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Diode laser viewing safety

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Laser
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2023-11-06

Hi everyone, I have short question to those who know better than me: Is the light coming out of a laser engraver enclosure safe?

What I mean exactly: There are ports for air to come in that can be opened up on the sides of the enclosure, where then blue light comes out from the diode laser. But it is by no means direct. Would that blue light still be dangerous? It sort of just illuminates the room, but at this point I’m unsure. Thanks for the help!

C
    • Tory

      2023-11-07
      In general, no.
      
      The reflected light will not be a coherent beam, so glancing at another reflection from the rest of the room won’t do any damage to your retinas.
      
      However, it’s monochromatic and relatively high-powered compared to most light sources. Staring at the cutting area or a specular reflection from a shiny object is Bad Practice™.
      
      As a rule of thumb, “accidents” have two causes: somebody sets up the conditions and somebody else triggers them. You should always have three layers of defense, so any two can fail: protective shield, baffles, goggles.
      
      You can do without any two of those three in normal circumstances. What you’re guarding against is the unexpected event punching through that last remaining barrier: your tiny niece unexpectedly bouncing into the room and watching the pretty blue light moving around the platform at eye level.
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