Why clean optics are important

[gottaluvlasers]

for those of you that were at SELEM, you remember i had a bit of an output issue. well, everything is fine now and i am completely rebuilding EVERYTHING.

here is a perfect example of where 80% of my power loss was going and why those of you with higher powered lasers (especially greens) REALLY need to keep clean optics!!!

the following pics are of a scanner mirror off of my CT6210's X axis mirror. they must have gotten dirty one day/night during a show and i didnt clean them afterwards. and i am usually VERY METICULOUS about cleaning all my optics!! this ONE time that i didnt clean... the beam ACTUALLY BURNT the dirt and dust into the mirror.

this scanner is now dead. well, the mirror is anyway. this is off of my 3W yag. so, moral of the story...especially those of you doing shows professionally....CLEAN YOUR OPTICS OFTEN!!!! ESPECIALLY if in an environment with smoke machines!

im in deeeeeep doo doo....i have 3 shows in the next 7 days!!

-Marc

oh, by the way...these mirrors arent even a year old!

[sbk]

Sad... Scanner mirrors aren't cheap...

Maybe an advice, if you have the possibility to do it : seal all the optical part in your projector, like I made in mine!! This change the life of a laserist, since I made that, I never had to clean my optics

This can be made very simply, even if your first design of the case wasn't made to seal the optics (as mine wasn't)...
http://picasaweb.google.com/sebastie...79268008236626

[Things]

Wow, thats one messed up mirror! I have a fair bit of dust particles on my scanner mirror right now, and luckily the laser isnt powerful enough to burn it, but thats waisting alot of my power :/

[p1t8ull]

100% agree, the most important part of enclosure design IMHO

seal all the optical part in your projector

[Stuka]

.....

this scanner is now dead. well, the mirror is anyway. this is off of my 3W yag. so, moral of the story...especially those of you doing shows professionally....CLEAN YOUR OPTICS OFTEN!!!! ESPECIALLY if in an environment with smoke machines!

im in deeeeeep doo doo....i have 3 shows in the next 7 days!!

-Marc

oh, by the way...these mirrors arent even a year old!

Dude, that SUCKS!!

Hope you can get replacements arranged without too much difficulty!!

Very sorry for your misfortune, but thanks for posting and bringing this our attention!

Randy

[thesk8nmidget]

wow it looks like someone took a torch to your mirrors!


well i guess you did... a laser torch!

and yes hopefully you will get this fixed in time!

[buffo]

Hey Marc...

Sorry to hear about that, buddy. Yeah, you were loosing a lot of power even at SELEM. Guess we all know why now!

One thing though - you should be able to replace those mirrors yourself. I've seen it done twice, and it didn't look all that hard. Use a soldering iron to heat up the glue that is holding the mirror on the shaft, then remove the old mirror. Place the new one in the center of the slot on the shaft and secure with some fast-drying epoxy. (Do *not* use any type of cyanoacrylate "super" glue. It will out-gas and leave deposits on your mirrors and possibly your bearings as well.)

Of course, once you're done you'll need to re-tune your scanners, but that's not too big of a problem. I know that Dave and Aijii at LaserShowParts.com sell replacement mirrors for their ScanPro scanners, and they recently upgraded the quality of their mirrors. (98% reflective or better!) I'd suggest the larger, rectangular mirrors they have for your application. I think they were quite affordable - maybe $50 or so? Shoot them a PM and see what they can work out for you.

Adam

[Pitts]

Do you have the Cambridge instructions on mirror changes..

They also make a little jig to do it properly. (no doubt $$$$$$)

I have the manual if you need info. PM me if you need .

Cheers

Ray
NZ

[mixedgas]

One Stop Laser Shop probably has the expensive jig if you have time to fedex it for repairs.
Balence and mass is critical on hotter cambs, I'd recomend getting the factory mirror for stiffness issues. I would not be surpised if Pangolin also has a mirror jig.

Good luck with your shows. We feel your pain. That was how many watts?

Steve

[gottaluvlasers]

thanks guys...

this SUCKS! steve- it was 2.5W-3 Watts.

i am going to purchase a new set of scanners. but obviously will be fixing these also. i tried calling cambridge to see what there turnaround time is. YEAH, about a month and a half!! lol. i DONT think so! i am going to try and get the mirrors myself and do this myself.

it scared me to do it at first myself becasue this was my only set of scanners and i use this professionally. obviously, (and i am in NO way making light of hobbyists!!) if something goes wrong with a set of scanners on a projector that you use to mess around in your garage, its just an inconvenience. if a set gets screwed up during a $3500 contracted show, its a little more scarey. (again, i am not putting the hobbyists down!! please dont misconstrue what i am saying!!!) This is why i didnt want to try it at first by myself or trying it "blindly."

i am going to try OSLS and see if they have the mirrors and this "jig." PITS- i will be PM'ing you for this manual. i appreciate it!

im actually looking forward to gettin some 40ks or 50ks in there though!

-Marc