[PaulT]

Does anyone know of a North American source for 25mm diameter x 3mm thick beam direction mirrors for a 60w CO2 laser?

Thanks

[MonoNeuron]

Hi Paul,
Go to your nearest photocopier supplier and get an old junk one from them.(one of the stand up ones).
Pull it apart and get the first surface mirrors out of it. You can get steppers, wire, switches, bearings etc out of them and just cut the mirrors into the length you need with a glass cutter.
I am using them with my 35 watt ULS inc laser and they don't even get warm to the touch. I think they would be ok with a 60 watt system but only time will tell.
I had 11mm round gold first surface mirrors on mine to start off with but found that I had to be too precise with the alignment so I tried a few of these Aluminum first surface mirrors and they work a treat. As an added benefit, when they get a little bit dirty, the red pointer shows up on the mirror surface letting you know they need a clean. When they are spotless the red pointer is only just barely visible.
Hope it works as well for you as it did for me.
Richard.

[PaulT]

Hey thanks for the info. Unfortunately there aren't any photocopier suppliers anywhere near where I live.

I'll probably end up changing the mirror holders or get mine machined to accept the 1" mirrors. Seems like there are lots of suppliers for the inch ones.

Thanks,
PT

[MonoNeuron]

I can have a look around and find some if you want then I can cut them into 1" long pieces and send to you for you to try out. (free of course)
Interested??????
I glue mine onto an Al plate with silicone adhesive/sealant and have had zero trouble with them.
Richard.

[mad.sculpture]

do a search of something like laser printer surplus online.
people are selling the spinning disk that bounces laser beams into a line(like bar code scanner in supermarket but not scattering multiple angles)
nearly bought 1 other day for davidlaser scanner playing.
1 was about 15 dollars with lots of other bits of case unit and lenses,another was just a small pcb mounted motor that worked 25 dollar.
these mirrors are high quality FRONT surface mirrors and as first response said about right size well bit wider but you'll see,they're laid out like spokes on a cartwheel so you get about 12+ or so from memory.
Dunno how you'd get them off but they reflect from the front surface so until glass brakes you may be able to brutalise them quite a bit at the back.

might not work but i'm just telling you beacause u said there's no photocopy repair place near.probably more laserprinter bit around than photocopier.

if you couldn't use it some laserscanning experimenter would buy it on ebay

Cheers ross