Diode laser safety, materials safe to use on a diode laser, smoke extraction, enclosures, air assist.
Are diode lasers safe. what can diode lasers cut engrave
does a diode laser need air assist
I have a diode laser, though not as powerful as a co2 laser it will engrave far better and have limited but not un usable cutting abilities on thin woods, acrylic and other materials. This is going to be my record of many experiments using it, modifying it, making it more user friendly and making it cut thicker materials so if that “flixyourswitch” stick around.
I need to cover some safety aspects in this introduction to my laser series, how many videos you ask, well many and as many as it takes, I would have thought 30 or more, I see this being a long, in depth dive into the world of diode lasers
Though these are of low powered they are not toys, even a 0.5 watt diode can blind you quicker than you can blink.
Very dangerous if not respected, and should never be left unattended while in operation. The risk of fire is real. Always have a water spray bottle and CO2 fire extinguisher within arms reach. DO not rely upon and built in fire diction devices to warning you, these generally will only, one would hope turn the laser off, and they will NOT suppress and fire.
These units emit parallel light rays in a single wave length, for our diodes 460um +/- 5 which are then focused in to a small spot or small rectangular beam. More about that in future videos. As at this time I am unsure how large my spot size is, we will test this in later videos, though the manufactures say 0.06x0.06mm (one of the main reason why I bought the make and power that I did, we will test if the beam size changes across its full power range. I purchased a 10w unit.
You can see these beams, blue light, unlike a co2 beam, which are invisible, but you should never look at either the beam or the reflected light. And always wear the correctly rated safety glasses.
We will be able to engrave and cut many materials.
Materials than can be used are, paper, card, cardboard, untreated wood, MDF, Plywood, natural leather, coloured acrylic, slate, white ceramic tiles, terracotta tiles, stainless steel (only marking) and many more.
Warnings
DO NOT use ABS (Lego bricks are a good example) Nylon, polypropylene, polystyrene (old ceiling tiles and packing materials), epoxies, polycarbonate or any materials with PVC in. These materials are not suited to be laser cut as they will produce toxic gases (or even lethal fumes, which will damage your body, inside and out, and they will also attach your machine or metal around your and rust it badly. The bad plastics can produce Hydrochloric acid, hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen fluoride.
No matter how good your ventilation is, these and other none suitable material should not be used. Always refer to a material data sheet if available or do some none laser testing upon the material before using it on the laser. I hope I have not scarred you, it just to make you very aware of the potential dangers. But we are going to have as lot of fun and learn loads together.
We will discover that materials that can Absorpe the light will be able to be cut/engraved better than those that reflect it. Jumping ahead if you have a cutting or protection work plate that is made of aluminium be very aware that the beam will be reflected off the surface very easily as it only absorbs 1-2% of the light, more about this when we set up our machine.
These diode blue lasers are not about to cut clear acrylic, but with some tricks can engrave/mark the surface.
We will investigate the focus of the beam and its focal length by doing some ramp tests.
Are you looking to join a Facebook page to learn about the longer ray lasers? Have your questions answered quickly by a great community of like minded people. Here is the site I recommend / 729772195158523
The next video I will tell how to build it square
****************************************
If you have found this video useful please consider if you are able to TIP me using the link below. I love my coffee it keeps me going
ko-fi.com/flixmyswitch
****************************************
Always do you own safety research. This video is made for your enterainment. FlixMyswitch can not be held responsible for any damage to your laser machine, materials, cloths, eye sight, property, your own or others health. Always wear correctly rated eye protection. These laser are not toys, there is a real risk of fire, always have a water spray bottle and Co2 fire extingusher at hand. Never leave your laser unattended.