On: CNC lasers for cutting and engraving

[cyberax]

Yep, IR lasers are much safer. You also have a bit of safety net because the eye won't try to automatically focus on a beam, resulting in a nice hole in your fovea.

That being said, it's also great to see the beam's location, so one possible solution is to mix in low-power red/green laser into your cutting beam. It can be as simple as gluing a strand from a fiber optic cable next to the main cutting head.

[nullc → cyberax]

Careful with "IR" there. That's true for CO2 lasers, but ~1064nm is IR focuses fine but is quite invisible so it results in no blink or avert reflex.