Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: noob laser question

hannu wrote:

> Its a specialised supply, from what I´ve read. Very special. They have
> to be made for this use, and use very high voltages and sometimes high
> currents. For small, hobby size applications a "neon transformer" in the
> 20 kV range is supposed to be useful, for more powerful ones the
> voltages go up ... dangerous if mishandled and the design know-how is
> less common.

But, this won't do the job at all, as he needs to zap a very
specific spot on the disc as it spins. This requires
microsecond timing. Probably a Q-switched YAG laser is the
most common high-power laser that can produce a pulse at an
exact time. You can also put a Q-switch on a CO2 laser. but due
to the thin gas in the laser, the peak power won't be very
great. The YAG rods in that laser store a LOT of energy in a
solid, and release it in a very short pulse, burning off a
little speck of metal.

Jon