With the 10 W head installed, Russ maps the beam through focus and finds behaviour that differs from a single conventional laser beam. The two diode beams appear to converge and cross, creating a useful working point without behaving like one simple focused Gaussian beam.
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What You’ll Learn
- How the two diode contributions become visible through focus.
- Why the best working point is an intersection zone rather than a simple textbook focus.
- How exposure and position reveal the shape of the combined beam.

Mapping the Beam Through Focus
Russ uses controlled burns at different heights and exposure times to visualise how the combined beam changes. Two distinct contributions become one near the working point and then separate again.
Intersection Is Not the Same as a Single Focus
This distinction becomes important for cutting. A pair of beams that cross at the surface may behave very differently once the cut extends above or below that plane.
Why This Session Matters
It establishes the beam geometry needed to understand the following cutting tests.
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