Laser life

[BobW]

I've got two machines with lasers: A Delta 18-900L DP and a 12 or 13 year old 12" Delta Twin-Laser CMS. I turn on the ones on the DP every once in a while just for kicks, but I certainly could do without them. But the CMS is a different story...I have found them very useful and accurate for cuts to a line. I would really miss them. Lately they have been coming on rather intermittently, but I know it's the switch as I can fiddle with it and they come on. I'll pull out switch and hope that blowing it out with air will do the trick, as I don't have much hope of getting a replacement from Delta these days.

But I was wondering - do lasers burn out eventually like light bulbs, or are they immortal?

[Robert Adams]

They will get weaker with time. Laser cutter tubes are rated in thousands of hours. The cheap 40 watt ones are 2 to 6k hours. As for the ones on tools I suspect they are low end quality as usual and I don't expect them to last too many hours.

I have used a few miter saws with them and I wish my milwaukee had a laser.

[BobW]

Interesting. I have noticed that they've seemed to get dimmer over the years. I've been guilty of forgetting to turn them off, and discover it when I come in to the shop at night several days later, so they probably have a lot more hours on them than actual use.

Are they replaceable?

[thewizzard]

Yes, they can. In fact everything in the chain can fail; switch, DC power supply, and laser. Good news is that all 3 components are "easy" to replace Bad news is that if you want exact OEM components they are ridiculously overpriced and often hard to find More good news is that you don't need insanely overpriced OEM parts

I also have a Delta Twin Laser 12" and would argue that's its one of best implementations of laser guides ever built into a saw. I've read many posts with users soured on laser guides because many of the other systems really are only for rough alignment. The Delta Twin was done right

Anyway, mine failed about two year ago and wow beyond wow I really missed it. I liked it from day one but didn't realize how dependent I had become on the super convenience of it. In my case the power supply had failed.

I found an authentic OEM replacement from an online source but it was $75 RIDICULOUS I went to Radio Shack, picked up a clearence power supply for $7, ripped the guts out of the little case, and put the module into the saw. Its been fine since then.

If the lasers ever fail, you can find compatible sized modules on e-bay for a few dollars. I considered swapping out the red units for green ones but decided "if it ain't broke ... don't break it" but its an option for the future.

The switch may be a little harder to track down if you want an exact replacement. Worst case, I would just drill a new hole in the plastic housing in an "open" location and install a simple mini toggle switch or push button. Maybe $2 - $3 max., certainly would never pay $47 for an OEM model. Another option would be bypassing the switch completely and having the laser powered all the time. THEN, putting a switch on the main power cord and just turning the entire saw "off" when you are not using it. Or just unplugging it.

[BobW]

Thanks for this, Wiz! Yeah, I wasn't too worried about dealing with the switch problem...that's within my skill set. Power supply...not so much. If I found an easy replacement, I'd probably gladly pay $75. Besides, I don't think Radio Shack is around much longer, if they are still.

At any rate, I'm going to save your post for future reference, and I might be calling on you.

[thewizzard]

Yea they are replaceable but first I'd just check and see if they are dirty. Over time diode lasers will begin to loose brightness or will require increased power to obtain the same brightness as they become less efficient with age ( don't we all ).

Unless you have catastrophic failure, you should get thousands of hours without noticeable degredation. Most cheap lasers like these are designed for at least 10,000 hours of use.

If you run the lasers "continuously" they will wear out but even at an hour per day to line-up hundreds of cuts you should see 10-15 years. My personal hobby use may average a few hours of laser-on time per month. Which will never produce any intensity drop-off. This is why I'm suggesting to just clean the surfaces, they do get covered with wood schmooze.