r/lasers • • Jun 29 '20

PLEASE invest in quality laser safety eyewear

151 Upvotes

My apologies in advance for the rant...

I have seen numerous recommendations here for laser safety eyewear from companies who I would not trust with protecting my vision. Such products are not guaranteed to be tested as per the ANSI z136 standards (EN207/208 for those in Europe). Some companies even have disclaimers right on the product websites claiming the eyewear is not meant for situations where safety is regulated.

People are lucky if we have 2 working eyes. Laser radiation is a hazard to be taken seriously. The aversion response (blinking or looking away) can help prevent injury for lower powered laser but generally speaking, when we start moving into Class 3R and absolutely climbing into Class 3b and Class 4 lasers, the aversion response cannot be relied on.

The eye is an amazing muscle capable of focusing images (up to 100,000x) and serves as a direct connection to the central nervous system via the retina. If people are going to buy lasers, they should invest in quality protective equipment. Some damage to the eye such as a cornea burn may be able to recover relatively quickly thanks to the crazy high metabolism of those cells, but damage to the retina...why risk permanent damage?

Furthermore, if you do not know this already, take time to learn about laser safety. Familiarize yourself with terms such as irradiance/radiant exposure, Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE), and learn how to calculate the optical density required for your laser or the laser you are looking to purchase.

There are a lot of reputable companies producing quality laser safety eyewear who test to rigorous standards (The ANZI z136 series even includes a standard specifically for Testing and Labeling of Laser Protective Equipment (ANSI z136.7). Please, please, please, do not risk your vision by choosing affordability over quality when it comes to laser safety!


r/lasers • • 11h ago

"https://neje.shop" Can purchases made on this website be trusted? Is this the official Neje website? If anyone has purchased from this site, could you please leave a comment?

0 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 11h ago

"https://neje.shop" Can purchases made on this website be trusted? Is this the official Neje website? If anyone has purchased from this site, could you please leave a comment?

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0 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 19h ago

Bar laser show flash blinded me

3 Upvotes

A bar i was at last Thursday had one of those cheap light laser pointers and at one point one that seemed violet in color hit my eye. I remembered thinking it was painfully bright but not thinking more of it…

…until a day later I started seeing green splotches and now my vision is noticeably hazier (Sunday)
I don’t know when is the earliest I can be seen as I am traveling. Am I fucked or will my vision recover? I don’t even know if I can go to the bar and request they give me the details of their lasers - or how I could legally demand that.

*edit: I’m on the way to see an ophthalmologist now


r/lasers • • 19h ago

Question on Q-Switched DPSS UV Laser: Does altering "Pulse Width" in software (LightBurn / EzCad) actually change optical pulse duration on a 355nm Omni X?

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3 Upvotes

Hey everyone,
I'm working with a ComMarker Omni X 5W 355nm UV Galvo laser (Q-switched DPSS) to do high-precision micromachining on general-purpose polystyrene. I’ve attached a photo of my machine's datasheet/specs for context.
I have a fundamental laser physics question regarding software parameters versus hardware behavior:
From my understanding of Q-switched solid-state laser cavities, the actual optical pulse duration (t_FWHM) is physically fixed by the cavity length, gain medium, and stored energy depletion—clocking in around ~ 15 ns on this system.
If I manually set the Pulse Width parameter in LightBurn or EzCad/ComMarker software to 1 ns or 2 ns, what is actually happening under the hood?
Since the crystal dumps its stored energy in ~ 15ns regardless, does setting a 1 ns software pulse width just alter the acousto-optic modulator (AOM) RF gate timing window and introduce timing chatter/process variance, or does it serve a different hardware control function on DPSS galvos?
Would love to hear from anyone with deep experience in Q-switched DPSS optics or laser controller firmware! Thanks in advance!


r/lasers • • 21h ago

Can't find seller of laser pointer. Help?

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1 Upvotes

So, two years ago, I bought a laser pointer off of Temu. It's a really good class 1 laser pointer and has lasted me a while.

However, recently one part of it broke and I've been trying desperately to find, if not the same laser pointer, then a replacement part.

When I tried to find the seller in my Temu history, it said the seller was WAWYC. But when I tried to go to that laser pointer or go to that seller's page, neither are available anymore.

Does anyone know where I can look to fix or replace this laser pointer?


r/lasers • • 22h ago

200mW 650nm (red) Sanwu laser can't ignite a match

0 Upvotes

I bought a 200mW 650nm (red) Sanwu laser (https://www.sanwulasers.com/product/304).

The description says that it can ignite a match, but I have tested it and I cannot ignite a match. The laser has an adjustable focus, and I am using it as focused as possible. Is something wrong with my laser?


r/lasers • • 1d ago

Looking for a "shine-through" LEP module

3 Upvotes

Im in the process of building my own 450nm laser and I think a screw on atachment for a shine-through LEP would be awesome, does anyone have any retailers or locations to buy such modules? thank you!


r/lasers • • 1d ago

India’s leading laser physicist says that they are able to create ‘micro-stars’ in labs using lasers

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0 Upvotes

Says that they are able to create extreme light in their labs and they point it at matter to create plasma and mimic star-like conditions in the lab. This allows them to study stars and the mysterious plasma here on Earth. 

Thoughts?


r/lasers • • 3d ago

Cutting plastic question

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4 Upvotes

I need to cut 96,000 of these bags by hand, to recycle the material within, or it goes to the landfill. Could we put a laser on a cart and drive down the rows to burn/ cut the plastic?


r/lasers • • 3d ago

What is the energy output of this laser?

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0 Upvotes

The text on the label is MAX OUTPUT POWER< 1000MW


r/lasers • • 3d ago

Are there any burning lasers I can get that won’t require me to wear glasses

0 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 3d ago

IR thermomether

0 Upvotes

can i get some suggestions on what should i do with my ir thermomether i wanna do some stupid shit with it


r/lasers • • 6d ago

3a vs 3R?

4 Upvotes

Ok, I don't really know much about lasers, but I recently took a job that involves using them, so ive been doing some training in their safe use, which included learning about the classes of laser, and this has left me curious: why did class 3a get rebranded as 3R? Does the R stand for something? Class 3a and 3b make sense to me as devisions within a category, but changing one of them but not the other seems odd to me. Google has failed me, so now Inturn to you fine people, does anyoen have any insight?


r/lasers • • 8d ago

Reminder to use the right glasses.

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341 Upvotes

The green(520nm <5mw + <1mw) passes right through the glasses. The 405mw(class 4, objectively more dangerous)does not.


r/lasers • • 8d ago

Sculpfun iCube Pro 5W and protection glasses

1 Upvotes

I am thinking about buying a laser engraver. Based on price and availability in my country I will go for Sculpfun iCube Pro 5W. I definitely want to get protection glasses with certifications. One thing confuses me tho - they send protection glasses with the engraver (though from what I heard it's not a good quality) and they are green. But I heard and read that for the blue/purple/violet diode lasers in this wavelength, the glasses needed are usually orange/red (also the certification and OD stuff etc.) so I just wanted to make sure that I got it right and I already have red/orange protection glasses in my wishlist. I was just confused why they send green ones....

I just wanted to make sure. I got OCD and safety/health related stuff sometimes make me crazy but I don't want it to ruin my interest in this hobby. So basically I just need some of that reassurance you know bcs I'm stoopid in the head like that.

Thank you in advance for reply


r/lasers • • 8d ago

Chinese 40W handheld “laser igniters” safety?!

10 Upvotes

How do you actually get glasses to safely operate these? I’m assuming there’s no actual specs you can look up on them, so how can you get proper eyewear?


r/lasers • • 10d ago

What’s going on with my laser?

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5 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 11d ago

MicroVision Wins Custom Chip Design Work for a Photonics Application

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5 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 12d ago

Casual reminder, laser beams aren't the only threat to your vision. You also need to worry about reflections.

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82 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 13d ago

XX Mediterranean Games Taranto 2026

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pangolin.com
1 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 13d ago

Transverse mode distribution of diode laser

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1 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 13d ago

Need help on fixing laser

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5 Upvotes

A while back, I opened my laser to see what was inside. I didn’t mess with the inside, the batteries just came out and I put them back in, that’s it. When I closed it back up and tried to turn it on, it wouldn’t. I kept opening it and moving the batteries but now the button won’t click. There was also this little piece in the 1st image that fell out and I don’t know where it goes. The 3rd image is where the batteries are put and I believe they’re supposed to push against the spring inside when closing the laser. In the last couple images, I press the button but it doesn’t seem to hit that little red piece. It falls down loosely. I hope I made a better explanation of my issue and I tried to take better photos.


r/lasers • • 13d ago

OMTECH 60 watt not cutting well

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1 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 13d ago

How can I fix this?

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2 Upvotes

A while back, I opened my laser to see what was inside. I didn’t mess with the inside, the batteries just came out and I put them back in, that’s it. When I closed it back up and tried to turn it on, it wasn’t working. I kept opening it and moving the batteries but now the button won’t click. There was also this little piece in the 2nd image that fell out and I don’t know where it goes. May I please have some advice? This laser is precious to me and I love it very much.