Should CW lasers be banned for non professional use ?

We have the impression laser cleaning and welding devices  are becomming a  Chinese mass export product towards the EU and USA.

Due to the visual video attraction and the magic laser technology, the Chinese producer are mass producing a specific laser type called the CW laser or continious wave laser. Seen the fact lasers in general are pure high tech very expensive products it is extreme attractive for them to produce this laser type at a fraction off the normal price, let be clear at dumping prices to flood the market. Like the EV market they use a cheap iron- phosfate based battery of a lower quality to conquer the Western markets by mass production. In the case of out laser topic we see some public danger.

By flooding Youtube channels with cheap devices they  create a new home consumer market .Websites like Shein, Temu and Alibaba are selling these  devices  as 3 in 1 package, being a laser welding -, cutting- and cleaning laser.T he Chinees devices are stamped with CE stickkers and should be at the same safety level as our Western counter parts. Opening these devices is a CE-culture-shock. The electric cabling is poor, no safety relais inside. The emergency button is in the same 220 volt circuit as the main switch.The manual, if present, is the same for welding, cleaning or cutting. So yes there is a potential big danger for non professional users.  Using the low cost CW infrared laser source at 2-3 KW output power is like handing over a machine gun / flame thrower to the every day consumer. The potential risk for eye and skin injuries are lethal present.

So yes this is dangerous and should be limited to professional use, who will directely face the CE problem, but public use should be banned. 

Our aim at P-laser is to provide EU certified laser cleaning equipment to create a sustainable industrial process. We are strong against mass flooding public markets with cheap products which cannot be recycled and are piling up in electronic scrap yards.