3 ms·

Ask HN: How does one buy higher power laser?

6 points by iamwil 12y ago

I thought it'd be fun to build my own laser cutter. However, I'm not sure where to buy the laser head. Anyone know where one buys such things?

moron4hire 12y ago
You can get used ones on eBay. They have a limited life span. BUt you might be able to save a lot of money if you get a not-completely-used-up one.
- iamwil 12y ago
  I assume they're usually pretty pricy then, given that the recommendation is to get them used, rather than new.
  - moron4hire 12y ago
    Uhm, do you consider $1500 for a brand new tube "pricy"? I don't know what your income is like. What you might consider, if you're just interested in the CNC part of the project, is to build a CNC router, using a Dremel or other cheap rotary tool. I don't know what you intend to use this for, but such a tool would actually be quite useful in the average hobbyist shop. If you decide you ever want to upgrade, at least you'll know you have the CNC part of the equation down.
jbdigriz 12y ago
Laser cutter for what material exactly? Anything beyond dark paper or cardboard is going to require a very powerful (And dangerous) laser system utilizing high precision optics and expensive active cooling subsystems - not to mention it should only be used in controlled laboratory conditions by experienced researchers. Of course, if you are in that category you wouldn't be asking here... That being said, a Chinese company named Wicked Lasers has been manufacturing and selling highly portable and relatively powerful handheld lasers at very reasonable prices - a lightsaber-like design for a few hundred dollars. By even their most powerful 1.2W laser will barely burn through cardboard and has no real functional use beyond showing off to friends. It will however blind someone permanently up to 9 miles away and even flashing it in the sky will land you in federal prison pretty quickly. There's also a good chance it gets stopped by customs during shipment as lasers fall in a grey area from a legal perspective. These aren't toys - then can very easily maim someone unintentionally from a huge distance, even if wearing proper eyewear. Light can be reflected off a raindrop and blind you faster than your eye can even blink, literally. I strongly advise doing some research and if still interested, pursue this hobby in an academic or lab setting, if at all.
- moron4hire 12y ago
  >> not to mention it should only be used in controlled laboratory conditions by experienced researchers. Worst advice ever. First of all, I suspect most laser cutters are employed in industrial job shops--not research facilities--around the world. They're actually quite convenient tools. I've used them for a number of projects and it takes all of 15 minutes to train a reasonably intelligent person on how to use one safely and effectively. It's faster, cheaper, and more reliable than 3D printing for anything larger than a cigar box. I consider them safer than CNC mills, as I've only ever seen laser cutters catch on fire, but never catastrophically shatter and explode like a CNC mill. But more importantly, "don't try this at home" is my least favorite phrase in the world. He's an adult. I'm sure he knows "these aren't toys". You're not the internet's nanny.
  - jbdigriz 12y ago
    You seem to make an awful lot of assumptions about someone asking where to buy lasers on an semi-anonymous internet forum, in 2014. Worst advice ever? I guess because you've only seen lasers catch fire, both these statements can be taken as truths. Irrelevant anecdotal evidence and exploding CNC straw man arguments aside, lasers are dangerous and in ways that aren't familiar to most. I certainly encourage pursuit of any worthwhile scientific or engineering endeavor, but just like I don't want intern doctors treating Ebola patients without prior explicit experience or safe equipment, I prefer not to find out what accidents a handheld device that can blind someone from miles away bring from the hands of a novice internet laser DIYer.
    - moron4hire 12y ago
      LOL, handheld device. Okay dude, since you supposedly know so much about lasers, tell me how you're going to use a 150W CO2 laser with all of its accompanying cooling--and more importantly, focusing--hardware as a handheld device? And who cares about "worthwhile"? You're right, we have no idea what he'll use this for. But it's not our job to be Cops of The Intarwebs. This "we must protect information from the unknown threats, because we don't know what the threat could be!" is how we get censorship. You might mean well, but your attitude is awful.

6 points by iamwil 12y ago

I thought it'd be fun to build my own laser cutter. However, I'm not sure where to buy the laser head. Anyone know where one buys such things?

moron4hire 12y ago

You can get used ones on eBay. They have a limited life span. BUt you might be able to save a lot of money if you get a not-completely-used-up one.

iamwil 12y ago
I assume they're usually pretty pricy then, given that the recommendation is to get them used, rather than new.
- moron4hire 12y ago
  Uhm, do you consider $1500 for a brand new tube "pricy"? I don't know what your income is like. What you might consider, if you're just interested in the CNC part of the project, is to build a CNC router, using a Dremel or other cheap rotary tool. I don't know what you intend to use this for, but such a tool would actually be quite useful in the average hobbyist shop. If you decide you ever want to upgrade, at least you'll know you have the CNC part of the equation down.

jbdigriz 12y ago

Laser cutter for what material exactly? Anything beyond dark paper or cardboard is going to require a very powerful (And dangerous) laser system utilizing high precision optics and expensive active cooling subsystems - not to mention it should only be used in controlled laboratory conditions by experienced researchers. Of course, if you are in that category you wouldn't be asking here... That being said, a Chinese company named Wicked Lasers has been manufacturing and selling highly portable and relatively powerful handheld lasers at very reasonable prices - a lightsaber-like design for a few hundred dollars. By even their most powerful 1.2W laser will barely burn through cardboard and has no real functional use beyond showing off to friends. It will however blind someone permanently up to 9 miles away and even flashing it in the sky will land you in federal prison pretty quickly. There's also a good chance it gets stopped by customs during shipment as lasers fall in a grey area from a legal perspective. These aren't toys - then can very easily maim someone unintentionally from a huge distance, even if wearing proper eyewear. Light can be reflected off a raindrop and blind you faster than your eye can even blink, literally. I strongly advise doing some research and if still interested, pursue this hobby in an academic or lab setting, if at all.

moron4hire 12y ago
>> not to mention it should only be used in controlled laboratory conditions by experienced researchers. Worst advice ever. First of all, I suspect most laser cutters are employed in industrial job shops--not research facilities--around the world. They're actually quite convenient tools. I've used them for a number of projects and it takes all of 15 minutes to train a reasonably intelligent person on how to use one safely and effectively. It's faster, cheaper, and more reliable than 3D printing for anything larger than a cigar box. I consider them safer than CNC mills, as I've only ever seen laser cutters catch on fire, but never catastrophically shatter and explode like a CNC mill. But more importantly, "don't try this at home" is my least favorite phrase in the world. He's an adult. I'm sure he knows "these aren't toys". You're not the internet's nanny.
- jbdigriz 12y ago
  You seem to make an awful lot of assumptions about someone asking where to buy lasers on an semi-anonymous internet forum, in 2014. Worst advice ever? I guess because you've only seen lasers catch fire, both these statements can be taken as truths. Irrelevant anecdotal evidence and exploding CNC straw man arguments aside, lasers are dangerous and in ways that aren't familiar to most. I certainly encourage pursuit of any worthwhile scientific or engineering endeavor, but just like I don't want intern doctors treating Ebola patients without prior explicit experience or safe equipment, I prefer not to find out what accidents a handheld device that can blind someone from miles away bring from the hands of a novice internet laser DIYer.
  - moron4hire 12y ago
    LOL, handheld device. Okay dude, since you supposedly know so much about lasers, tell me how you're going to use a 150W CO2 laser with all of its accompanying cooling--and more importantly, focusing--hardware as a handheld device? And who cares about "worthwhile"? You're right, we have no idea what he'll use this for. But it's not our job to be Cops of The Intarwebs. This "we must protect information from the unknown threats, because we don't know what the threat could be!" is how we get censorship. You might mean well, but your attitude is awful.