First build

Hello all,

I recently bought a (terrible, but cheap) 532nm laser pointer from eBay, when I received it, I was smitten, I've been walking around at work willing there to be fog... however it's very cheap, not reliable and I want more... So, I've decided to build my own "burning" laser... I'm competent in electronics and soldering, as well as theory, so after a little research I came up with the following, could someone please take a look and let me know if I've chosen wrong components.

• 650nm 5mW High Power Burning Laser Diode TO-18 5.6mm - eBay Link
• 12x30mm Aixiz laser module housing blank for 5.6mm LD - eBay Link

I'm planning on building my own driver on matrix board, and powering it with 4xAAA batteries, I might get fruity and include a battery recharge circuit, we'll see. Here is the driver I think I should use: LM317 constant current driver - Link

I'm going to use a potentiometer with an adjustable knob (rather than a trimmer), and a simple push on, push off switch, I'm then going to mount the lot into an ABS Plastic box, it won't look amazing, but I'm after functionality, and an awesome beam.

Does anyone see any problems with the above (Yes, I'll be purchasing the correct safety glasses for work on this wavelength of laser)?

So... questions:

• Will this setup be adequate to produce a burning laser?
• Estimated burning range?
• Will this setup produce a bright beam which would be more or less clearly visible for a large distance? (And when there IS fog, look mind bogglingly amazing, If this project works out fine, I'd like to get into wide beam lasers.. anyway that's another thread)
• Can I focus the lens and housing unit I've chosen, and how hard is that?
• Can an unfocused laser damage my eyes?
• Initially I wanted to do this with a 532nm green laser, however I can't find one without being attached to a full "Module" with driver unit, why is that?
• Why is eBay full of 808nm lasers without drivers for peanuts?

tl;dr: I want to make a high powered burning laser (green if possible, red if it's cheaper), I'll buy one if I have to, but on the surface, this looks like a fairly easy project.. HELP!

P.S: Don't kill the newbie!

That diode is not really "high power" 5mW is not much more then a little dot of red , forget burning
300-400mW brand new red laser diode/extracted from LPC-826 [OL-LPC-826] - $9.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Howdy and Welcome to the the Forum :wave:
Have fun and be Safe

Good choice weeba2kv.. I would recommend changing the diode, you will be fine with a DDL cuz its your first time and as you say you know some soldering so your good to go..
Instead of 4x1.5v batteries go for 2x 18650's Lithium or Cr123a's
this will give you less frequent energy crisis lol

-burning range critically depends on how good your collimation lens are, so if you use AR coated lens or Aixiz Glass lens you will get double the burning range to about 2.5~3meters considering your diode running at 500ma / 350mW+
I would suggest the G-1 lens though if you're looking for burning range and maximum % output efficiency..
-red definitely cheaper than 532
- greens are 300% brighter maybe more , reds will not be visible in daylight.. and yes you cannot find any green diodes because there are none 532 uses a 1064nm IR diode and complicated optics to divide the IR wavelength into two 532nm's.

weeba2kv said:

That diode is not really "high power" 5mW is not much more then a little dot of red , forget burning
300-400mW brand new red laser diode/extracted from LPC-826 [OL-LPC-826] - $9.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Click to expand...

This is the kind of advice I need, thank you... I'll use that diode instead.

More Questions:

• The rest of my proposed setup will work fine with that?
• Which lens would be best/cost effective with that (Link?)

sinner said:

Instead of 4x1.5v batteries go for 2x 18650's Lithium or Cr123a's this will give you less frequent energy crisis lol

Click to expand...

I can walk into my local supermarket and buy AA/AAA's and I can recharge them easily too, they are not ideal I guess, but they are most definitely easier to use... this is a newbie first build remember I'll use standard batteries for the initial build and if all goes well, I'll change them out for the batteries you suggested.

sinner said:

greens are 300% brighter maybe more , reds will not be visible in daylight.. and yes you cannot find any green diodes because there are none 532 uses a 1064nm IR diode and complicated optics to divide the IR wavelength into two 532nm's.

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I won't expect to see it in daylight, but in darkness?

• Will I be able to see the beam?
• Obtain quite a large distance?

You really should use 3.7V Li-Ion batteries. LM317 needs at least two of them.
4 AA/AAA batteries in series hasn't enough voltage and/or the current for the build.

I want to make a high powered burning laser (green if possible, red if it's cheaper), I'll buy one if I have to, but on the surface, this looks like a fairly easy project.. HELP!

Click to expand...

if you really are after high-power burning use the 445nm diode at 1-1.5A current.

Blord said:

You really should use 3.7V Li-Ion batteries. LM317 needs at least two of them.
4 AA/AAA batteries in series hasn't enough voltage and/or the current for the build.

Click to expand...

Ok, I'll buy a specialist Lion rechargeable battery for it., do you have any suggestions?

Blord said:

if you really are after high-power burning use the 445nm diode at 1-1.5A current.

Click to expand...

For first build I'm trying to balance ease of assembly, and importantly... cost effectiveness... above is linked a decent diode for under $10.

I don't want to get ahead of myself just need to know the answers to the questions in my last post.

• Which Lion battery do you suggest (Link?)
• The rest of my proposed setup will work fine with that? (Diode suggested by weeba2kv, 3.7v Lion battery... Lens?)
• Which lens would be best/cost effective with that (The G1 as suggested?) (Link?)
• Will I be able to see the beam (In darkness)?
• Obtain quite a large distance?

MaxMouseDLL said:

• Which Lion battery do you suggest (Link?)
• The rest of my proposed setup will work fine with that? (Diode suggested by weeba2kv, 3.7v Lion battery... Lens?)
• Which lens would be best/cost effective with that (Link?)
• Will I be able to see the beam (In darkness)?
• Obtain quite a large distance?

Click to expand...

Battery size depends on the host that you are putting it into. You'll need 2x lithium ions using that driver. 16340 batteries are pretty small, 18650 will give you more run time.

The lens that comes with your Aixiz module is fine. It's much cheaper here though. Otherwise you can use an Aixiz coated lens for a few more bucks.

Yes, you will be able to see the beam in darkness... depending on the current you are running it at. Crank it it. You'll be able to see it really good with smoke or fog.

Burning distance? hmm 10 feet maybe? If you're lucky.

Ghostchrome said:

Battery size depends on the host that you are putting it into. You'll need 2x lithium ions using that driver. 16340 batteries are pretty small, 18650 will give you more run time.

The lens that comes with your Aixiz module is fine. It's much cheaper here though. Otherwise you can use an Aixiz coated lens for a few more bucks.

Yes, you will be able to see the beam in darkness... depending on the current you are running it at. Crank it it. You'll be able to see it really good with smoke or fog.

Burning distance? hmm 10 feet maybe? If you're lucky.

Click to expand...

Cool... ok... to sum up...

• Laser Diode: 300-400mW brand new red laser diode/extracted from LPC-826 - Link
• Laser Module/Lens: AixiZ Module for 5.6mm Laser Diodes - Link
• Power Source: 2 x UltraFire 18650 3000mAh 3.7VRechargeable Battery rk - Link
• Driver: LM317 - Link

I'm going to house it all in a black ABS plastic box that I'll purchase later, it looks like I'll be able to build this for under $20.

Final few questions, just to check, I don't want to buy things which don't go together:

• Are all of the above compatible (Particularly the LD and the Lens)?
• (Redacted - The batteries are 3.7v * 2 = 7.4v) The LM317 Driver suggests a voltage of approx 7.2v, should I use 5 18650's (7.5v) instead of two?
• Burn distance of 10 feet if I'm lucky (I'd be happy with 1/2 feet), what would be the overall visible distance, are we talking a long way?
• Do you have a link to an Aixiz coated lens, like you mentioned above, I don't mind spending a couple of extra dollars if it'll improve my build.

I'll be documenting this build with video and pictures, when I'm done I'll create a new thread and dump all of the steps, I'll obviously give those that have helped credit

Edit: @GhostChrome... have I just summed up what's listed here: http://www.lazorlabs.com/LazorLabs_Red_Burning_Bundle/p982550_4412954.aspx
Edit2: I don't fancy harvesting the LD from the sled myself lol

MaxMouseDLL said:

Cool... ok... to sum up...

• Laser Diode: 300-400mW brand new red laser diode/extracted from LPC-826 - Link
• Laser Module/Lens: AixiZ Module for 5.6mm Laser Diodes - Link
• Power Source: 2 x UltraFire 18650 3000mAh 3.7VRechargeable Battery rk - Link
• Driver: LM317 - Link

I'm going to house it all in a black ABS plastic box that I'll purchase later, it looks like I'll be able to build this for under $20.

Final few questions, just to check, I don't want to buy things which don't go together:

• Are all of the above compatible (Particularly the LD and the Lens)?
• (Redacted - The batteries are 3.7v * 2 = 7.4v) The LM317 Driver suggests a voltage of approx 7.2v, should I use 5 18650's (7.5v) instead of two?
• Burn distance of 10 feet if I'm lucky (I'd be happy with 1/2 feet), what would be the overall visible distance, are we talking a long way?
• Do you have a link to an Aixiz coated lens, like you mentioned above, I don't mind spending a couple of extra dollars if it'll improve my build.

I'll be documenting this build with video and pictures, when I'm done I'll create a new thread and dump all of the steps, I'll obviously give those that have helped credit

Edit: @GhostChrome... have I just summed up what's listed here: LazorLabs' Red Burning Bundle
Edit2: I don't fancy harvesting the LD from the sled myself lol

Click to expand...

So far it looks great, but I would not recommend ultrafire, if I where you I would get either Samsung or Lg 18650's. Also, 2 18650's is just fine for this build. Also, your going to want a heat sink for running the diode at that power, and if you want to not extract the diode, then just buy it from here,
HighTechDealZ - 650nm 20x DVD Burner LPC815 Laser in Aixiz Module ,but you will still need to get the other lens. Good Luck!

Lasermodder said:

So far it looks great, but I would not recommend ultrafire, if I where you I would get either Samsung or Lg 18650's. Also, 2 18650's is just fine for this build. Also, your going to want a heat sink for running the diode at that power, and if you want to not extract the diode, then just buy it from here,
HighTechDealZ - 650nm 20x DVD Burner LPC815 Laser in Aixiz Module ,but you will still need to get the other lens. Good Luck!

Click to expand...

The hightechdealz diode is expensive compared to the one I've chosen, if all are in agreement as to the compatibility of components in this build I'll begin

I've decided to use a fairly large box and incorporate this burning setup AND a 532nm 5mw green laser, I'll drive and power each separately and have buttons to select one or the other or both... that's pretty much what I'm after at the moment... however I can't see this new obsession decreasing, so I'll be buying/building more and I'll be back for advice.

Thank you all for your help, you've completely revised my build, I'm not paying over the odds for it, and clarified a great deal, you're a credit to this forum.

Be back with build pictures and videos

Sounds good! Good luck..

Oh... almost forgot... heat sink... I'm assuming the diode fits into the Aixiz housing...

Which heat sink should I use? anyone have a link to one?

You should get a custom hs made from one of the forum members

sinner said:

You should get a custom hs made from one of the forum members

Click to expand...

I can probably make one, I see the basic idea is to get a GPU/PROC HS and basically bore a hole through the middle, slap some heat conductive paste all around that bad boy and away you go... I'll do that.

Thanks all, will be back in the new year!

Its not easy, you should follow some Standard Operating Procedures of making H/s specially boring a hole through the middle.. which needs to be precisely 0.01mm more than the size of 12mm module.. so it can fit into it, you wont even need that thermal paste.. i hammered mine thru the h/s and its a more than perfect fit, i didnt use a thermal paste.
You first use a smaller drill bit, and make your way up to the 11.8mm.. after that it is very critical that you maintain a smooth operation..
Reason is that if you use a 12mm drillbit directly, it will expand due to heat because of friction.. and the fit will be loose.. you might want to keep that in consideration..