buildlog.net

Hi all,

I found a specific mirror mount with a water cooler system. Is really necessary to cool mirrors?

Another question i want to make is related to beam combiners, how can they influence co2 beam in precision and power? also, it's really necessary a laser pointer?

Thank you.

What laser beams do you want to combine? CO2 + red pointer? If the answer is yes then there are easier solutions (instead of combining), like putting a pointer at an angle to the laser head so it points to the same spot as CO2 click or so called drop pointer where at the opening of the lid on the machine the pointer drops in the beam path of the CO2 laser and goes through the optics click. The second solution is more accurate but harder to make

Regarding the beam combiner-there are some losses.

But this solution is really necessary to calibrate my laser? Or is just to have an indicative position of laser beam?

What about cooled mirror support?

Thank you!

Water cooling of mirrors is completely unnecessary. The whole point of the mirror is that it reflects the laser beam, not absorb it. If your mirrors are getting hot, there's something very wrong.

I highly recommend having the aiming (red) laser inline with the cutting beam. My first laser (Full Spectrum 4th gen hobby) had the aiming laser on the laser head. My new one (FSL 5th gen) has a beam combiner. The option of having the laser drop into the beam path with the lid opening is the best way to go, but technically challenging. Getting a laser aligned properly with the inline aiming laser is far easier. I can do an alignment in 10 minutes with that, as opposed to an hour without.

Aligenment is possible without red pointer also. It is done with paper infront of mirror click. The red pointer dot actually has only role to indicate where the laser beam will hit the surface (if it is aligned with CO2 laser beam).

TLHarrell wrote:Water cooling of mirrors is completely unnecessary. The whole point of the mirror is that it reflects the laser beam, not absorb it. If your mirrors are getting hot, there's something very wrong.

I highly recommend having the aiming (red) laser inline with the cutting beam. My first laser (Full Spectrum 4th gen hobby) had the aiming laser on the laser head. My new one (FSL 5th gen) has a beam combiner. The option of having the laser drop into the beam path with the lid opening is the best way to go, but technically challenging. Getting a laser aligned properly with the inline aiming laser is far easier. I can do an alignment in 10 minutes with that, as opposed to an hour without.

Do you have some advice to how to implement a laser combiner? Like laser pointer position, combiner mirror position or laser pointer beam and co2 laser beam calibration?

Thank you!

The way I most often see implemented is to put the beam combiner lens directly in front of the output of the laser tube angled at a 45 degree angle. The aiming diode laser is then placed perpendicular to the cutting beam, firing at the beam combiner lens.