Solenoid Optical Shutter

thingiverse

The part to be 3D printed is "mounting bracket merged.stl". Most optical shutters cost in the $900+ range new. These "low price" shutters are typically Teflon coated which cannot withstand high laser powers. We have seen failures of such a shutter with ~800 mW of optical power @ 950 nm. Shutters that are not Teflon coated are even more expensive. This is a solenoid + plate solution that works for applications that do not require the shutter to close around the beam and don't need faster than 1 ms response times. This version fabricated uses an aluminum plate to block the beam. A steel plate could also be used and may tolerate even more power. The solenoid simply moves a plate in and out of the laser beam. The shutter opens with a greater than 3V digital signal into the BNC jack. The plastic screws to a 1/4-20 optical pedestal. The plate is angled down and beam can be directed into a razor blade stack. The additional parts needed to fabricate this low cost shutter are available from Amazon.com, Ace Hardware, and RadioShack. BOM: 3D printed Plastic Mount - 1x (mounting bracket merged.STL) Solenoid - 1x - Amazon.com Diode - 1x - RadioShack FET - 1x - RadioShack/DigiKey 10 kOhm resistor - RadioShack Prototype Board - 1x - RadioShack Rocker Switch - 1x - RadioShack BNC Connector - 1x - DC 4 mm Jack - 1x - RadioShack Aluminum Plate - 1x - Ace Hardware M3 x Socket Head Cap Screws - 2x - Ace Hardware 6-32 x Socheck H - 2x - Ace Hardware 5V DC Wall Adapter - Amazon.com Solenoid: DC Stroke 1N Pull Push Type Open Frame Solenoid, Electromagnet, 12V, 10 mm - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NWGT71W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Prototype Board: RadioShack Catalog #: 2760159. I cut this in half down the middle with a band saw. 6-32 screws are used to mount to mounting bracket merged.STL. https://www.radioshack.com/collections/breadboards-ic-sockets/products/general-purpose-ic-pc-board Diode is: 1N4003 - Purchased from RadioShack SPST Rocker Switch: RadioShack #2750694 - https://www.radioshack.com/products/spst-red-rocker-switch 4 mm DC Jack: RadioShack #2741535 - https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-size-k-coaxial-dc-power-jack-w-switch 5V DC Power Supply - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KU44HE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Power FET - IRLB8743PBF - this has low on resistance to keep power dissipation by the FET low. A higher on resistance RadioShack FET might be OK too. https://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?keywords=IRLB8743pbf