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FrozenGate by Avery

685nm Pen Build - The Inspiraton

Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
2,640
Points
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On Instructables

There are a few firsts in this build, so I
decided to name it after the Inspiraton,
the fundamental particle of inspiration,
hoping that it will inspire others to do
some similar builds. :p (Yeah, I know it.)

4ed5BLJ.jpg


The diode selected for the build was the
HLD685035K5J. (See this thread for more
info.)


The driver used is a Super Miniar™ prototype
set to 60mA.


The switch is one of my silicone soft feel
tactile button boards.


Lens is a standard AixiZ style acrylic for
now, but can be changed at any time

The diode was already pressed into the
module from the previous testing, and also
for its own protection. It got scared and
jumped out when it heard what I was about
to do next.

wWp8iNu.jpg


Since this diode does not have a case pin,
some method must be devised to attach a
wire to the host body (positive in this
case). This type of module is chrome
plated. (A copper module is total overkill
for low power builds like this (Diode never
gets warm), but buy a whole bunch from DTR
(and lots of other stuff, too!) anyway
since you will need them for other
builds.) If you tried to solder to it
as-is, you would discover just how well
solder will stick to chrome, or rather how
it does not. So 120 and 220 grit sandpaper
is used to expose a little bare brass. It
then gets washed thoroughly inside and out
with soap and water and then rinsed with
isopropanol to remove all traces of grit
and oils residue.

IXfKt0B.jpg


Some of Flaminpyro's excellent flux is then
applied and the wire is soldered on.

Be careful not to get any solder in the
threads if you plan to thread the back on
again. This takes a lot of patience and
iron "seat time" to do it right. If you
want to keep all your hair and live with
all of your loved ones under the same roof,
just send it to me. I have already lost
most of mine and work very cheap. :)

UgSh68v.jpg


Press the diode into the module with a
genuine Flaminpyro diode press set. Bend
the leads in an attractive fashion and
solder them to the driver board.

PHygExn.jpg


The battery spring was salvaged from
something, probably an old TV remote or an
LED pointer. Oh, and the silicone wire is
from Flaminpyro.

The switch board should be mounted to a
support frame. I wanted to use Delrin, but
was too impatient to wait for a shipment
since our local supplier wants 6x the price
sane people charge. So in the absence of
real parts, 1/2" (12mm) wood dowel rod can
be substituted.

There was a picture, at least I thought
there was, but it got deleted, so hopefully
this description is adequate.

Take the 1/2" dowel and a razor knife or
Dremel® and cut a piece about the length
needed to support the entire switch board
as perfectly centered in the hole as
possible. Cut a shelf into the rod where
the switch board will sit. Leave a little
extra room for the epoxy and button. Next
cut a slot or hole for the wire to pass
through into the module. Polythureane seal
the frame to prevent moisture and
expansion. The last step is to 5 minute
epoxy the switch board onto the frame and
the frame to the back of the module.

ko4o9M9.jpg


This host came to me missing its
ultra-precious button. It is an unusual
size. So I cast one out of Jim Beam® Weld
in a paraffin wax mold of the end of a
sharpie clicker and a scrap piece of cymbal
for the base.

The module is held in by friction only.
Take a piece of aluminum foil and keep
adding folds one at a time until you have a
shim with a tightness to your liking.

Another method is to use thicker shim stock
and sand it down until it reaches the desired
thickness.

s8YcVBt.jpg


The results are incredible. The dot is
difficult to capture on camera, as most
are, but trust me, it is the best I have
ever seen in a diode laser by far! I don't
know if this is a freak diode or what, but
everyone NEEDS to get one of these for the
WL at least, if nothing else. There are no
wings, no junk, nothing, only a perfect
round dot. It seriously looks like a HeNe,
except @ 685nm, maybe even through a beam
expander (don't know for sure, don't have a
b/exp.) because of the divergence. I
haven't measured it yet, but it is better
than any of my 532nm handhelds @ 300m, and
that is with the "junky" acrylic lens! My
660nm eBay pen went right into the drawer! :eek:
 
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TLS, that's a sweet pen laser you've got there, lots of innovative assembly, good job.
I like the way you solved the missing button problem! :cool:

+rep :gj:
 
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Nice! I have one jayrob pen left, I think I oughta put a 685 in it. Thanks for sharing!
 
Awesome build! I doubt that beam/dot pic does any justice. Ive been wanting a super dark red diode. 660nm is the highest nm I have.
The link didn't work either... sad panda! It could be my computer though... it IS a macbook!!
 
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:thanks: for the love and all the reps. The
link to the diode thread is fixed.

I tried to measure the divergence, but 25'
is not enough distance. It will have to be
done outside when the weather is a bit more
cooperative. :umbrella:
 
How does the color appear? It seems everyone perceives it differently, some deep ruby and some more of a pinkish-dark red. I know to me, 650/660 seems almost pinkish, so I am curious how these look.
 
To me it's a very deep pinkish red. It's
sort of a like a partial mix of a 788nm
CD-RW diode, if you have seen that, and
650nm. The perceived brightness is only
slightly less than 660nm. 35mW of 685
looks about the same as 5 - 10mW of 660nm,
at least to my eyes. I might try doing a
side-by-side comparison if that helps. It
doesn't look anything like the orangish
color the camera is picking up. The sensor
is slightly confused. :beer:
 
Nice write up Lightning Stalker.

I enjoy doing a comparison between 685nm @ 30mW, 660nm @ 15mW and 635nm @ 15mW, because they all are of similar brightness (although 635nm is a little brighter).
To me 685nm looks like a deeper red than 660nm. And 635nm almost appears orange-ish after looking at 685nm.
I tried to get a picture of the three wavelengths together but my camera didn't get the colors right, it gave the 685nm an IR looking pink color. :(.
 
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Thanks for the link fix! These diodes are super cheap! Im gonna order like five. I have a few drivers that go that low of mA!
Edit: just bought there last five! Woops. Muhahha
 
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They were some aixis drivers i found on ebay! Current is rated at 50-300ma i do believe. Ill hafta look through my parts tackle box to verify
 
The AixiZ adjustable drivers w/TTL? I had
a problem with spikes on those below about
200mA. They blew a PHR and GGW that were
near and dear to me. That is one reason
why I did research into a new driver. They
had been slightly abused, though, so
results may vary, but be very careful.
Maybe test them out on some CD and DVD
player diodes first.

edit: Almost forgot
These are apparently available on MakePolo
with a minimum qty of 10pcs. Maybe someone
wants to do a group. Bye
 
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Yep thats the ones. Ive used them in various ranges with nothing but success! But im sure your right about the spikes. I dont have an ossiliscope to check startup spikes! My old shop (automotive) had a badass 4 channel lab scope i could maybe barrow.
At 6$ a diode i will probably give it a shot and see what happens! Good lookin out per usual though. Thanks!
 
Hey nice pen, great work! sorry if I am a bit confused, I see you did mention this in the thread but what did you do to actually hold the button in place? Did u cast a button, build a flange, and slide it in first?
 
Hey nice pen, great work! sorry if I am a bit confused, I see you did mention this in the thread but what did you do to actually hold the button in place? Did u cast a button, build a flange,

:thanks:
Yep. Here is a simplified picture of the
setup. Please excuse the crudity of this
model. I didn't have time to build it to
scale or paint it.

10402-typical-side-button-arrangement.gif


The flange on the bottom of the button is a
scrap piece of cymbal I puched out. I used
cymbal because I couldn't find a good piece
of thin stainless steel and bronze has
fairly good corrosion resistance. I just
stuck it in place while the JB Weld was
still wet. I roughed it up with sandpaper
and cleaned it with isopropanol to make
sure there were no oils residue.

Use stainless, though if you can find it in
a thin enough piece. It will adhere to
epoxies much better. I think it also has
slightly higher corrosion resistance.

and slide it in first?

Right again
The button has to be slid in first and held
upside down to let grativy hold it in
place. Then slide the module and switch in
place.
 
Very cool build! Would rep if I could. I like those 685nm laser diodes...though I've popped a couple of them over silly mistakes.
 





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