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Need info on Coherent Innova 20 argon laser

O

ogoun

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Hi all,

Looks like I might be going for the record here regarding largest Ar laser...

I've bought an Innova 20 off of fleabay. It is a 20 watt
:lasergun:
water cooled beast, made circa 1983, and sparingly used /well maintained by a research facility till about 2003, after which it was packed in its original wooden transport boxes and mothballed till it was auctioned off, and some yokel bought it and flogged it off on fleabay for next to nothing.

This thing is MASSIVE. The head alone weighs about 90kg (350 lb), and is about 8 feet long. The linear (!!!) power supply weighs over twice that.

It runs on 3 phase power, drawing about 40 AMPS (!!!) per phase. Apparently at full power out, it uses about 45 kilowatts.

So, I've been analyzing how it all goes together, fixing minor faults along the way, and seeking out more info on it.

Since I'd like to have as much info as possible before trying to power this up (yes, I do have access to suitable 3 phase), I am looking for the Coherent Innova 20 Operator's Manual. Hopefully this will minimize my chances of damaging what appears to be a sweet Ar laser!

Can anyone here help me with this?

Depending on my level of success with getting it going, I'll post some pics/vids here, if there is any interest in this.

Cheers,

Pete
 





I'm hoping the tube hasnt gone hi pressure, but only firing it up will tell...

I'll try to take some pics this weekend.

Pete
 
Your mailing that to me right now; your expense :P :)

once it arrives, I'll be happy to help. Contact LSRFAQ about it - hes also mixedgas on PL - he knows a lot about AR lasers :)
 
Ummm, Perhaps NOT ;)

Even just Melbourne to Sydney (by the way, hi from Melb) would be expensive, and besides, even if no one here feels helpful, I think I've got this covered. The design is fairly straightforward. Just need to be sure I test as much as possible before powering up...

Nevertheless, thanks for the pointers to other Ar knowledgeable folk, I'll be pestering them soon, I suspect.

If I'm very lucky, I hope to be testing this weekend. I'll keep the forum posted as to my progress and level of success.


Pete
 
I was only kidding.

Now get it going so we can see some beamshots ;)

Good luck with the adventure. I will be following closely :)

errrr yes edit. forgot to mention. That amount of insane wattage needs some laser saftey glasses... - I'm sure you have them. :)
 
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many, including the one you call your eyeball if you dont play safe LOL :)
 
Found and fixed some minor issues in the power supply (bad rectifier diode on the temperature monitor board, and a dead 100R 50 watt resistor (part of the inrush current limiter for the 1000uF 900 volt (!!!) capacitor bank).

Next thing to check/test is the filament transformer.

I'm starting to believe the 45 kilowatt power rating bit...


Pete
 
hehe its gonna need a bit of juice to run :)

hope you get it to lase! :)
 
This thread needs more pics. Even wif it doesn't run, this is a beast!
 
This doesn't need 45kW of power. 40A per phase is 16kW if it's a 400V three phase, but these are 208V IIRC so it's closer to 10kW. You don't add the power from each phase, otherwise you'd be making 20W of light from 45kW of power and dissipating around 45kW of heat instead of about 10kW.

Also, is 20W the power stated on the laser warning label? If so then this is higher than the actual output. Label power always is.
 
Dont mean to be rude, but the last post is incorrect in every major detail.

Firstly, it does consume 45kW of power, according to the research scientist who used to use this actual laser.

40A is just the max I can provide from our circuit (so I'll be trying to limit the output power to reduce the risk of tripping the 3 phase breaker).

The output IS 20 watts, and the input power required for this output IS 45kW.

We are in Australia, and this unit was supplied to suit our 3 phase power grid (240/415v). It uses a 4 wire config (R,W,B and earth, i.e. no neutral, true 3 phase) and has a MASSIVE iron core delta-delta transformer with taps to suit various input supply voltages for around the world.

Again, the ACTUAL original user has verified that it produces 20 watts out.

Oh, and the warning label says 50 watts max output.

Sorry, just the facts, rather than speculation. :na:

Anyway, it mightnt even work, so whether it was once capable of all this might be a moot point.

Pete
 
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If your circuit can only provide 40A then it won't be consuming 45kW now, will it? So under the conditions which you stated, I was still correct. :rolleyes: I know because I was going to get an I-90 a while ago and that draws 45-50A per phase (208V) at full power and still only dissipates 12kW or so of heat.

At full power on a larger circuit it may well consume 45kW , but at 40A it will not.

As for the power, I was only ASKING if it was the label power or the TRUE power. I wasn't saying that it was the case.
 
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