Unsafe recommendation made Hackaday

I almost even hate to link to this, suggesting 2.5W blue lasers mounted without an enclosure. :grimacing:

1 Like

Unfortunately, 99% of diode lasers like this are made without enclosures. They rely on glasses as the safety feature, and I am sure many are even operating without the use of the wavelength specific safety glasses.

If you read the comments, that is one of the first things that they discuss is the lack of proper shielding for this type of laser.

Most DIYer’s have little respect for the damage that laser machines can do.
Getting electrocuted is often recoverable. However, there is no return from ablating ones retina, your BLIND.
These open format CNC machines are the worst. Adding covers and interlocks is expensive and time consuming so folks just don’t do it.
I stopped posting on the FB forum because of the rank stupidity of what people are building and their disregard for eye safety.
Perhaps we should refuse to help those that do not have interlocks on their machines …

2 Likes

Some of the dangers aren’t necessarily obvious, even to those of us who know not to point lasers at our eyes directly. Folks like you here clearly care about safety. The hackaday editors should be sufficiently aware to contextualize their recommendations with meaningful warnings. Thanks for your continued attention to safety!

2 Likes

Your right the danger is not obvious, my experience tells me that most accidents occur during testing new stuff not when its all tested and the covers are back on.
Reflections from invisible beams are likely to be the source of damage. Like systems I see on FB with lasers that are engraving on a round cylinder in open air.

I am shocked by the adds I see coming out of china for small laser engravers that engrave on a surface with no apparent protection. They even show kids using them.
A US made product could not ship inside the US with a design like these. My guess is the lack of safety is one of the reasons US made products cost more…

I am grateful that at least a few of you see things (that is a bad pun) like I do regarding electrical and laser safety.

1 Like