Hi.
^This.
Keeping in mind of course that as there’s rather short focal length optics involved, the actual cutting/engraving/etc. “power” depends greatly on the spot size (=focus) being exactly the same.
Even though a proper laser power meter is guaranteed to be well and truly outside a hobbyists budget, something like this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000921120538.html
gives a decent but unscientific approximation of the actual optical output power of a laser head.
Because of the way a sensor like that measures power, the spot size is more or less irrelevant so it won’t tell anything about the cutting ability, just the power.
I have the exact one on the link, and it seems to give surprisingly accurate values.
ATM I have it attached onto a 100x75x45 2,2K/W heat sink:
as suggested in the manual and on the web reviews, but should the need arise, I’m prepared to install a miniature fan on the side for forced cooling.
The local Flir dealer assured me that the sensor on my E5 is capable of handling the scattered and reflected visible spectrum laser beam, so I won’t have to rely on guesswork for the need either.
Regards,
Sam
