Hi!
I just received the backerkit and was looking at the enclosure. Someone mentioned that the optical density (OD) of the enclosure’s panels is OD1. Is this true?
Thank you.
If you are looking for a response from a Snapmaker employee, I would suggest emailing them at support@snapmaker.com
The OD rating of the enclosure hasn’t been assessed by an official institution yet.
I also need to know this answer, which is very important to me and my children!
Yet you’re selling it as a safety measure?
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Having got the enclosure for my A350 I don’t believe it will pass any testing- reason being there are small gaps between the panels, so it could never be ‘safe’ regardless of the OD rating of the enclosure. If you’re interested I can take some pictures to demonstrate?
I’m interested so yes please post a pic
Oh wow…That is sad to hear. I have already ordered my enclosure…
@andybites thanks for the pics. That’s discouraging to say the least. Very disappointed about this development.
@JKC20: That’s a big issue for me too! I’m thinking of canceling my preorder for the enclosure and building one thats truly laserproof myself. For me the enclosure is important to protect my children from the laser.
I am just going to use a $100 grow tent, they are fire proof and vents.
i thought about using a grow tent too… but after getting my A350, i’m not sure its a good option, you need good accessibility to the back of the machine if you want to switch functions (tool head screws go in from the back). i’m thinking of putting mine in a closet with an IP camera for monitoring.
Sorry for the late reply. I asked our R&D department about this and showed him your picture, he said the gaps on your enclosure appear to be larger than designed. I will have my colleague here @Edwin help you address this.
What’s most disappointing is that this enclosure costs $600 which i thought was mainly for the “protection” of the tinted panels… well this explains my headaches using the laser without the included glasses (i had my 9 year old wearing them) but still… for over $600 i could hand and will make anyone a box to moderately reduce the noise levels ands mine wouldn’t result in constant filament binding everytime the machine goes back to “home” position… lol. Honestly i only bought this fore the laser protection and had i known there wasn’t appropriate protection i’d have bought clear panels for 3d printing…
Mine has the same gap so i have been covering then with strips of electrical tape which helps with the escaping smoke from the laser burning wood n pla fumes…
Mine also has similar gaps in the door panels and around the touchscreen. Additionally I reached out to support@snapmaker.com and was told the acrylic panels on the enclosure offer no real protection from the 450nm laser. I really wish I had known this before getting it, now I’m looking at afixing my own panels that will be at least OD3+ 
The SM enclosure does offer some protection.
The panels just aren’t certified and the actual OD rating isn’t known.
The amber acrylic they use is the proper color for the wavelength of the laser.
Most people who have looked into it believe it should provide adequate protection. It’s just the lack of testing and an actual response from Snapmaker that continues to be troublesome.
Either way, any enclosure material will not have as high of an OD as the proper goggles. So no matter what, the enclosure should be considered secondary protection and goggles should be worn. Whether wearing goggles or not one should not be staring at the beam. The type of material being used and reflectivity of it also makes a big difference as to how safe it is.
After doing a lot of reading and research online (especially some groups who make some crazy home-made lasers) I chose to use non-certified #2422 amber acrylic for my enclosure. It’s in my garage and I have a lighted warning sign I turn on to warn my family that it’s running. When I’m working around it I place some mdf panels (dry erase board from Lowes) around it to shield it just to be safe.
If anyone doesn’t mind making some permanent marks on their enclosure panel you can run a tissue paper test to see how effective it is. Take the panel and set it over some tissue paper. Set the laser to 100% power and focus for the paper. Then run some cutting and engraving passes (a line and a square would do the trick) at slow speeds. See if the tissue paper remains unmarked. I did this with the acrylic I’m using and while it engraved it nicely the tissue paper was untouched. So I feel fairly confident in its ability to filter the laser.
-S
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Just got my A350 enclosure a couple days ago. I was disappointed in the very obvious gaps along the panel hinges (both front and side panels). I understand the design of those particular hinges require a gap, otherwise hinges would bind when folding. BUT, SM could easily have designed and included plastic strips that simply press fit into the gaps. Not an elegant solution, as one has to remember to remove and insert them when before opening and after closing. I am a bit surprised that such a talented team of engineers couldn’t design a light tight enclosure. This would be ok if it was a pre-production design - but this is a final retail design! AND, safety being paramount, I am dismayed that SM did not warn purchasers of the enclosure to STILL WEAR CERTIFIED PROTECTIVE GLASSES/GOGGLES!
I bought my A350 and enclosure on Amazon. Here are the feature bullets listed on Amazon for the enclosure:
- Creates a safe and stable environment
- Keeps your kids or pets away from potential hazards
- Avoids warping and/or shrinkage of ABS when printing
- LED Strips, an exhaust fan, and an exhaust duct are included
- Laser filtering, noise reduction, smell/fumes reduction, dustproof
“Laser filtering” implies full protection from the laser IMO. Imagine if a company sold laser protective goggle that allowed some tiny percentage of laser light to penetrate. That would not go over well! I’m not happy that my $600 enclosure only blocks MOST laser leakage. The specs imply FULL protection IMO 
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