Standards Development

Scope

This proposed International Standard gives requirements for the arrangement, installation and use of guided beam delivery systems. Laser beams can be propagated through air, gas or vacuum, whether enclosed or not (free space), and through fibre optic cables in laser processing applications. This draft International Standard is applicable to the protective measures implemented to protect personnel against laser radiation hazards for guided beam delivery systems after the output coupler and/or the protective housing of the laser product (the requirements of which are specified in IEC 60825-1). This draft International Standard specifies methods for assessing the risks (including reasonably foreseeable use, abuse and misuse) and provides examples of control measures to meet the normative requirements of IEC 60825-1 and this document. This draft International Standard is not applicable to: – Embedded beam delivery components and systems inside the protective housing of the laser radiation generator;

– communications applications;

– electrical power distribution applications.

Purpose

Whilst considering draft IEC 60825-4 within IEC TC 76 WG7, there was a consensus view that the whole content of draft IEC 60825-4, Annex G: – Guided Beam Delivery Systems should become a new stand-alone standard within the 60825 family. The rationale for this is that the content of Annex G does not really relate to Laser Guards (so there is argument that supports it should not be part of 60825 Part 4), neither does it fit very well within the scope of ISO/IEC 11553-1 for laser processing machines. There also seems to be growing need to give guidance and to define some normative requirements for beam delivery systems for high power laser systems that are not necessarily laser processing machines or devices. By the creation of a stand- alone standard this would give the opportunity to cover a wider range of applications and a vehicle for others to expand the standard in the future. When this standard is ready for publication then Annex G of 60825-4 will be deleted.

After a first NP – 76/590 NP – and its comments on CD 76/636 it has been decided to improve the content of the document in a new NP by inserting in the best location in the document a section on the new pro- active control approaches to laser safety that should be captured in this Part 18.