My first attempts at laser engraving.

[Cosha]

Meh, nothing lost free dvd drives everywhere at work, im sure i have seen a few blu ray drives too!

Yeah, i would not spend silly money on one, or a few...

Ill just go see how many v's are coming out my unit

[Cosha]

I killed it with 12v 

It was almost heartbreaking yet some what fantastic too!

I been looking all over for a 150mw - 200mw laser, or laser diode and board in the UK, alas no luck!

Where did you get yours from? (Pm me if you dont want visable to the world) Hush Hush etc..

[dar303]

Hi,

I'll help you out if you want! I love lasers!
How much do you want to spend to get this going?
I would recommend a red 660nm diode from a dvd-burner and a Flexmod P3. should be relatively unkillable, have wide input voltage, good response ans safely produce about 300mW with good beam. Total cost about USD50-60 or so.

Diode:
Groupbuy on laserpointerforums, very cheap, 5x for 30USD! Good to have spares when you are starting out.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f55/maybe-another-gb-lpc-815-sleds-4-45-300mw-red-laser-diode-53347.html

ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/650nm-250mw-Burning-Red-Laser-Diode-USA-3-Day-Ship-/280599607076?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41550a3724
1x for 15 usd, not cheap but ok.

There are many more.


Driver:
http://hacylon.case.edu/ebay/laser_diode/FlexModP3.php
Good choice. There are simpler ones but this is guaranteed to work!


Case:
Aixiz, usd 5
If you cant re-use a burned out one you already have buy a cheap one here and remove the diode and lens.
http://cgi.ebay.com/650nm-5mW-laser-module-3-2V-12x30mm-kip-kay-project-/380297262381?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588b7bb52d


lens:
Aixiz glass lens. Good beam, cheap. usd 9
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aixiz-Glass-lens-12x30mm-laser-modules-and-case-USA-/280599619475?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41550a6793


How to mount the diode to the aixiz housing:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh149/mevalemadre10/fit_diode1.jpg


A basic how to in constructing a high power laser pointer, some good tips there if you are a beginner to lasers:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/build-guide-comprehensive-guide-your-first-build-53972.html


Just ask if you want to know anything more!

[Cosha]

Top quality, thanks for posting all of that info!

I got lots to read then at work today 

Im going to have a look at some broken blu ray diodes today, im sure we have some here at work!

I don't want to spend huge ammounts, i just want to cut some foam and maybe a bit of etching on some plywood

[Cosha]

Im still having a hard time with this...

i got 8 blue ray diodes here, and 11 red diodes...

I can get all the reds to light up, but wont go past the light into the lensing stage - im guessing the drive i have is not powerful enough...

The blue ray diodes i cant even get to light...

what i will say is my soldering skills have improved tenfold over the last 72 hours!


I have added a 'Skirt' to my laser glasses using tape to cover the sides, lasers do infact bounce off anything!

Im having so much fun though!

I really want the blue diodes to work, much more powerful, im hoping to get up to 500-800mw with the coreect glass and focus housing! Alas, it wont be here untill the new year though (Stupid Uk postal services)

If i was smart enough, i would mill a PCB and make my own driver, but im dyslexic and i get too confused with numbers!

Thank god Mach3 does the Gcode for me eh!

merry Xmass all!

[dar303]

Strange! Maybe I can help you out but I need some info about your setup; what driver are you using, link to schematic?
Bluerays need a higher voltage to lase, what voltage are you running the drivers on?
Laser diode drivers should be constant current so the voltage is not that important as long as it is over the lasing threshold of the particular diode.

A good driver is essential, if you don't want to buy the P3 I linked to earlier check out the die4drive that is made in uk. Not as powerful as the P3 but also a very good drive, I have several in my laser projectors.
I think it has a max current of 1A and the P3 has 4A max current so both can drive a 445 that need about an Amp to lase.
The P3 can be used with 5V for 445 but the die4drive has higher voltage drop and needs maybe 7V to reliably drive a 445 diode.

You write that you aim for 500-800mW of blue, is that a 445nm "casio" diode?
Ordinary bluerays are hard to get that much power out of, the 4x br diode can produce about 120-150mw and the 6x maybe double. I have not tried the 12x, too expensive and almost obsolete now with 445nm for 40 USD.

Sorry for my laser-babbling, hope it will be of some use!

[Cosha]

445nm "casio" diode -

Yes i can confirm this - the only troube is, at work we have a 'parts' bin, with PCs of all different faults, so in this case it could actualy be the unit that does not work! Its all trial and error here...

I dont have a multimeter that will drop down to the mA range to see what sorta output the drivers i have got...

I have ordered a p3 drive that you recomended, and a unit to house it all in with a colimating lens...

i have no drawings of the drives i have got either, but i have a funny feeling the driver i have not got has either a voltage cut off at around 5.8v or a thermal shut down!

Still i have loads of them to mess around with...

Dont worry about the laser babbling, im really enjoying the laser geek things :-)

If i cant get any blue lensing, it wont be the end of the world, a red diode with a burn will be enough for cutting black depron for my needs!

ill check out the die4drive though!!

Got a link where i can see your laser stuffs?

[Cosha]

Ps, im using a stable UBEC thats 5.1v clean