ARG
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- Feb 27, 2011
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Hey everyone,
I have a review of mrcouse’s tri-diode host for you today. Lets start with the bottom and work up to the top.
This host is only a prototype that I made some comments on to make the building easier on the optical side. Mrcouse has told me that there will be improvements in the final production build.
First off we have the battery tube, it's built into a maglite body. It can take 22650's, 32600's and 32650's. It's got a forward style click which I really like and it's smooth action and can be used for momentary use or on/off.
The driver heatsink is a really genius design. It has three flat edges to fit three drivers, it weighs in at 60g which is plenty of mass to run buck drivers for a long time. It has room to fit any driver under 18x24mm, it's a perfect fit for lazereer's x-drives. The wires go through holes in the heatsink into the middle bore to be wires up to the diode and the PCB contact for the maglight.
It's held into the rest of the heatsink with a screw above the diode holes.
The diode heatsink is very well put together, all the set screws are directly above the modules to hold the modules in the same position which is an advantage for alignment. The module bores are long enough to provide room for the lens' and for the diode pins so they won't be sticking out. The tray is deep enough for 2-3mm acrylic (or other thermal insulating plate) to be epoxied down so the optics do not move when the heatsink heats up. The mass of the heatsink is 170g, which is enough for a decent duty cycle with three high power diodes.
The cap for the laser is press-fit, but Mcrouse has told me that it may be threaded on in the final revision. The press fit is very tight and it does not come off unless you want it to, it is also possible to glue it down after the alignment is done.
The entire laser is about 30cm long. (TI-83 for scale)
Notes on the optical table:
I have tested the optical table with dichroic mirrors, mirrors and cubes. It can easily fit wider 4mm thick mirrors for easier alignment. Cubes should be kept in the middle if they are over 10mm as if they are used on the side the cap will not fit over top.
I really like the versatility of this laser, the ways to build it are endless, you can make an RGB laser, a dual diode cubed laser with a red diode for targeting or anything! It wouldn't be hard make a triple 445nm by using knife edging, I wouldn't be surprised if someone broke the 8W mark with this
Extra switches can easily be added for anyone with a drill so that RGB builds are practical.
I would recommend this host to anybody attempting to build a multi-diode laser. It saves a lot of effort in figuring out the design yourself then trying to find a machinist to make it at. I am very impressed with the amount of thought and effort Mcrouse put into designing this, it's very well done! I am extremely excited to see what others will build this into.
I have a review of mrcouse’s tri-diode host for you today. Lets start with the bottom and work up to the top.
This host is only a prototype that I made some comments on to make the building easier on the optical side. Mrcouse has told me that there will be improvements in the final production build.
First off we have the battery tube, it's built into a maglite body. It can take 22650's, 32600's and 32650's. It's got a forward style click which I really like and it's smooth action and can be used for momentary use or on/off.
The driver heatsink is a really genius design. It has three flat edges to fit three drivers, it weighs in at 60g which is plenty of mass to run buck drivers for a long time. It has room to fit any driver under 18x24mm, it's a perfect fit for lazereer's x-drives. The wires go through holes in the heatsink into the middle bore to be wires up to the diode and the PCB contact for the maglight.
It's held into the rest of the heatsink with a screw above the diode holes.
The diode heatsink is very well put together, all the set screws are directly above the modules to hold the modules in the same position which is an advantage for alignment. The module bores are long enough to provide room for the lens' and for the diode pins so they won't be sticking out. The tray is deep enough for 2-3mm acrylic (or other thermal insulating plate) to be epoxied down so the optics do not move when the heatsink heats up. The mass of the heatsink is 170g, which is enough for a decent duty cycle with three high power diodes.
The cap for the laser is press-fit, but Mcrouse has told me that it may be threaded on in the final revision. The press fit is very tight and it does not come off unless you want it to, it is also possible to glue it down after the alignment is done.
The entire laser is about 30cm long. (TI-83 for scale)
Notes on the optical table:
I have tested the optical table with dichroic mirrors, mirrors and cubes. It can easily fit wider 4mm thick mirrors for easier alignment. Cubes should be kept in the middle if they are over 10mm as if they are used on the side the cap will not fit over top.
I really like the versatility of this laser, the ways to build it are endless, you can make an RGB laser, a dual diode cubed laser with a red diode for targeting or anything! It wouldn't be hard make a triple 445nm by using knife edging, I wouldn't be surprised if someone broke the 8W mark with this
Extra switches can easily be added for anyone with a drill so that RGB builds are practical.I would recommend this host to anybody attempting to build a multi-diode laser. It saves a lot of effort in figuring out the design yourself then trying to find a machinist to make it at. I am very impressed with the amount of thought and effort Mcrouse put into designing this, it's very well done! I am extremely excited to see what others will build this into.
