Cheepest $/mw handheld visible laser/diode?

[Ashton]

I know, I know, I jsut got my 200mw; why shouldn't I be satisfied, atleast for a while... but I'm not, I'm wanting something in the 300-500mw range (acctually 500+mw would be awesome, but the cost seems to grow exponentially with ever mw added...

I am willing to build on myself, if I can get a diode that can honestly handle the mw @ cw. Most of what I see, though, is pulsed...

As far as a prebuilt laser, safty or not, dont care, $$$/mw is all that matters...

I am still looking at the posibility of doing some laser cutting/engraving (looking at thin plastic, about the same thickness as high-gloss printer paper --- though if it can cut or emboss something thicker, that's even better!)

 

[pseudonomen137]

~808nm is slightly visible and very cheap, but I'm not sure you'd want to be working with near-IR. Junktronix offers some very good and cheap 500mW diodes if you want though, but you need very good heatsinking on them. There also are 808nm pointer style lasers that are pretty cheap per mW, but they can be quite hard to get (honestly I'm the only person I know who's sold them before, and only to qualified users).

 

[Ashton]

I've seen those, I'm leery of IR and near-IR because of the invisible beam (and also, hense, the sheer difficulty in culminating it using a camera) Though if I find an afordable headset to 'convert' IR to visibility, while protecting me, I may still try, at the moment all I can do is use a HUD and seperate camera, which is awkward to say the least (and I dont know for sure if any of my camears are IR-sensative, never checked...)

 

[Hemlock Mike]

Ashton-

As you have seen posted here, LDs have two ratings CW and pulsed.
Consider the Dr_Lava GB diode - Rated 80 mW CW and 240 mW pulsed.

Those of us with "hands-on" experience have pushed these to around 200 mW CW using good heatsinking. We realize that we are pushing the limits on the device but that's how we raise successful kids !!!!! Dr_Lava "prescribed" a circiut which would provide a safe starting point for experimentation. He also provided some additional input for more advanced power levels.

The GB diodes, DVD diodes and some newer devices coming promise higher useful power. Stay tuned -- It's happening all around you !!! I'm trying to get some 300 mW diodes "pulsed"

For what you want, focus will be most important. Your 200 mW with good focus will do a lot more than you think it can.

Mike

 

[Ashton]

Thanks for the reality-check, mike, I guess I kinda went a little loopy, despite having a decent idea of laser basics, I'm *very* new to all this (I'm just like a sponge and can soak up a lot of info)

I'm going to have to get some goggles before I do much with my 200mw. my pulsar is really too pwoerful to be playing with (despite taking precaution) and my 200 is almost twice as powerful (I've only done a few expariments with it, for the purposes of comparison - I'll be posting a review/comparison next week I hope)

I've also lowered my expectations, as shown above, I'm looking more at cutting thin plastic, rather than engraving metal plates.

 

[Hemlock Mike]

Ashton --

My little Nd Yag I'm building can barely punch a pin hole in a piece of Alum foil using 13 Joules of input. Joules is a term relating to energy not used much here but it involves lotsa power from capacitors into a flash tube. With that input, I get an estimated 100 mJ output but that's for a few nano seconds so there's a bunch of peak power - Just to put a pin hole in foil !! Going from mW to Joules of energy is a "small" step !!

Mike

 

[Ashton]

I thought joules were basically mw/s...?

 

[pseudonomen137]

I thought joules were basically mw/s...?

Watts are Joules/second. A Joule is the equivalent of one Watt second, so 1 Joule is the total sum of the energy outputted by a 1 Watt laser over 1 second.

 

[Hemlock Mike]

Damn - Isn't science simple ... Not kidding - It really is.

You seem set on making stuff with the laser. -- On flebay, you can find sealed CO2 laser tubes with ratings from 15 watts to 100 watts. Those will BURN BABY !!! You will need to study the capabilities of 1064 nM lasers and see if that will work for you. Power supplies for these tubes are a bit scarry with 12,000 to 15,000 volts (15 to 30 mA) typical. Focusing lenses are also special typically ZnSe but depending on you application, you can find them on the "bay" also.

CO2 Lasers are DEEP IR and eye protection is usually a plastic screen.

Mike

 

[pseudonomen137]

I dunno if it was reputable at all, but I recently saw a 40W CO2 with a light-assembly-required PSU on eBay with a BIN of just over $1k I think. That may be something to check out if you have the right equipment to handle it.

 

[Aseras]

the cheapest $/mw lasers you are going to find is a surplus industrial or medical or scientific gas laser.. like a multi watt argon at auction ( or where you work ) for pennies on the dollar.

I'm still kicking myself for missing a 4w+ ( rated.. probably was good to 10W with some tweaking ) multiline argon laser out of a flow cytometer that went in the dumpster because i was out of town the week they replaced it.

 

[SenKat]

the cheapest $/mw lasers you are going to find is a surplus industrial or medical or scientific gas laser.. like a multi watt argon at auction ( or where you work ) for pennies on the dollar.

I'm still kicking myself for missing a 4w+ ( rated.. probably was good to 10W with some tweaking ) multiline argon laser out of a flow cytometer that went in the dumpster because i was out of town the week they replaced it.

OMG - I would have seriously CRIED over that !

Keep your eyes peeled...I want an Argon so bad, I can taste it !

 

[Ashton]

This is such a good deal I want to **** my pants...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190091534588

In these photos I connected the system using 2 12v batteries

It's even portable! (lol! j/k)



And this one here just hurts because it's SO DAMN PERFECT and I dont have the $$$ (and it's cheep!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/50-WATT-Co2-SEA...086241796QQcategoryZ11810QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

OF course, these will all probably go through the roof, considering the other CO2 lasers one ebay are @ 5K-10K, but... I'm watching that top one closely...

 

[pseudonomen137]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190091534588

Seller: "Maybe bolt a piece of heat sink to it and blow a fan over it."

Is it just me, or is that one of the worst ideas I've ever head?

 

[Hemlock Mike]

Ashton --

I was going to bid on that "portable laser" but it's 9 days. I yield to you because it will probably go over what I want to spend !!!

Good luck - Make sure that the 1064 nM will do what you need. Some materials don't respond well there. Steel will cut but needs an O2 boost at the tip but OH what a CLEAN cut !!

Mike

 

[pseudonomen137]

Good luck - Make sure that the 1064 nM will do what you need.

As a side-note: Nd:Yag lasers are 1064nm, CO2 are far deeper into the IR at 10,600nm.

 

[Ashton]

Right now, steel, brass, *maybe* iron, eventually sterling silver and eventually gold. Odd things like granite or glass would be fun but I get the feeling that's not gonna happen with a laser (not the granite anyway, I understand you *do* cut glass with a laser). Might play with some wood since I live in a heavily wooded area and I can slide up a small, dead, tree limb for free.

Oh and plastic too. mostly metals though.

 

[pseudonomen137]

10W (mentioned on LC) for metals? wood and plastics, sure. If you're trying to really do much to metals though I think you're going to want a whole heck of a lot more than 10W

 

[SenKat]

I saw a HUGE engraving laser at the local home and patio show here - they were using it to engrave on chunks of polished marble and granite. They were NOT interested in allowing me anywhere close to it, though - as if a guy using a cane is gonna run off with a friggin unit attached to a trailer !:laughing:


By the way, Ashton - that vendor has a very curious, and ominous name....
Bohica. That is a favorite acronym of the military - meaning, Bend Over Here It Comes Again. Careful you don't have to heed that warning with that guy.....LOOKS like a good deal - but I agree with Psuedo on this one - uhm - strap a heatsink to it ? Hmmmmmm....something not right with that guy - HOPEFULLY he is just making light !

 

[Ashton]

Ashton --

I was going to bid on that "portable laser" but it's 9 days. I yield to you because it will probably go over what I want to spend !!!
Mike

Yeah, it's already @ $200. I'm still looking, I may find one eventually.

and if you want to take a chance:
http://cgi.ebay.com/LASER-PHOTONICS-CO2-WAVEGUIDE-LASER_W0QQitemZ190089226509QQcategoryZ53141QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

$100, no bids, only 2 days. I'd bid but I know nothing about how to work with it and would probably blow it up.

@ psudo: I read on one of the auction pages somewhere that 10W would engrave metal, though I'm hoping for a 40W, doesn't look promising though unless I move up into the 2-10K range..........