[cncadmin]

How and what do you use for cleaning ZnSe lens?

[Romos V.]

I use pure acetone and Johnson's cotton buds.

[cncadmin]

OK, thank you, anything else will damage it right?

[sendkeys]

im no way a laser guy but you think you be able to use anything that was made for cleaning eye glasses.

[cncadmin]

UH no, these lens are not glass or plastic they are are made from Zinc Selenide which will kill you if you ingest it. more info http://www.sttic.com.ru/lpcbc/DANDP/znse_adv.html

[Graham S]

glass isn't plastic

for cleaning info see:

http://www.iiviinfrared.com/pdfs/II-...csCleaning.pdf

[cncadmin]

No kidding, I fixed my post what I was typing and what I was thinking were two different things.

[Graham S]

The only danger I know of is if you smash an optic and then try and breath it in or eat it. If you are likely to do that then laser cutting might not be a good move.

Graham

p.s. Am also building a laser cutter, a tiny one to start with using some surplus linear steppers and then a larger one. I already have a 50W Synrad as a source.

[owhite]

I got acetone with high purity from ebay, ordered kodak lens cleaning paper and a blower from a photo supply place, and got talc-free disposable gloves from the paint supply section at home depot, and followed the instructions on:

http://www.optics.umicore.com/am4/do...o_cleaning.pdf

the method where you wet lens cleaning paper and slide it across the lens seemed to work pretty good.

The home depot quality of acetone may be just fine, but from my days of working in lab, we always went with something that described its level of purity when we wanted to avoid contaminants and such.

be sure to set your lens on something soft, like a bed of paper towels. I read that they ZnSe is so soft that it can dent when set down on a hard object.

Owen

[cncadmin]

Link to more on cleaning lens http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/laseratr.htm#atrcln

[g-doggie]

i use 99.9% isopropyl alcohol and kodak lens paper

[killor]

Someone tried to clean ZnSe lenses with ultrasonic?
¿Alguien a probado a limpiar las lentes de ZnSe con ultrasonidos?

[zax15uk]

If you put the lens in a plastic container filled with IPA, and put it into the ultrasonic cleaner filled with water (obviously the water is below the top of the beaker or container) it would be ok but I would wonder why. It is so much easier to just lightly wipe clean the lens using a Q-tip (cotton swab) dipped in IPA.

Zax.

[MonoNeuron]

Yeah, I use isopropyl alcohol as well as some laboratory grade Acetone I got from a friend at an industrial complex. Whatever is closest when I want to clean them.
I also use glasses cleaning towelettes for the paper as it is very soft and lint free. Sometimes I use cotton swabs.
I dropped a ZnSe lens from about 150mm onto my table and it shattered like a windscreen so they are very brittle and also soft. I never thought you could get brittle and soft in the same thing but in these lenses you can.
Just don't scrub the anti reflection coating off the surface. The drag method is probably the best with a well soaked lint free cloth.
Sometimes you may need to drag the cloth over the surface about 10 times before the gunk will come off and if you do always use a different clean part of the cloth/paper.
Rich.

[bpoulin]

Does anyone know if Denatured Alcohol is safe? I can go buy IPA but I have DNA in my shop constantly.

[zax15uk]

Does anyone know if Denatured Alcohol is safe? I can go buy IPA but I have DNA in my shop constantly.

IPA is extremely cheap but Denatured Alcohol or Meths (methylated spirits) as it's known in the UK is just Ethanol with an additive to prevent it being consumed.

It would be acceptable for cleaning the lens/mirrors, just don't use too much.

Zax.

[MonoNeuron]

Zax is right. DNA is wood alcohol (methanol) and grain alcohol (ethanol) with 0.05% Pyradine added as a deterrent to people drinking the stuff. It doesn't stop them around here though. Pyradine is also a poison and not very good for you.

[bpoulin]

I know IPA is cheaper, but I always have DNA on hand for cleaning wood, it doesn't make it swell. And I don't clean the lenses enough to warrant going out and buying alcohol strictly for that purpose. Thank you for the info :cheers:

[MonoNeuron]

I currently have the gold reflection mirrors on my laser and they have a VERY soft coating. I swabbed one with alcohol and a Q-tip very lightly and had a good look in the right light and I had put minute scratches on the face.
I previously had Aluminum first surface mirrors from an old photocopier on the laser and I had swabbed them a lot and have NEVER seen any scratches on them from the cotton swabs I use.
One day I will try the aluminum mirrors with the 100 watt laser I currently have and see how they go. the Al takes a whole lot more punishment than the gold coating.