Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We use laser beams and lenses on all our laser machines and we take them at face value, trusting reputable manufacturers' specification sheets. The problem is that laser machine builders are not cash gobbling research institutes. they need to be efficient profit making organizations. Hence they put their trust in top quality componets that seem to work sufficiently well and require no close scutiny.
As user of laser technology I have noticed many detailed inconsistencies , particularly with lenses and ther performance with a laser beams. I have known for a long time that lens design is based on transmitting normal light images. Passing a laser beam through a lens is a completely different application and superficially seems to sort of work. However, closer examination of that interaction has led me to gain a complete understanding of how the laser cutting mechanism works and In doing so it has raised serious questions about the laser beam itself .
In this 2 part series, I first examined in detail what the laser tube manufactuer is selling us and the problems that we all ignore. In this part 2, I look closely at how a lens works and what happens when it attempts to focus a laser beam. We all think we know the answer.... but even I was taken aback with the reality.
We use laser beams and lenses on all our laser machines and we take them at face value, trusting reputable manufacturers' specification sheets. The problem is that laser machine builders are not cash gobbling research institutes. they need to be efficient profit making organizations. Hence they put their trust in top quality componets that seem to work sufficiently well and require no close scutiny.
As user of laser technology I have noticed many detailed inconsistencies , particularly with lenses and ther performance with a laser beams. I have known for a long time that lens design is based on transmitting normal light images. Passing a laser beam through a lens is a completely different application and superficially seems to sort of work. However, closer examination of that interaction has led me to gain a complete understanding of how the laser cutting mechanism works and In doing so it has raised serious questions about the laser beam itself .
In this 2 part series, I first examined in detail what the laser tube manufactuer is selling us and the problems that we all ignore. In this part 2, I look closely at how a lens works and what happens when it attempts to focus a laser beam. We all think we know the answer.... but even I was taken aback with the reality.
