Best options for eye protection?

Those are fine for CNC but do absolutely nothing to protect you from the laser.
-S

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Since there is more talk on this thread, I thought I should update really quickly.
Our glasses from Laser Safety Industries came in. They were well packaged and they came with a certificate of compliance. The company also gave us a name and phone number for one of their customer service representatives to address any questions or concerns.


The glasses fit well, have care instructions, a lens cloth, and a hard case to protect them.
They are US based, but I highly reccomend them or a similar company for those using the laser.

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@Jesi15 I went to buy 2 pair of glasses (cost $188) which i was happy to pay USA postage cost, cheapest shipping was $81.14 to australia. western australia.
i reached out to them asking to check postage cost as it would seem really high - that was about 2 weeks ago and havent heard back from them.

i also suggested this thread (your post Best options for eye protection?) and explained briefly about people being concerned - that they might want to put a post in offering a discount. but as i said, didn’t hear back.

@Nazar, I’m also in Western Australia - Perth, perhaps if we combine an order, we might get better shipping.

An alternative is to get it delivered to someone in the USA who can put it in a more suitable postage delivery.

I’ve been looking for suppliers here in WA, but haven’t found anyone selling anything worth buying at this time.

@ITmaze sounds great, have just contacted them again (different method of contact) so lets wait a few days (like wednesday WA time) and if anyone else in australia is interested, they can let us know.

do you know anyone in the USA?

i know what you mean about WA suppliers :sleeping:

For the two of you I would be willing to act as the middle man.

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@Nazar and @ITmaze I hope you hear back soon, I was able to call them but only live a couple timezones away. Hopefully you will hear from them Monday when they are back in the office. Maybe they can recommend a local supplier of they can’t provide more efficient shipping. Keep us updated.

EDIT: I did some quick checking, perhaps this company might also be worth contacting to see what they can do: http://www.lasersafetyglasses.com.au/dioptika/

If they can provide you a similar level of certified safety glasses they are much closer to you. I didn’t read all their info so a little more research would be prudent.

@Atom, that’s very kind, thank you.

@Jesi15, perhaps we should start importing them here :wink: So far all I’ve found is nominally suitable protection at quadruple the cost.

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That is such a bummer @ITmaze, I was looking for a while this morning and found that as well. What’s with the high prices in Australia?

I hope y’all hear back from Laser Safety and they can work with you. Maybe it’s a new business opportunity :grin:.

Got a reply this morning quote - “Yes because of custom clearing.
The best bet for you is to order and give us a UPS or FedXe account number and
you can pay for shipping.” :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
from my understanding - customs is 10% for large price orders only.

@Atom yes, that is very kind :upside_down_face: we will keep it in mind, i think at the moment i will just see how it plays out (as there are idea’s being thrown around)

@Jesi15 thankyou for putting the time in to check - i am not sure why the prices are so high in Australia. must be some reason (or maybe no-one has checked it yet?)

@ITmaze excellent idea :grinning: i will be the first customer - SO, should we nominate someone :grinning: :rofl: just kidding - seriously though, if someone wants to do this as a side hobby or business. (providing it comes from someone reputable).

EDIT : just replied to email (they may not get it, but it is worth a try) "hi there, as i said there is a concern about eye safety with the snapmaker and someone gave a good plug for your company Best options for eye protection? if you would like to join the discussion and maybe offer a discount for snapmaker owners - that would be awesome.

there is an on-going discussion here about getting good eye protection in Australia, we would really appreciate a manufacturer’s input/understanding"

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@Nazar, there is now a 10% GST charge on all imports. There is also a 5% import duty and there seem to be standard “minimum” fees.

I just came across this article:

https://intas.com.au/importing-business-goods-australia/

At the bottom is a comment that indicates extra fees. I’ll have a closer look at this.

Here’s the comment:

Rebecca

July 31, 2019 at 2:42 pm

JUST GOT STUNG!!!

Australian Government Charge (customs entry fee):
Flat rate fee:
– $83.00 (for declared value of goods between AU $1,000 and $9,999)
– $185.00 (for declared value of goods AU $10,000 and over)

Disbursement Fee (DHL administration fee):
– 3% of (Australian Government Charge + GST + Duty)

Please be advised that the minimum Disbursement Fee will be $20.00 + $2.00 GST.

GST on Importation:
– 10% of (Cost of Goods + Freight + Duty)

Hi guys, I’m not sure I’ve understood well: I’m waiting for my Snapmaker 2.0 and if I’m not wrong it will comes with the laser protection glasses, isn’t it? Do you think the this ones is not safe? Why you need to buy other glasses?

I’ve not bought the enclosure so I’ll use my Snap as is but I was suppose that using the provided glasses and paying attention to not look directly to the lase is just fine…

Disclaimer: This is not my field.

Concerns have been raised about gaps in the enclosure and the quality and suitability of the supplied glasses.

Further comments have been made on this forum by others indicating that not directly looking at the laser is not sufficient protection, because reflected laser light it still dangerous.

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It only comes with one pair. So if you have multiple people need multiple glasses. There are valid questions about the effectiveness of the ones that come with it as well as the SM enclosure itself.
Any enclosure should just be considered as secondary protection. The amount of protection provided by good safety glasses is greater than any enclosure will provide. But both should really be used.
Some do argue that reflected light reduces the danger. While it may be true in theory, I’ve definitely found that in practice that there have been many times due to the reflectivity of some objects and the angle and distance I was at that I was very glad I was wearing safety glasses. It was bright enough with them on that I questioned their effectiveness.
I do try to avoid looking at it as much as possible. Sometimes it is necessary to make sure it’s working properly. If I need to I try to look through my enclosure with safety glasses on.
Overkill? Maybe. I only have 2 eyes. I’ll err on the side of caution.
-S

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@AirMonk here is a thread we’re the laser glasses are discussed. As with most PPE you will need to decide for yourself how much protection is right for you.

Rating of 1600mW laser and glasses

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@AirMonk For a bit of context, the only clear marking on the glasses provided is EN166FT and Z87+, both of these are impact ratings. Neither the glasses or the enclosure material are labeled with laser safety data (at least mine were not). From a safety standpoint that would make the protection unsuitable for use in a laser work environment in the US based on OSHA:


While I am using this at home I see that as a serious oversight, I could not legally have an employee run this thing without proper glasses, and I am not going to do it myself either.
Others may not have this opinion, but I won’t be using the provided glasses or enclosure as my eye protection.

I see my post from above where I did the calculations was removed. Oh well, here it is again:

1600mW with the provided OD1.19 goggles will reduce laser energy down to ~100mW. With an assumed large beam divergence of 35mrad that would put the Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance (NOHD), which is defined as a beam intensity of 2.5mW/cm2, around 10ft with the goggles on for a direct hit. (Without goggles or any protection that NOHD for a direct hit would be ~40ft)

With wood and similar materials the laser dot should be a diffuse reflection and chance if injury is small, especially if you’re not staring at the dot for extended periods of time.

But with tile, jar lids, and other reflective surfaces, the chance of getting a scattered coherent beam is much greater.

At minimum you need OD3.2 to be guaranteed safe.

Pay attention to symptoms of eye injury. If you get a headache, your eyes are itchy or watering, you have light sensitivity - make sure you don’t continue to look at even the diffuse laser dot, and wear any protective goggles, even with the enclosure.

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Thanks you so much for the detailed explanation

thankyou everyone for posting - eyesight is incredibly important, from my understanding - problems may not show up immediately but years down the track.

to @brent113 not sure why your post would have been removed - just glad you had a copy to put it in again.

@ITmaze thanks for looking into the GST for australia - i realise this is a local issue and probably not as interesting to other parts of the world… will send a PM

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I just did the math again, I didn’t have it saved. I recall I may have been a bit too ‘vigorous’ in claiming certain eye injury. Redoing the math in a more thorough manner leads to a more reasonably safe outcome.

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