We covet laser cutters and this diy model with a 1 Watt IR diode may be well within our price range. Most commercially available laser cutters, and some homemade ones, work in the 20-100 Watt ranges, ...
The basis of a solid-state diode laser is, of course, the diode. Laser diodes can have different emission wavelength—most of them have between 405 nm to 808 nm. The diodes usually have TO3, TO5, TO9, ...