Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: laser cnc

Hello,

Last week I downloaded and tried PSST
(http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~psst), free laser education software. I
noted that the acceptable wavelength range of 250nm to 5000nm excluded
UV excimer lasers and IR CO2 lasers. I requested that the range be
expanded to include 150nm to 11000nm. The authors promptly expanded the
wavelength range to suit my needs.

Today I pointed out some calculation errors to the authors. The
calculated beam diameters at the resonator mirrors are small by a factor
of 2. I suspect that they are using the beam radius equations and
calling it beam diameter. Related to this, the far field divergence is
miscalculated small by a factor of 4.

They are gearing up for the start of the school semester so may not have
time to fix this right away. Then again, they may consider fixing
miscalculations to be a priority.

Meantime, I found the software to be generally informative. Accurate
calculations would be important in an actual design to build but not
critical if you want to get a general understanding of how lasers and
resonator cavities work. Anyway, it is free, friendly, and educational
and will probably improve over time so take a look.

Tom Hubin
thubin@...