

There is plenty of time in this hobby to step up the power, but it is good to practice safely first. If you want to continue enjoying lasers, then safety is paramount.
I hope you enjoy your laser.

Thanks. I'm glad I found this forum, otherwise I could've gotten too much power without realizing just how much damage it could've caused.