Fishing for more info's....on a Sharplan 3000....(hides with a fire extinguisher)

[robotarmy]

Hey all!

Just got another Laser (yes, with a capital L) down here at rlab, and we're on the hunt for more information about it before we go stabbing around inside!

It's a Sharplan 3000 YAG, and before you get all "GAH NO VAGBURNERS", I can assure you that we're sensitive to safety issues involving these beasts, and have quite a bit of experience (if not expertise) with dangerous tools such as this one. It won't be converted to visible light, and won't be used unsafely.

There's some pictures of the beast up here:
http://readinghackspace.org.uk/wiki/Projects/Sharplan

http://readinghackspace.org.uk/wiki/...arplan_001.JPG
http://readinghackspace.org.uk/wiki/...arplan_002.JPG

That second picture has a bit of an 'item of interest', namely the pressure gauge that seems to want 2000 psi of something. Can anyone tell me if this is just the coaxial gas for getting guts off the end effector or if it's something to do with the operation of the laser itself?

Thanks again, you guys rock!
Ryan

[macona]

The gas inlet is probably nitrogen for an gas assist. You can see the leur connection next to the fiber coupler where it connects to the hand piece. There may be a pressure switch internally that can be defeated if it does want gas.

[robotarmy]

Excellent, thanks for the tips! What sort of things should I look at before sparking this crazy machine up? Are there some general things that go wrong with these sorts of beasts?

What sort of upgrades should I keep in mind if we wanted to use this as a cutting laser potentially? Is that even feasible? Something about lengthening the resonator cavity for a better beam?

[macona]

Dont really know anything specific about this laser. It is an arc lamp driven laser so it needs deionized water for coolant. The head will have a gold plated cavity and an arclamp with flow tubes around that and the rod. They should be checked to make sure they are clean.

The laser probably runs multi-mode. A inter cavity aperture can give you better beam characteristics but it does not give you a lot of room to work with in there. How does this thing pulse, any idea? Does not look like a q-switch in there.

[mixedgas]

Its a very short cavity, heavy on the multimode side, and can
source 1.5x what the laser is rated at. There is no Qswitch.

That has a bit different psu then I'm used to seeing on those. Of course mine was the US version and I last had one 5 years ago.

Unlike a Lscope, all you have to do is turn the key.

Mine had a big phase fired SCR based power supply, easy to hack.

Steve

[artag]

I've just got hold of a similar laser, a Sharplan 2100. I'm in touch with robotarmy - he's not so far away from me - but it's a bit different from his 3000. Seems to be similar rating & looks, but the 3000 has an internal cooling system while the 2100 has two large hoses (but has filters, a large pump and a deionised water reservoir internally). There's also some pictures in the Gallery, apparently someone here has or had one a few years ago.

What sort of cooling will this need ? I found something on the net that seemed to imply it might want 2 bar open flow which may mean I can just pour away mains water. But should I be looking at a chiller ? If so, what capacity ?

Even if it needs a chiller for extended use, I'd like to fire it up with minimal cooling to find out whether the flash lamp works before spending a lot on auxiliary equipment.

Any other information or advice - especially a pointer to a manual - very welcome.

[artag]

I've got past some initial problems, added a Coherent LP5i cooler, and it looks mostly happy. Except not yet starting.

Sadly, the fibre it came with is not the correct fitting. I'm considering some disposable fibres from an ebay seller in Israel, perhaps returning to the reusable one if an appropriate fitting can be adapted.

Without a fibre, it notes 'Connect Fibre'. Reasonable, I guess. But how does it know ? (Tried with and without the dust cap on the fibre connector). I can't see any mechanical detection of the fibre so I'm guessing it's optical, but with what ? It's not going to do a test pulse even with the HeNe guide, is it ?

The control panel is all live on the numeric displays but there appear to be some embedded LEDs too. I haven't ever seen these light up, even when it's responding to buttons for shutdown etc. I'll investigate them electrically - some of the internal control wiring is a bit ragged but at present I'm lacking information on what should show up.

[artag]

I'm aware this thread isn't quite appropriate for the Advanced Technical Discussion forum. I carried it on because of the connection to RobotArmy's Sharplan 3000. If there's a better place to look for help, please redirect me.

[VibrationsOfDoom]

Jeez, that laser "in the wrong hands" could seriously do some damage!!! Was reading the 'pedia on this... How does someone get their hands on a laser like this?!??!

[artag]

I got it from ebay. The normal use distributes the beam over a 10mm circle where it's used to kill the top few layers of skin to encourage regeneration. I'm not yet sure what the divergence is when emitted from a bare fibre : it doesn't diverge the HeNe guide laser much, but from the comments in this thread the near-IR may be more divergent. It will need some care to measure it.

Ultimately I want to use it in a machining centre where the operator can be well protected from accidental exposure.

I've made some progress in getting it to work, after finding the fibre detection and obtaining some fibres with the correct fitting. I'm presently trying to work through the switching circuits as the guide laser seems to be stuck on (after a period of