[AustinT]

Hello,

I just received a Chinese 60 watt laser and supply. Could you please tell what some of the following terminals are used for
TH
TL
WP
G
IN
5V


Other questions

Why does one wire , going to the tube, have thick insulation and the other does not?

The tube has a very small wire that attaches the circular ring , that hold the mirror, to the nearby terminal. What is this for? This ring has water flowing through it . Why would you want it at the same potential as the terminal?

What is an adequate flow rate for a 60 watt tube?

Does the direction of flow matter?

Which side of the laser is the anode?

Are most of you soldering or clipping to the posts on the tube?

Thank you

[MonoNeuron]

The power supply connections are covered numerous times here so if you do a search for power supply wiring you will get the answers you need. :-)

Water flow is is more efficient( like 20% more ) going to the hot end which is the output side as it gives the water time to absorb the heat from the glass.
The flow rate should be supplied by the manufacturer or you could just Google it.

The output side is the negative or Cathode ( best check this but I'm 99% sure) .

Good quality aligator clips are ok for the connection but are relatively big and you will have more chance of getting an electric shock if working near them. I use BP connectors for earth connectors as they have 2 screws. Multiple connector strips would also work, just break off the plastic and use the brass bit. You will find it very difficult to solder to this and if you use too much heat you run the risk of cracking the glass around the post and letting the gas out ( or in, as the tubes are at a negative pressure to atmosphere). You are only using very low amperage, but very high voltage, so you don't need really large and strong connectors as they won't have the tendancy to heat up.

Rich.

[AustinT]

Have you came across any post regarding the direction of flow?

Thank you

[AustinT]

I found all of the information I need in the forums and searching online thank you

For future diy guys

TH is the terminal used to fire the laser on a high signal ( active high)
TL is the terminal used to fire the laser on a low signal (active low)
WP is a terminal used to protect the laser in case of water pump failure
It should be 0v for the laser to operate
5v is an output. A pot can be used between ground and 5volt. The wiper sets up a voltage divider at the In terminal to control the power of the laser depending on the position of the pot.

Why does one wire , going to the tube, have thick insulation and the other does not?
The potential is lower after the laser so the high voltage shielding is no longer needed

The tube has a very small wire that attaches the circular ring , that hold the mirror, to the nearby terminal. What is this for? This ring has water flowing through it . Why would you want it at the same potential as the terminal?

I still did not find a good answer on this but I am guessing it is for safety so the water is at the potential of ground

What is an adequate flow rate for a 60 watt tube?

I found a post on this on the forums that was great

Does the direction of flow matter?

I found diagrams showing the flow going either way depending on the manufacture. One I also found diagrams showing to lift the side opposite of the flow slightly so the laser would not have bubbles in the water jacket

Which side of the laser is the anode?

The anode is the high voltage side and is opposite of the laser output

Are most of you soldering or clipping to the posts on the tube?

I wrapped some small wire around the post and quickly soldered the connection as not to apply too much heat to the rod that enters the laser.



If I have answered any of these questions wrong someone please correct me. I just wanted to post what I found for future users.

I have to go and fix a small hole in the wall now
bye

[MonoNeuron]

Hi Austin,
Congratulations on the small hole in the wall. :-)
It's about the only time you can feel great about putting a hole in a wall. I put a small hole in my arm when I first fired mine up due to a miss aligned red pointer so you are way ahead of me. LOL

You will get bubbles in the glass even if you lift one end due to the nature of water sometimes not wetting the glass. A small amount of photographic wetting agent will fix this. You might be able to get a bottle free due to most photo studios going Digital now a days.
On the subject of the small wire.....
Just wondering, are you looking at the tube properly?
You have 3 glass tubes that make up the laser.

Inside the tube you have 1 tube for the gas to ionize and eject the photons out of the output coupler and in the path of this is the anode and the cathode attached by small wire or foil or whatever the manufacturer uses.

Around this is another tube just slightly bigger to accommodate the water for cooling then you have the outer reservoir tube. The glass coil you see inside the reservoir tube is to stop the excess gases from ionizing when the laser is in use.

The end reflector has a radius between 2 meters and 5 meters, depending on the type of laser tube, to reflect the photons more accurately along the tube and the output coupler has a reflection of about 80% so it lets 20% of the photons through.

A rough description but I hope it helps you get a grip on how these things are built.

Please, someone check my description as I may be a little wrong on a few things but it is how I understand them to work from all my reading and observations.
Rich.