How are y’all going about doing commercial laser shows in the US in terms of the FDA and variances? If anyone has any experience willing to share it would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Chris!
I’m not in the US but it feels like this is a huge topic to answer in a single forum thread!
I know that when you buy a laser from X-laser that they handle all the variances and I believe offer training for first time buyers - perhaps @ARaugh can expand on that?
In the UK James Stewart at LVR is the go-to for laser safety training, and I believe that his US equivalent is Roberta McHatton.
If anyone else here has helpful pointers or direct experience with Roberta, let me know!
Seb
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For US folks.
I can vouch for Roberta, from lasersafetyservices.com who offers a laser safety officer course for $250. Well worth it for anyone whether you plan to get variance or not, and it’s a required certification to obtain variance.
I’ve not got my variance yet because the lasers I have are not FDA approved for public use, but I do intend on getting some legit ones, maybe from from Kvant, I was quoted $1878 for their RAW 5 DMX+ILDA laser to which I’ll add an etherdream.
If anyone has any other recommendations of FDA compliant laser manufacturers other then X Laser id love to know about them.
Many thanks
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Also remember that in the U.S., if you’re doing commercial laser public displays, you need variances for each of your display lasers (FDA Form 3632) AND a variance for the show itself (FDA Form 3147, FDA Form 3640, which is a bit more involved). If your show is outside, it gets more complicate because you need FAA approval if your beams may enter navigable airspace (which is a fancy way of saying “the air”).
Hey Oli,
We stock and service 20 varianced models in Austin, Texas under the Nova and Saber brands. We’ve been adding new models under different product reports ranging from entry-level up to high-end IP65 with CT scanners. All of them have the new Laser Safety Net (LSN) network-enabled safety system as standard so you can run your liberation control and the safety control on the same network cable.
Nova models are upgraded versions of the European Laserworld and TARM projectors with integrated LSN + internal network switch + variance for operation in the USA. We certify them in Austin and meter the output prior to shipment to ensure they meet or exceed the guaranteed ratings - we commonly see +10-15% over the stated guarantee.
We also stock RTI and LaserAnimation Sollinger models which have a variance if you are looking for very high end units with near-OPSL divergence spec.
We’ve had our manufacturing variance for 10+ years and I have had countless conversations and zooms with FDA about every topic imaginable at this point. I am happy to share my knowledge if you have any related questions.
Here’s our site: MotionLasers
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Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and experience - it’s really helpful to have input from people actively working in the field.
Just a gentle reminder that while it’s totally fine to mention your products or services when it’s relevant (like here), we do ask that posts stay focused on helping others and contributing to the discussion.
Also, for anyone reading along: please remember that posts like this don’t mean that I officially endorse any particular service or company. It’s always a good idea to do your own research and make sure everything feels right for your needs.
Appreciate the contribution - keep it coming!