Hello from Ames, IA

I'm not sure what I'll use to press the driver/brass ring into the pill yet. The best tool I have at my disposal right now is something like this.

It's probably not ideal by any means, but might do the job. I might just wait until I go home for thanksgiving break and have all of my dad's clamps and bench vice at my disposal. I need to wait until I get my saftey goggles anyway before firing up the laser anyway.

Which reminds me. I ordered these today along with some laser warning labels.
http://www.survivallaserusa.com/Eag...5_Laser_Safety_Goggles/p1667092_11309188.aspx

My 445nm M140 Diode In Copper Module With Leads & Three Element Glass Lens arrived today. I wasn't expecting to be as heavy as it was. Lots of copper I suppose. I should have all the parts to build the laser now.

Also what's this thing about static electricity damaging diodes and how do I prevent that?

Yes, it is true that ESD will damage the diode. There are various devices that can be bought to reduce the risk of ESD, but good rule of thumb is to never touch the bare wire attached to the diode with your bare hands. ESD precautions are highly recommended, and I'm sure someone will have a link to some wrist straps, work mats and ECT. Also, PLEASE REMEMBER TO SHORT THE CAP PRIOR TO SOLDERING YOUR DRIVER TO YOUR DIODE! Simply touching the driver's + and - leads together a few times will surely solve this for you. I hope this helps, and congratulations on the new laser build!

I'll make sure to short the caps, but why is this important? What does it do?

When the driver was checked prior to shipping the residual power lingers in the capacitor and when you attach the driver to the diode the capacitor discharges and blows the diode. It sends a sudden "jolt" to the diode.

Shorting the leads on the diode will protect it from ESD, but when you solder it make sure you ground yourself, I did this by touching the back of my pc case.

You could try that tool, just make sure you put something like a bit of cardboard over the back of the driver so you don't scratch up the batt connection.

3Pig said:

Shorting the leads on the diode will protect it from ESD, but when you solder it make sure you ground yourself, I did this by touching the back of my pc case.

You could try that tool, just make sure you put something like a bit of cardboard over the back of the driver so you don't scratch up the batt connection.

Click to expand...

I've actually got one of these. This might be a really noob question, but is this grounded if it has a ground plug?

Digital Soldering Station : Soldering tools & supplies | RadioShack.com

I got my ESD ground strap and completed the build the same day. It turns out that my soldering station had a grounding strap port. I've tested the laser out and it works wonderfully. Thanks for the help guys.

How long of a duty cycle can I expect out of my laser? I'm sure there are plenty of people who have built something similar to mine. As of now I haven't run my laser for more than 30 seconds or so at a time. I'm not quite familar with what to expect.

I think I've now officially been bitten by the laser building bug. I know i'll be building a much lower power green laser here soon. I do want this next build to have a key switch and hopefully a forward clicky button on the side with some sort of armed/ battery indicator. (I think the current laser that I have is a little lacking on safety features)