Safety First: We’re Upgrading Laser Protection from OD7+ to OD8
Over the past few weeks, we’ve received a number of thoughtful questions and discussions from our community about laser safety—particularly regarding protective eyewear, optical density, and the level of protection appropriate for a high-power Class 4 fiber laser system like the LaserCyber L1 Series.
We took those questions seriously and brought them back to our product and engineering teams for another internal review.
After further discussion and evaluation, we’ve made a new decision:
We are upgrading the laser protective equipment originally planned at OD7+ to OD8.
This change will apply to the protective equipment included with the L1 Series.
Before getting into the details, however, we want to clarify something important:
This upgrade does not mean that our original OD7+ solution was considered inadequate.
OD7+ was selected to provide protection for the specified laser wavelength range and intended operating conditions of the L1 Series. The decision to move to OD8 is about going one step further—adding another level of attenuation and giving users a greater safety margin wherever we reasonably can.
What Does OD8 Actually Mean?
OD stands for Optical Density, a logarithmic measurement commonly used to describe how strongly laser protective eyewear attenuates laser radiation at a specified wavelength.
The basic relationship is:
OD = –log₁₀(T)
where T is the fraction of incident laser energy transmitted through the protective filter.
This means every increase of 1 in OD represents another 10× reduction in transmitted laser energy at the specified wavelength.
So while moving from OD7 to OD8 may look like a change of only “1” on the specification sheet, mathematically it represents one additional order of magnitude of attenuation.
At the specified wavelength, the theoretical transmitted laser energy at OD8 is one-tenth of that at OD7.
That additional margin is the main reason we decided to make the change.
Important: This does not mean that OD8 is simply “10× safer” than OD7. Real-world laser safety depends on much more than the OD number alone, including wavelength coverage, filter characteristics, damage threshold, condition of the protective equipment, correct fit and use, and compliance with the applicable laser safety requirements.
Why Upgrade If OD7+ Was Already Our Planned Protection?
The L1 Series is a high-power Class 4 fiber laser platform, with the L1 Pro reaching up to 1200W of laser output power.
Our original approach was to select protective equipment appropriate for the laser system and its intended operating conditions.
But the conversations within our community raised a broader question for us:
If we still have an opportunity before mass production to increase the safety margin, why not take it?
Real workshops are not perfectly controlled theoretical environments.
Users may work with stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper and other materials. Different materials, surface finishes, geometries and working angles can produce different scattering and reflection conditions.
OD8 gives us another order of magnitude of attenuation at the specified wavelength compared with OD7.
For a high-power system like the L1 Series, we believe that additional margin is meaningful.
This is therefore not a correction of an unsafe design.
It is a decision to raise our own standard before the product reaches our backers.
Why Stop at OD8? What About OD9 or Even Higher?
Higher OD ratings do exist, but laser protective equipment is not simply a case of “the bigger the number, the better.”
The correct protective equipment needs to consider multiple factors together, including the laser wavelength, required optical density, visible light transmission, field of view, filter properties, usability and the specific laser system.
Our goal is therefore not to chase the largest possible OD number for marketing purposes.
Our goal is to select protection that is appropriate for the L1 Series while maintaining practical visibility and usability.
Following our latest review, we have chosen OD8 as the upgraded specification.
Will Backers Need to Pay More?
No.
Moving from OD7+ to OD8 increases the cost of the protective equipment on our side.
But this is a product decision made by LaserCyber, and we will cover the additional cost.
If your reward includes the corresponding laser protective equipment, you will receive the upgraded OD8 version according to the final configuration.
There is:
No additional payment. No pledge upgrade required. No additional action required from backers.
You backed the product based on one specification.
If we can responsibly improve that specification before production, we believe the additional cost should be ours—not yours.
Will This Affect Production or Shipping?
No. The OD8 upgrade has been incorporated into our existing production plan and will not change our current production or shipping schedule.
Our team has been coordinating the updated protective equipment with the relevant suppliers so that this improvement can be implemented without delaying the overall L1 Series production timeline.
OD8 Is an Additional Layer of Protection—Not Permission to Ignore Laser Safety
There is one point we want to make especially clear.
OD8 protective equipment does not make direct exposure to a Class 4 laser beam safe.
Users must never intentionally look into the laser beam or expose themselves to direct laser radiation.
Protective eyewear is only one part of a complete laser safety system. Proper operating procedures, appropriate protective equipment, controlled working conditions and compliance with the applicable safety requirements remain essential.
The purpose of this upgrade is simple:
When protection is already required, we want to provide a greater attenuation margin.
Sometimes One Community Question Changes a Product Decision
One of the reasons we enjoy building LaserCyber together with the Kickstarter community is that many of the questions we receive are not simply about specifications.
Sometimes, they make us go back and examine a decision we thought was already finished.
The recent discussions around laser protection did exactly that.
We reviewed the original OD7+ specification again, discussed what an additional level of optical density would mean for our users, evaluated the change internally, and ultimately decided to upgrade.
OD7+ → OD8
It may look like a small change on paper.
But at the specified wavelength, it represents another order of magnitude of laser attenuation.
And for us, if there is a practical opportunity to create additional safety margin before mass production, that is an improvement worth making.
The additional cost is on us. The additional protection is for you.
Thank you to everyone in the LaserCyber community who continues to ask detailed—and sometimes difficult—questions.
They help us build a better product.
— The LaserCyber Team