How safe are safety glasses?

Hi,

this may be a stupid question for many of you, but I am at the very beginning of my research regarding laser engravers/cutters and was wondering how safe safety glasses actually are. I am aware that there are many sunglasses which don't block all UV light, thus I am wondering if laser safety glasses are capable of blocking out all of the harmful light or if its more of a "if you see a bright light, turn away fast" kind of deal. Especially when dealing with something like a 40W laser, I wonder if they can ruin your eyesight through safety glasses, if one does not look away immediately.

Kind regards,
Cyclonit

... the "safety level" is normally given by the "OD"-values printed on the side of the goggles - look here for declaration and comparisons:
[www.thorlabs.de]

This OD-values are different for different wavelengths - so you have to select the goggles specifically for the laser and application you're targeting.

But be careful! - there are some goggles in the market with "faked" OD-values too

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

If you refer to a 40W CO2 laser, you won't see it coming. It's very short UV wavelenght.
Good news is, any clear plastic cover will absorb stray light.

... no, the wavelength of a CO2-laser is the opposite direction -- it's far, far IR @ 10640nm.

And yes, this wavelength won't pass any of the goggles -- you can shield it totally with any glass or acrylic ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

...I knew it was invisible

I am a brand new 10 watt CO2 laser owner, well I bought one but it is still in the mail. I am brand new to anything concerning lasers.

I am "thinking" of building a enclosure, would acrilic or transparent plastic be safe for construction? I'd like to be able to see the laser working.

I have the safety glasses ordered for the laser, for my own use but what about other people.

If I make the enclosure large > 3' x 3' I probable would mount it outside.

Is there a "Getting Started" thread?

... the CO2-laser beam will be absorbed totally by any acrylic or glass enclosure - so yes, it would be safe ... as long the beam won't hit the shielding directly! -- then it would slowly burn through ... or, when using glass, it can crack because of the thermal stress ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Thank you Viktor, there will be so many questions coming up.

Ralph