I’m sourcing additional safety glasses for my wife and my daughter and I think I’ve run into a knowledge gap.
GF offers extra glasses that are rated Class IV, 10,600 nm, OD 7+. I’d be happy to buy a second pair from the GF Shop but they are out of stock.
After doing my best to educate myself on the specs I need for more specs I’ve run into a snag. I cannot seem to find anything rated for a Class IV in that wavelength with anything higher than OD 6+ in any of the sellers I’ve found.
How relevant is the difference here? My Glowforge hasn’t shipped yet so I don’t have the manual in hand to reference to solve my problem.
There’s a vendor selling children’s sized goggles with the same specs (Class IV, 10600nm) but rated 6+. I understand that with the passthrough slot shut and safet interlocks working she shouldn’t need them but I want an option on hand.
What is the practical difference? Is there some advice or a link to an explanation I’ve missed?
The Pro is legally a Class 4 laser device so a lawyer would tell you always to wear glasses if you’re in line of sight of a Pro that’s operating.
Unless you’re putting material through the Pro’s slot feed, there’s pragmatically no need for wearing safety glasses - there’s a rubber gasket that covers the slot, so even reflected laser light shouldn’t be able to get out, making it the same as the non-Pro (Class 1) laser. According to the manual, you can turn the Pro into a Class 1 laser by putting shields (which Glowforge will be selling in the future) over the slots. And even when you’re feeding material through the slot, the material fills the slot, so it’s likely quite safe. But I’m sure a lawyer (or a company with lawyers) would tell you not to rely on that, and to always wear safety glasses.
On the pro-safety glasses front, I have to say that GF’s safety glasses are very stylish, will block their laser, and are a lot less expensive than industrial safety goggles. My son has the Class 4 safety sign on his door (he insisted the GlowForge be in his bedroom!) and wears the safety glasses whenever the slot is in use. That’s a good thing.
None of that answered my question. You pretty much rehashed what I wrote back to me.
I read the comments you left years back on a similar subject when I searched the forums for an answer. Unfortunately the information I hoped to learn wasn’t there either.
Can you comment with knowledge of the practical difference between OD 7+ and OD 6+?
7 attenuates 10 times as much light as 6. From the information provided, OD 6+ SHOULD be safe for Glowforge, though the glasses I bought in prep are OD 7+, I believe. You aren’t generally talking risk of direct exposure, or even reflected beam. It is protection against refracted light, which can still scar your cornea or burn skin in less than half a second.
I bought these (also, prior to Glowforge offering theirs). You might want to be a bit skeptical with the rating, though. The product spec page lists it at 7+, but the glasses themselves are stamped with 6+… and you can even see that in the product photo. But according to the test data on the product page, it’s 7+.
Good to note. I’ll have to look at the pair I have. Either way, they should be sufficient for the Glowforge, if I recall the safety info correctly.
Edit: Just checked. For maximum exposure risk, 6+ is overkill, though I probably wouldn’t personally go less. Obviously Glowforge is taking the high road on all safety materials they provide and going for maximum safety well beyond the requirements.