Mirrors

[Axeman]

Hey guys...I have been mulling over the mirrors that I use and if upgrading would make a big difference. Since we are making a small business based on our machine, I am looking how to get small improvements in performance...and I wonder about the mirror quality.

We have the gold coated ones, but I wondered how big a difference it would be to trade up to the Si mirrors? Has anyone compared them? I searched the forum and couldn't find any definitive answers on that.

I'm also considering changing out the lens as well if that would help improve the quality level. Right now I just have a generic ZnSe lens...but is there a difference worth changing out to the "high quality" version?

On that note, does anyone have recommendations on cleaning their mirrors? I've been using laser lens rice paper along with q-tips in 99% iso but I wanted to be sure there is a safer way to do this.

[rushmore1305]

Out of personal experience, Top notch Mirrors are a must, first of all much better performance but it also means you are not losing as much power as with cheap mirrors which means you turn your laser power output down, which means you turn the longevity of the tube up, buy the best mirrors you can afford and you will not regret