The LaserMed AccuCure 3000 is a self-contained, air-cooled Argon Ion laser tube and power supply all in one compact unit. It was originally intended for the curing of dental adhesives (photopolymers). It was sold as a competitive alternative to traditional lamp-based curing systems. There is very little information available online about this unit. LaserMed either went out of business or was bought out many years ago. Also, modern dental curing is done by LED-based UV lighting or just with LEDs in general. The AccuCure 3000 was capable of producing up to 300mW of 488nm laser light. These systems originally came with a fiber laser-delivery system that would lead to a wand to easily direct light at the patient for the curing of photopolymers.
Laser light is produced by a LaserPhysics Reliant 300B Argon Ion tube. Unfortunately, we were not able to find much information about this tube online. As mentioned earlier, all of the power supply and control electronics are contained within the relatively small casing. Most Ion laser systems have a separate power supply and laser head connected by an umbilical cable. This unit is both remarkably high power and compact! It has a standard NEMA-15 AC 120V plug, and will easily trip a 15 amp breaker. To run this laser system at full power for extended periods of time, it should be connected to a 20 amp circuit.
Once powered on, the fan will spin at a low speed and the internal controller and LCD screen will start up. Turning the "laser power" key to the on position will start warming up and then strike the tube. Laser is always being produced when the unit is powered on and the key is on. However, the tube is run at standby current and the beam is blocked by an electronically-controlled shutter unless the foot switch is depressed. In this specific unit, the momentary foot switch connection was replaced by a toggle switch. Once the foot switch is activated, the tube is brought up to operating current, the fan speed is increased, and the beam shutter is opened.
Interestingly, the LaserMed AccuCure 3000 has a small LCD screen and set of buttons for adjusting some simple parameters and settings as well as the target output power. It can be adjusted in 50mW increments from 100mW to 250mW. An internal feedback circuit monitors the output power and adjusts the tube current accordingly to obtain the desired output power. 300mW is an impressive amount of power from an Argon Ion laser!
We didn't have a chance to do a full tear down of this unit, but are very grateful for Patrick (Zenodilodon) who allowed us to test and examine it. Below are some links to the little information we were able to find about this laser.