Is there a runtime report available for diode lasers? I’m wondering how long my laser module will last.
No - not on any machine I know of. The Ruida and I’m sure other dsp controllers maintain a time on and a laser on time. Unfortunately, I found I can’t reset the tube hours, so it’s kind of moot.
How long a laser will last is kind of similar to telling how long you will live… not really as predictable as you might think. Most have a Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF), but they seem to fail at random times.
Most of these, anymore, have micro controllers running the internal led anyway, so I don’t think there’s much you can do.
Just use it till it fails, then worry about it, like the rest of us 
Good luck - anyway
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Thanks Jack.
So laser lifecycle is complex. In a lab under ideal conditions 20000hrs above 80% optical power output has been achieved by diode manufacturers. But in situ, laser system manufacturers ignored laser physics. First problem is closed loop thermal and current management to automatically shut off laser input power if it approaches safe operating limits. No vender of diode laser systems have this, in fact current controllers are so dumb, laser can catch on fire, burn out and controller will just keep moving the laser around. Commercial grade lasers over $10k use closed loop systems.
Next problem is laser system manufacturers simply don’t understand blowback and backflash. All diode laser vendors just point the laser perpendicular to the work piece the beam is reflected right back through the nozzle hitting the output filter at upto 90+% power heating the filter, which breaks down the mirror coating, the pokes holes through the diffraction grating. Once a pin hole is established the diodes, internal prism, splitters, internal mirrors and the diodes are hit with unfiltered high energy. Hot enough to burn through them. They the stop lasing and output the dreaded fuzzy blue dot as they now operate as a led if they don’t suffer junction meltdown burning up wiring harness , controller and power supply or your house. The cure is simple all welding systems tilt 10-15 degrees to keep consumables functional as long as possible. Add .8mm shim under dovetail of a diode laser redirects beam 1.4mm away from output hole. Net effect is output filter see’s only gaussian distribution side lines at very low energy level.
Another completely ignored problem is especially in enclosures, laserhead are not equipped with filters. Blowback hits underside of laser burns heatsinks, coats nozzle, output lens with very hot and sticky debris and film. That’s very fixable as well. We have been working with one of the diode laser vendors developing a very effective solution to this.
The main reason for very short diode laser death is the items above were not resolved and the average laser user does not know how to maintain or clean their lasers.
Very few users do daily inspection and cleaning. Couple this with the topics above and any predictions on how long a diode laser will live is very difficult if not impossible to estimate.
How ever lightburn could track very accurately laser run time, post clean your laser dialogs and when user cleans laser the checks maintenance complete, a very useful report can be generated graphing user maintenance performance. Just providing the report help condition the user into proactive maintenance behaviors.
That’s very simple code to write.
If users become more aware due to lightburn coaching them, just like oil change management in your car, laser lifetimes can be significantly extended.
Vendors still need to add the items above, but just being reminded to perform maintenance will make a big difference.
J
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Maybe not… Diode lasers are pwm controlled, so an on/off correction will be needed for the power setting. I think CO2 lasers operate differently. And Fiber lasers have a gazillion settings that affect output power. And you would have to include manual fire times during setup and testing.
Just like maintaining their machines as described, users should be willing to track their own usage habits. Adding a microcontroller with a couple of inputs and some code will likely be easier than rewriting Lightburn. This would accomodate the vast variety of machines out there.
I think the main reason LB doesn’t do that is because it’s just a guess then. Sending the turn-on-command doesn’t necessarily mean the laser actually IS turned on. There is no feedback from the laser. So the function might be such inaccurate, that it’s better to just leave it out 
I strongly agree and wanted to add that heat dissipation is another factor nearly no manufacturer cares about. Diodes age dramatically when run at temperatures above 30°C. All modules are cooled with ambient air and there are many people who run their lasers at 30+ °C ambient temperature. And even when temps are below this, the cooling is often not sufficient to keep them cool enough.