my first laser , driver question for cutting

hey it seems I have a twin brother in france. :yh::yh:
Im also building a laser cnc for stencils etc
and Im also in the lookout to build a reprap mendel
(having costum 3d parts, will certainly make my life easier on building the cnc, lol)


maybe the next step will be a 3d scanner...

I also have the same questions with you considering 445, and 405 diodes , and I will be waiting for your results as you have ordered them both. did you receive th 405nm?

as I have read here in the forums, 1watt 445nm diodes will never get a fine focused point and maybe this wastes too much energy.
On the other hand 600-700mW 405nm diodes will focus more,

but the real deal will be the test results.

please be careful with wearing protective glasses when you are around.

your twin brother in germany

PS have you got any problem with customs? I have read they have stopped one shippment in germany.

hey Waste , my twin brother from Germany


i have ordered only the 445 nm (from DTRshop).
i don t know yet if i will go for the 405 nm , because the 445 is already quite good for cutting
but i havn t done many test yet , as i really don t have the time right now
i have just focused my laser and put a piece of cardboard in front of it
it doesn t cut immediately , so you need speed control if you put it in a cnc machine
and you will need micro-stepping for sure (i have interlaced right now)
before i can put it in my machine i need to design a laser holder-heatsink than can hold laser module and driver + change code,
also good to know :the diode heats more than the driver.

so for conclusion don t wait too much on my result because i am not sure to get the 405
(as i spent 3x time my budget already + i am moving apartment and i am restoring the new flat so i cant make good test right now)
but the 445 nm is already quite precise , i was worried it would be so fat , but it is not ;
the hole burned in a piece of cardboard is less than half a millimeter .

i am sure the 405 is smaller , but there is a lot of things to consider
for example ;
it is quite difficult to make the focus (because the glasses filter the light and you almost don t see anything of what you are doing)

the advantage the 405 has over the 445 is that is can cut white plastics , and i guess white paper too
so that would be a good argument to go for a 405 .

i did not have problem with customs (bought the diode module and lens from DRTshop , but the driver from another shop)

if i buy a 405 , it wont be before middle-end January (if i buy one) .

hey Waste , do you have a website ?
Cheers from France

wow thanks I never thought about the focusing issue with ultraviolet light (stupid me).

Yep I was speaking to DTR and

1watt units are easier to drive because of the 1000mA current (you can use those cheap and efficient constant current drivers for LEDs (like this). Added plus they wont get much heat.

as for heatsink, Im thinking of punching an appropriate hole on a CPU heatsink (I have quite as many) and it will certainly be alright.

is it because of the narrower beam that the 405 will cut white paper and the 445nm will not?

found any good sources for your reprap machine? (pm me as it is not in the scope of this forum)

well I have a website but it is more about economics than tech stuff nowadays and to add insult to injury its in greek too

happy moving (yeah ok moving is never a happy thing to do lol)

it is not exactly that it is UV light that make you not see the laser , it is the glasses
so for example i have 445nm laser (so it is blue) so i have laser glasses that cuts the 445nm color , so i cant see the beam
but i still can see the point just a little through the glasses.

nice find for the driver , it s dammed cheap ! (i have a flexmod P3 driver that is around 35dollars , and shipping costed me 30dollars but i can drive it directly from my arduino so it is a +)

as for the beam , i understood that the 405nm is narrower so it ll be more precise and so the light , if well focused , will heat in a smaller point , but maybe it is the frequency of light that makes it cut white (i am not an expert , it is my first laser) , and the 405 is a single mode diode (vs multy mode 445 nm for example) so i think it is not "composed" light

you are right CPU heatsink will definitely do the trick (even better if you can keep the fan if you are going to use it for many minutes in a row)

i ll pm you about reprap

i do think moving is fun , and i am happy moving !
cheers Waste