The applications of laser systems in industrial processes include cutting, welding and marking. The power of the laser system should be carefully adjusted to ensure the quality and repeatability of the processing results. Some parts may not need too low power for cutting. At the same time, too high power laser systems may create rough edges. Therefore, the monitoring of laser pointer power is essential for effective process control.
Over time, most laser systems will present different intensities of light. Due to laser source stability and/or thermal errors, short-term fluctuations may result. Laser power monitoring to improve process stability These changes are measured in minutes or hours. In addition, the laser power will decrease by 20% with the arrival of laser life. From a long-term perspective, the degradation of the optical path optics can cause a decrease in output power. Both of these changes will reduce production due to defective products or additional maintenance time.
The laser power monitor can be installed in the optical path inside the system at the light source position (for example, behind the reflector) or close to the beam output position (for example, inside the processing head). In this way, the instability of the power can be continuously monitored, which helps to adjust the pump power in real time.
Continuous monitoring of power is beneficial to users and manufacturers. Because the operation mode can be seamlessly recorded, and faults can be easily traced at the same time. In addition, measurements can be made intermittently. This is often achieved by placing a measuring device next to the processing area. For example, after every 10 processing cycles, the green laser pointer processing head will move to the power detector module to achieve the purpose of measurement. Both methods have the same requirements for power monitors: accurate, fast, and compact.