Awesome Lasers

What you’re looking at here is a satisfying montage of machines designed to bend and bond tiny wires in place. The machines use ultrasonic and laser technology to reliably perform this exacting task. The part where they show the coin for scale puts things into perspective. Such machines are typically used to connect external components to silicon chips.

This amazing projection mapping installation by Todd Moyer Designs was inspired by the machinery of a fabric loom. Projections create the illusion of rolling spools of yarn and woven textiles, while colorful laser beams emulate thread. Illoominated II is on display at the Portland Winter Light Festival through 2.15.2025.

This multi-purpose flashlight from TrustFire offers four operating modes: a 1050-lumen spotlight beam, a 303-lumen warm-white floodlight, a red light for low-light observation, and a green laser pointer. It features a sturdy aluminum shell and a magnetic tail. Available in gold, blue, black, or dark grey.

Normally, cameras can’t see what’s behind an obstacle. That didn’t stop engineering Shane Wighton from creating a solution. The Stuff Made Here worked tirelessly to make a device and software that captures images with a spinning photo sensor and mirrors. Adjusting the position of its components makes its field of view completely adjustable.

The latest episode of xkcd’s What If starts with the titular question. However, they arrive quickly at the conclusion. So they ask a new question: What if we tried more power? And ask it again. And again. And again. We like to imagine a kid submitted the question and is now watching the video with the weight of 8 billion souls on their tiny back.

It’s amazing what you can do with a precise laser cutter. This video from Tranyond shows how a powerful fiber laser can cut such fine lines that it can turn a flat sheet of aluminum into a series of nested spheres. The trick is that each cut leaves a tiny bit of metal on its edges to keep them connected when it’s opened up.

This gadget from the makers of the NeoRuler Go is a laser level that grabs onto vertical surfaces using vacuum suction. It even holds on bumpy surfaces, and its bright laser beams make it easy to hang pictures, install cabinets, and do other things that need precise alignment. The combo kit includes a measuring unit that piggybacks onto the level.

Because maker Allen Pan knows no bounds when it comes to engineering stupid things, he thought it might be fun to mow his lawn with lasers. After experimenting with a spinning blue laser rig, he moved on to a grid-style design with multiple lasers. We imagine that it fries some bugs while it’s cutting the grass.

This powerful laser from ACCURL cuts through thick-walled metal tubing with ease. Its fiber laser head synchronizes with a second machine that turns the tube for smooth cuts all the way around. It can also cut holes in the sides of tubes and slice through I-beams. A smaller version cuts thinner tubes even faster.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, Handy Geng wanted a special good-luck outfit. After explaining the Chinese Zodiac, Geng put dozens of grommets into a sweater and filled each with a red LED light reminiscent of Rudolph’s nose. To complete the party effect, he scattered laser diodes between the bulbs. Turn captions on, and be sure to watch til the end.

Some people have tried to make unconventional umbrellas, but for the most part, a traditional design is the most efficient way to keep raindrops from falling on your head. In this clip from Randall Munroe and Henry Reich’s What If? series, they explore a hypothetical and impractical invention – a powerful laser that vaporizes raindrops out of the sky as they fall.

If you’re using a handheld power drill, it’s hard to know if you’re drilling holes straight. The BullseyeBore Core fixes that. This patent-pending gadget attaches to your drill chuck and uses a laser to project concentric circles. Keep the circles aligned, and you’ll always get a perfectly straight hole. Price shown is for a set of two that fit different drill bit lengths.

Inspired by the Backyard Scientist’s industrial laser experiments, YouTuber Styropyro got a cheap but powerful industrial fiber laser of his own. He started by testing the 2-kilowatt laser’s cleaning and burning capabilities; then, he attached a beam-spreading lens to help light things on fire from a long distance.

Screenprinting involves coating screens with chemicals, exposing the areas you want to print to light, then washing them to allow ink to flow through. xTool’s screenprinting system uses a laser to expose pre-coated screens for crisp screens in hours, not days. Price shown includes an xTool 5-watt laser. A $200 basic kit is available for other laser engravers.

Using lasers to clean metal can be very satisfying to watch. But with a powerful enough laser and a dirty enough surface, it can also be a feast for the ears. This short video shows how a fiber laser not only removes dirt from a rusty hunk of metal, but it sounds awesome doing it. Be sure to turn your volume up for maximum enjoyment.

With his backyard teeming with mosquitoes, Allen Pan found inspiration in a TED Talk by Nathan Myhrvold for a machine that zapped mosquitoes out of the air with lasers. While that never came to fruition, Pan and laser expert StyroPyro came up with something simpler – a sort of fly swatter that uses a pair of powerful laser beams instead of a mesh screen.