Budget beams – Laser experiments in a hacker lab
Science with lasers usually requires significant money. Instead, we use 3d-printing and the cheapest optics money can buy.
We want to do real and useful coherent optics experiments, but without the budget. So we are developing an open-hardware platform of 3d-printed parts and knowhow around accessible optical components.
If you ever wondered how much optomechanics you can replace with plastic parts: We are doing the experiment
In this talk we want to share our current work towards a system of 3d-printable components and cheap optical elements to make laser experiments more accessible.
We started this project from a need to measure nanometer-scale displacements at FAFO e. V., a hacklab in Munich. Our first goal is an interferometry setup, but we are already looking at other promising laser applications.
Most importantly, we don't just want to do this for ourselves. This design is meant to become open-hardware and we are looking for others who are interested.
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/