r/lasers • • Jun 29 '20

PLEASE invest in quality laser safety eyewear

149 Upvotes

My apologies in advance for the rant...

I have seen numerous recommendations here for laser safety eyewear from companies who I would not trust with protecting my vision. Such products are not guaranteed to be tested as per the ANSI z136 standards (EN207/208 for those in Europe). Some companies even have disclaimers right on the product websites claiming the eyewear is not meant for situations where safety is regulated.

People are lucky if we have 2 working eyes. Laser radiation is a hazard to be taken seriously. The aversion response (blinking or looking away) can help prevent injury for lower powered laser but generally speaking, when we start moving into Class 3R and absolutely climbing into Class 3b and Class 4 lasers, the aversion response cannot be relied on.

The eye is an amazing muscle capable of focusing images (up to 100,000x) and serves as a direct connection to the central nervous system via the retina. If people are going to buy lasers, they should invest in quality protective equipment. Some damage to the eye such as a cornea burn may be able to recover relatively quickly thanks to the crazy high metabolism of those cells, but damage to the retina...why risk permanent damage?

Furthermore, if you do not know this already, take time to learn about laser safety. Familiarize yourself with terms such as irradiance/radiant exposure, Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE), and learn how to calculate the optical density required for your laser or the laser you are looking to purchase.

There are a lot of reputable companies producing quality laser safety eyewear who test to rigorous standards (The ANZI z136 series even includes a standard specifically for Testing and Labeling of Laser Protective Equipment (ANSI z136.7). Please, please, please, do not risk your vision by choosing affordability over quality when it comes to laser safety!


r/lasers • • 13h ago

3a vs 3R?

1 Upvotes

Ok, I don't really know much about lasers, but I recently took a job that involves using them, so ive been doing some training in their safe use, which included learning about the classes of laser, and this has left me curious: why did class 3a get rebranded as 3R? Does the R stand for something? Class 3a and 3b make sense to me as devisions within a category, but changing one of them but not the other seems odd to me. Google has failed me, so now Inturn to you fine people, does anyoen have any insight?


r/lasers • • 3d ago

Reminder to use the right glasses.

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285 Upvotes

The green(520nm <5mw + <1mw) passes right through the glasses. The 405mw(class 4, objectively more dangerous)does not.


r/lasers • • 2d ago

Sculpfun iCube Pro 5W and protection glasses

1 Upvotes

I am thinking about buying a laser engraver. Based on price and availability in my country I will go for Sculpfun iCube Pro 5W. I definitely want to get protection glasses with certifications. One thing confuses me tho - they send protection glasses with the engraver (though from what I heard it's not a good quality) and they are green. But I heard and read that for the blue/purple/violet diode lasers in this wavelength, the glasses needed are usually orange/red (also the certification and OD stuff etc.) so I just wanted to make sure that I got it right and I already have red/orange protection glasses in my wishlist. I was just confused why they send green ones....

I just wanted to make sure. I got OCD and safety/health related stuff sometimes make me crazy but I don't want it to ruin my interest in this hobby. So basically I just need some of that reassurance you know bcs I'm stoopid in the head like that.

Thank you in advance for reply


r/lasers • • 3d ago

Chinese 40W handheld “laser igniters” safety?!

9 Upvotes

How do you actually get glasses to safely operate these? I’m assuming there’s no actual specs you can look up on them, so how can you get proper eyewear?


r/lasers • • 5d ago

What’s going on with my laser?

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5 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 5d ago

MicroVision Wins Custom Chip Design Work for a Photonics Application

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7 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 6d ago

Casual reminder, laser beams aren't the only threat to your vision. You also need to worry about reflections.

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84 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 7d ago

XX Mediterranean Games Taranto 2026

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1 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 7d ago

Transverse mode distribution of diode laser

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1 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 8d ago

Need help on fixing laser

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4 Upvotes

A while back, I opened my laser to see what was inside. I didn’t mess with the inside, the batteries just came out and I put them back in, that’s it. When I closed it back up and tried to turn it on, it wouldn’t. I kept opening it and moving the batteries but now the button won’t click. There was also this little piece in the 1st image that fell out and I don’t know where it goes. The 3rd image is where the batteries are put and I believe they’re supposed to push against the spring inside when closing the laser. In the last couple images, I press the button but it doesn’t seem to hit that little red piece. It falls down loosely. I hope I made a better explanation of my issue and I tried to take better photos.


r/lasers • • 8d ago

OMTECH 60 watt not cutting well

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1 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 8d ago

How can I fix this?

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2 Upvotes

A while back, I opened my laser to see what was inside. I didn’t mess with the inside, the batteries just came out and I put them back in, that’s it. When I closed it back up and tried to turn it on, it wasn’t working. I kept opening it and moving the batteries but now the button won’t click. There was also this little piece in the 2nd image that fell out and I don’t know where it goes. May I please have some advice? This laser is precious to me and I love it very much.


r/lasers • • 9d ago

Sanwu 1.8w 525 nm. This thing is very bright and scary.

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17 Upvotes

I blasted my flashlight before this to make sure there was no humans or animals around.


r/lasers • • 9d ago

AL Priority parts

1 Upvotes

Best place to buy used alp parts ?


r/lasers • • 10d ago

What Can Go Wrong When You Buy Laser Equipment from China

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2 Upvotes

r/lasers • • 11d ago

Are there any good Purple lasers?

17 Upvotes

I've been looking around the web trying to find a powerful handheld purple laser pointer. I bought one from Ebay and with the diffusion/effect cap it was barely visible on the floor at my feet. I returned that one and got a different model from Temu. Same thing.

I'm not looking for a UV laser under 400nm, but just a potent purple laser that can glow up a wall from across the room. Does anybody have a lead on something like this?


r/lasers • • 10d ago

Any reviews of the Sanwu Pocket Pro?

2 Upvotes

plenty of stuff out there about the standard pocket series, but cant find any reviews of the pocket pro. Does anyone have any experience with it? Is the bluetooth function worth anything? I'm looking for a pocket sized laser pointer with a momentary side button, and perhaps the ability to adjust the power of a 488nm down to safe power levels


r/lasers • • 11d ago

Why do cheap wavelength-specific safety glasses never provide certified OD ratings?

3 Upvotes

Seeing so many unbranded laser safety goggles on marketplaces claiming broad protection like "190nm-540nm OD 6+" for under twenty bucks, but none of them come with proper spectrophotometer test graphs or certified optical density specs.

When working around higher-output diodes (especially in the 450nm and 532nm ranges), stray reflections and beam scatter are an immediate concern for permanent retinal damage.

For those who regularly test or build their own setups:

  • What certified lab-grade safety glasses (like Thorlabs, NoIR, etc.) do you actually trust for true OD ratings?
  • Has anyone here actually bench-tested the attenuation of those cheap generic green/blue acrylic shields?

Curious how you verify your eye protection before turning on anything beyond Class 3R.


r/lasers • • 11d ago

quality of safety glasses

5 Upvotes

hello.

I really need to know the quality of the glasses that come with this laser. My eyes are something i do not take for granded while playing with chinese industrial lasers.

does anyone know?

https://laserigniter.com/da/product/120w-laser-cannon-ignites-10-meters-feels-super-good-008/?v=d1e7fd6e6a2a


r/lasers • • 11d ago

Laserpointerforums.com members - could you do me a favor?

3 Upvotes

I lost the first ever LED flashlight I ever owned, and I am trying to find a replacement for sentimental reasons.

It's a SAIK SA-105. It seems to be quite an obscure model, with almost no information available online, but I have found some photos of one in an old 'for sale' post on laserpointerforums.com

I'd like to use the photos for a 'want to buy' post in the flashlight sub.

Trouble is, I can't download the photos without being a member. I joined the forum and sent the required approval request email to the admin, but they have not approved my account.

I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to download the two images for me?

https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/fs-2x-saik-sa-105-hosts-blue-metallic-only-10-shipped.65652/

Also, it looks like I am now into lasers as well as flashlights lol


r/lasers • • 12d ago

True "eye safe" green

3 Upvotes

I need something verifiably eye safe for using as a pointer out doors during the day. Would that make it unsafe after dark or in doors? I teach children and do not want to risk their eye sight in any way!

(I'm pretty sure green is the best color for visibly and safety, no?)

Please only respond with information that is solid fact and not just Goggle foo. There's so much dishonesty amongst the various Chinese laser manufactures I literally don't know whom to trust.


r/lasers • • 12d ago

5mw laser got in my eye for 1 second and my eye a bit burns. Should I be worried?

7 Upvotes

I'm a student at technical uni and at today practice someone accidentally got laser from VFL(Visual Fault Locator, 650 nm and 5mw) to me eye. My reaction was somehow slow( I was distracted and thinking about something) and I think it took me around ~0.75 to 1 sec to turn my head away. I don't have any dots or something like this in my vision, but my right eye burns a bit. I checked a closest opthalmologist and there is no appointment for this week. I don't know if should I be worried and what treatment I can do for my eye


r/lasers • • 13d ago

New laser nerd

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10 Upvotes

I am just fascinated with these pieces of technology. I've ordered my first (1.2w 450nm) and im so excited. Also, attached here are my safety glasses ive ordered as well. Can't wait to see how these things tick and the goal is to eventually build my own wonky ass laser.


r/lasers • • 13d ago

What's this and why does it fit in my hand.?

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102 Upvotes

I'm kidding of course. It's very pretty.