Product Code: JLA_7_1_31

Authors:
Ami Kestenbaum
Richard J. Coyle
Patrick P. Solan
AT&T Bell Laboratories Engineering Research Center, Princeton, NJ 08542‐0900, U.S.A.

The majority of industrial lasers used in manufacturing are Class IV lasers. Engineering and administrative control measures appropriate to that class of lasers must be enforced to ensure their safe use in production environments, i.e. they should be designed into Class 1 laser systems. In addition, several other design characteristics unique to industrial applications are normally incorporated into these Class I systems, such as interlocked enclosures, process monitoring by means of closed circuit television (CCTV) or microscope optics, and optical fibers as well as conventional, fixed optics for laser beam delivery. The accessible emission for an integrated production laser system must be below the Accessible Emission Limit for a Class I laser. This paper addresses solutions to safety design issues through examples of production industrial laser systems. The appropriate administrative control programs that complement the engineering control measures are also discussed.