Yeah. Make sure the voltage of the batteries is enough for the driver to see how many AA you need. That driver is 4.2-8.4v so you will need at least 3 AA. Lithium ion batteries work the best but AA WILL keep the cost down.
Not sure if anybody has thrown it out there but if you are getting a bare diode and pressing it into a module yourself you will need a vice to press it in. They are a VERY tight fit. Now young grasshopper it's time you spread your wings. Use the google search bar at the bottom of the page. Try looking for "I want to build a laser"
Anything else is more money out of pocket, which isn't going to the laser itself, and I could just use a vice in school, so why spend? Just so I've got this down pat, with a soldering iron, the stated diode, the stated driver, and the 5.6 Aixiz module, I can get this to work with 3 AA batteries, right?
Diode, check. Driver, check. Module, check. Wiring, I have some laying around which I've used for other things, works great even with pretty high voltage, check. Batteries, check. Heatsink and host, I thought were decided to be unnecessary? Correct me if I'm wrong, please. What do I do about the lens? It doesn't come with the module or diode? And I decided that I'll go with the 300-400 mw red diode for $6, the price is too good. What else am I missing?
You still need a heatsink to run the diode longer than a few seconds. Some modules come with a lens,
some do not. The PMMA (or whatever it is) lens that comes with most modules will be fine for anything
below 500mW. A 3 element glass lens coated for red will let more light through (better for burning). A
host isn't absolutely necessary. Sometimes the heatsink is the host.