So I've noticed that my lens is getting rather scratched up and may be causing some of the issues that I'm still dealing with from the move and the upgrade to 60 watts. At this point I don't think I need to upgrade to large optics and I'm not sure if I want to go ahead and do the mirrors as well. I've switched to an oil based compressor and have had several issues with small drops of oil making it onto the lens. I have a filter in place that traps water fine but the oil seems to be making its way into the system. Do I need another kind of filter to trap the oil? I want to fix that before I get the new optics.
I'm going to measure the lens again but I think it's 18mm and its 2" focal length if I remember correctly. I'd check but Hurricane is gone so I'd have to get into my original documents to see what it was installed with. I know focal length has something to do with kerf sizes but not sure about the coatings and the types. Lightobject lists several 18mm ZnSe lasers of different qualities and a few GaAs. My beam combiner is currently not installed so not really worried about that. It's another major project to get it to work. The new tube has the lenses so far out of original specs that I can't get the red laser beam to hit it correctly without making a new bracket.
Does a higher power rating on the lens mean it will work better at 60W or does the quality only matter when the wattage gets higher?
Thanks!