failures and expectations for laser combiners

[William Lieberson]

Hi Everyone:

Our lab is considering the purchase of a new confocal microscope with a laser
combiner.  This will be our first confocal microscope so I’m trying to get an
idea of what to expect before we make the investment.

We’re a small company with limited budget.  Currently we’ve allocated enough
for the initial purchase but almost nothing for maintenance.  Although I’m sure
I can get some relevant info from the microscope manufacturer I realize that
the prospect of selling us a service contract might influence the story.  Your
perspective based on a user’s experience is what I’m looking for.

I’ve heard that the lasers have limited lifetime and are quite expensive to
replace after the warranty expires.   How long do the lasers typically last?  
What kind of advance notice will we see before they die?  What kind of
adjustments do they need along the way?  How often?

The projects that we are doing are typically on critical timelines.  I may be
able to get funding for a service contract if I can make solid arguments that
we will minimize down time.  When a laser fails, how long is the instrument out
of commission?  Will we have to ship the whole laser combiner back to the
manufacturer for laser replacement?

We have an engineer here who seems to be able to fix almost anything, but I
don’t want to make unrealistic assumptions about what’s possible.  Do users
typically replace lasers?  Are there any special tools required?  Special
training?  

I really appreciate whatever guidance you can offer.  If you’d like to take this
conversation off-line you can send email directly to me.

Thanks,

Bill

William Lieberson, Lab Manager
[hidden email]

[Craig Brideau]

If you have a nuts and bolts kind of guy on hand, it's not too
difficult to replace and align a laser yourself.
That said, the failure rate of lasers is going to depend on the number
you have.  The more lasers you are using the more likely it is that
one will fail.
Also, what wavelengths do you need?  Some lasers at some wavelengths
are more reliable than others.  For instance, violet He:Cd are
notorious for being temperamental, as are argon:krypton lasers.

Craig


On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 12:49 PM, William Lieberson
<[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi Everyone:
>
> Our lab is considering the purchase of a new confocal microscope with a laser
> combiner.  This will be our first confocal microscope so I’m trying to get an
> idea of what to expect before we make the investment.
>
> We’re a small company with limited budget.  Currently we’ve allocated enough
> for the initial purchase but almost nothing for maintenance.  Although I’m sure
> I can get some relevant info from the microscope manufacturer I realize that
> the prospect of selling us a service contract might influence the story.  Your
> perspective based on a user’s experience is what I’m looking for.
>
> I’ve heard that the lasers have limited lifetime and are quite expensive to
> replace after the warranty expires.   How long do the lasers typically last?
> What kind of advance notice will we see before they die?  What kind of
> adjustments do they need along the way?  How often?
>
> The projects that we are doing are typically on critical timelines.  I may be
> able to get funding for a service contract if I can make solid arguments that
> we will minimize down time.  When a laser fails, how long is the instrument out
> of commission?  Will we have to ship the whole laser combiner back to the
> manufacturer for laser replacement?
>
> We have an engineer here who seems to be able to fix almost anything, but I
> don’t want to make unrealistic assumptions about what’s possible.  Do users
> typically replace lasers?  Are there any special tools required?  Special
> training?
>
> I really appreciate whatever guidance you can offer.  If you’d like to take this
> conversation off-line you can send email directly to me.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bill
>
> William Lieberson, Lab Manager
> [hidden email]
>

[Stephen Cody-2]

G'day Craig,

if your system comes with all solid state lasers, you may not have to
worry about them much at all. They tend to be far more reliable. I
would stay away from krypton/argon lasers, they were a bit of a joke
in terms of reliability. Argon lasers are generally reliable. As are
HeNe lasers.

Cheers
Steve

On Saturday, July 31, 2010, Craig Brideau <[hidden email]> wrote:

> If you have a nuts and bolts kind of guy on hand, it's not too
> difficult to replace and align a laser yourself.
> That said, the failure rate of lasers is going to depend on the number
> you have.  The more lasers you are using the more likely it is that
> one will fail.
> Also, what wavelengths do you need?  Some lasers at some wavelengths
> are more reliable than others.  For instance, violet He:Cd are
> notorious for being temperamental, as are argon:krypton lasers.
>
> Craig
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 12:49 PM, William Lieberson
> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> Hi Everyone:
>>
>> Our lab is considering the purchase of a new confocal microscope with a laser
>> combiner.  This will be our first confocal microscope so I’m trying to get an
>> idea of what to expect before we make the investment.
>>
>> We’re a small company with limited budget.  Currently we’ve allocated enough
>> for the initial purchase but almost nothing for maintenance.  Although I’m sure
>> I can get some relevant info from the microscope manufacturer I realize that
>> the prospect of selling us a service contract might influence the story.  Your
>> perspective based on a user’s experience is what I’m looking for.
>>
>> I’ve heard that the lasers have limited lifetime and are quite expensive to
>> replace after the warranty expires.   How long do the lasers typically last?
>> What kind of advance notice will we see before they die?  What kind of
>> adjustments do they need along the way?  How often?
>>
>> The projects that we are doing are typically on critical timelines.  I may be
>> able to get funding for a service contract if I can make solid arguments that
>> we will minimize down time.  When a laser fails, how long is the instrument out
>> of commission?  Will we have to ship the whole laser combiner back to the
>> manufacturer for laser replacement?
>>
>> We have an engineer here who seems to be able to fix almost anything, but I
>> don’t want to make unrealistic assumptions about what’s possible.  Do users
>> typically replace lasers?  Are there any special tools required?  Special
>> training?
>>
>> I really appreciate whatever guidance you can offer.  If you’d like to take this
>> conversation off-line you can send email directly to me.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Bill
>>
>> William Lieberson, Lab Manager
>> [hidden email]
>>
>

--
Stephen H. Cody

[Craig Brideau]

I agree.  Our various argon:ion and He:Ne gas lasers have been running
perfectly well for years.  We actually had a 638nm direct diode laser
go on us just after the warranty expired.  It was a Melles Griot.
Nikon doesn't even use their lasers anymore, which I took as a bad
sign.  Our solid state 561 laser (another Melles Griot product).
is also temperamental, and we have to unplug it and plug it back in
sometimes to get it to start.  To replace the 638 laser I opted for a
company called Pavilion Integration down in California.  I've never
used their lasers before but the specs were good and the price was
reasonable without being suspiciously cheap.  It will arrive next week
so I will let you know how it works out...

Craig



On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 5:05 PM, Stephen Cody <[hidden email]> wrote:

> G'day Craig,
>
> if your system comes with all solid state lasers, you may not have to
> worry about them much at all. They tend to be far more reliable. I
> would stay away from krypton/argon lasers, they were a bit of a joke
> in terms of reliability. Argon lasers are generally reliable. As are
> HeNe lasers.
>
> Cheers
> Steve
>
> On Saturday, July 31, 2010, Craig Brideau <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> If you have a nuts and bolts kind of guy on hand, it's not too
>> difficult to replace and align a laser yourself.
>> That said, the failure rate of lasers is going to depend on the number
>> you have.  The more lasers you are using the more likely it is that
>> one will fail.
>> Also, what wavelengths do you need?  Some lasers at some wavelengths
>> are more reliable than others.  For instance, violet He:Cd are
>> notorious for being temperamental, as are argon:krypton lasers.
>>
>> Craig
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 12:49 PM, William Lieberson
>> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>> Hi Everyone:
>>>
>>> Our lab is considering the purchase of a new confocal microscope with a laser
>>> combiner.  This will be our first confocal microscope so I’m trying to get an
>>> idea of what to expect before we make the investment.
>>>
>>> We’re a small company with limited budget.  Currently we’ve allocated enough
>>> for the initial purchase but almost nothing for maintenance.  Although I’m sure
>>> I can get some relevant info from the microscope manufacturer I realize that
>>> the prospect of selling us a service contract might influence the story.  Your
>>> perspective based on a user’s experience is what I’m looking for.
>>>
>>> I’ve heard that the lasers have limited lifetime and are quite expensive to
>>> replace after the warranty expires.   How long do the lasers typically last?
>>> What kind of advance notice will we see before they die?  What kind of
>>> adjustments do they need along the way?  How often?
>>>
>>> The projects that we are doing are typically on critical timelines.  I may be
>>> able to get funding for a service contract if I can make solid arguments that
>>> we will minimize down time.  When a laser fails, how long is the instrument out
>>> of commission?  Will we have to ship the whole laser combiner back to the
>>> manufacturer for laser replacement?
>>>
>>> We have an engineer here who seems to be able to fix almost anything, but I
>>> don’t want to make unrealistic assumptions about what’s possible.  Do users
>>> typically replace lasers?  Are there any special tools required?  Special
>>> training?
>>>
>>> I really appreciate whatever guidance you can offer.  If you’d like to take this
>>> conversation off-line you can send email directly to me.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Bill
>>>
>>> William Lieberson, Lab Manager
>>> [hidden email]
>>>
>>
>
> --
> Stephen H. Cody
>

[Rietdorf, Jens]

Dear Bill,

(all of the following are rough numbers and statements:) with a standard
all solid state laser system you will be save for about 5kHours or
3years, and running the system in a clean and well conditioned
environment, you do not expect to adjust the system more often than once
a year (if at all). The current cost to replace one laser are 20k$,
expected to cost less in 3 years from now. Strong fluctuations in
intensity are a sign of the laser dying, you would  typically realize
shortly  -two weeks or some hours- before the end.  A skilled engineer
will be able to replace a laser, though it is not typically done by a
user. You would need a suitable power-meter to efficiently couple the
laser. You can ask the manufacturer to guarantee a max down time.  You
can also try to negotiate an extended warranty from the manufacturer to
find out how far he trusts his product ;-)
You may want to check if you rather want to invest in a nearby
microscopy service facility, running several systems, so you would be
sure at any time to have access to a working system.

My best wishes, jens

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
On Behalf Of William Lieberson
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 20:50 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: failures and expectations for laser combiners

Hi Everyone:

Our lab is considering the purchase of a new confocal microscope with a
laser
combiner.  This will be our first confocal microscope so I'm trying to
get an
idea of what to expect before we make the investment.

We're a small company with limited budget.  Currently we've allocated
enough
for the initial purchase but almost nothing for maintenance.  Although
I'm sure
I can get some relevant info from the microscope manufacturer I realize
that
the prospect of selling us a service contract might influence the story.
Your
perspective based on a user's experience is what I'm looking for.

I've heard that the lasers have limited lifetime and are quite expensive
to
replace after the warranty expires.   How long do the lasers typically
last?  
What kind of advance notice will we see before they die?  What kind of
adjustments do they need along the way?  How often?

The projects that we are doing are typically on critical timelines.  I
may be
able to get funding for a service contract if I can make solid arguments
that
we will minimize down time.  When a laser fails, how long is the
instrument out
of commission?  Will we have to ship the whole laser combiner back to
the
manufacturer for laser replacement?

We have an engineer here who seems to be able to fix almost anything,
but I
don't want to make unrealistic assumptions about what's possible.  Do
users
typically replace lasers?  Are there any special tools required?
Special
training?  

I really appreciate whatever guidance you can offer.  If you'd like to
take this
conversation off-line you can send email directly to me.

Thanks,

Bill

William Lieberson, Lab Manager
[hidden email]