LASER safety - comment & question

CannibalRobotics

You, know, Mike Green made an excellent comment about wearing LASER eye protection. This produced a great thread on·eye safety with some scarry stories.·Got my attention. I had this beat into me in undergrad working with CO2 LASERs but·I have to admit, since then I've not been good about that. My work has been limited to very low power $5 LASER pointers from the 7/11 and I've been really careful but still - no excuse.
Last week I found some really nice green LASER pointers for $30 each so I picked up several and have plans for them. I'm moving up into a realm of much higher power LASERs that can do real damage.

My question is this - I poked around on the net for a while·looking for·LASER rated safety goggles. Best I could do was $40 or so and after some reading, I was still not sure how to properly spec a 'good' pair of glasses for what I'm doing.

Can any of you in the forum close to optics provide some guidance and sources for this 'key' item?

Thanks,
Jim-

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Signature space for rent!
Send $1 to CannibalRobotics.com.

hover1

A good reason to open my Edmund Optics catalog. Haven't thumbed through it in a while. They carry Sperian Laser-Gard brand. Let's look at the prices.......

OK, I'm back up off the floor. $395.00! Ouch!

Try the link for the interactive catalog.

http://digitalcatalog.edmundoptics.com/WebProject.asp?CodeId=7.2.1.10&Search=Laser-Gard&from=2#

Jim

Mike Green

They're expensive because they need to have high absorption at specific wavelengths and good transparency at other wavelengths. I have a cheap pair of protective eyewear that work because they're opaque. You're not expected to do anything but lay back and let someone else with the laser do something. That someone needs the expensive kind so they can see what they're doing.

kelvin james

http://www.dragonlasers.com/catalog/Laser-Glasses-UV-to-Green-Lasers-Protection-190-548nm-p-16242.html

sohel2009

There is no difference between class 3b and IIIb, except that some people like using Roman numerals and some don't.

Legally, "direct viewing" means it is POSSIBLE to for the beam to come into contact with any part of your body (not just your eyes). Only a complete retard would shine it in their eyes on purpose, but if you could do it by accident, or you could accidentally shine the beam at somebody else (maybe somebody 100 yards away who you didn't even know was there), or somebody else could get your device and use it without realizing it was dangerous, those things also mean the device COULD be used for "direct viewing", and that makes it illegal to operate it, period - except in a "controlled environment". A controlled environment means somewhere with security locks on the doors, proper safety equipment available for everbody who enters, etc.

When the laser was in the DVD burner, it was impossible to get in direct contact with the beam, even though you could probably see the beam it was on by looking through the disk access slot. The only way to get in contact with the beam was to take the device apart using tools (not just your hands). That level of protection, (plus the warning sticker that there was a laser device inside}, is legal of course.

Note the requirement is about the beam contacting any part of your body, not just your eyes. If a laser can burn bits of paper it can also burn you. Laser burns are not nice, because they can quickly give you a small but deep burn that takes a long time to heal.

Class 3b lasers are not toys, and if you play with them they are only "safe" for as long as you stay lucky.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Expedia.ca

Desslok

Wicked Lasers sells decent glasses for this purpose. They do have some $40. If you visit laserpointerforums.com, they sometimes have group buys, or people selling hteir old one,etc. I have seen them as cheap as $25 over the years. If you have cheap green laser pointer, I would be more worried about IR leakage, as they use an IR fired into the crystal, and they usually don't put filters on hte cheapo models. They way IR spreads is very dangerous. So you may want to look at getting better goggles that have an IR filter, or look for an IR filter that you can put on your pointer. I believe Nova lasers sells filters, as well as other items including very well built lasers. The ratings on goggles basically tell you how long they can withstand a direct hit, which in my opinion you should just avoid in the first place, wear goggles just in case, and if you do take a hit move immediately. Also make sure to wear them anytime you are looking at the dot, even if there is no chance of taking a direct hit.