Cross Dichroic Prism Laser Project

I think it can be used, but why not use similar mount as used in arctos?

The most important is to make the holes for fi 12 modules in the seame height, and adjustment you do with the knife mirror, not the diode itself. With diode the only important thing is to have the possiblity of turning it.

But your idea is also fine, when you make fi12 holes you will have a lot more adjustment. I have the same parts in one of my machines, sadly they are really loose, and setting them in proper position is easy but how to make them not move later?

When I looked at the arctos modules, it appears he is using something like this ball with a hole in it.



Maybe I misunderstood what he is really using, if I can find the parts, I'd build it more like his. The stair-step knife edges I have are fixed mirrors, eight mirrors on a aluminum cast 45 degree angle plate which are fixed in position. The reason I am considering their use is they are very compact, but so compact, I may have problems with the spacing of each diode too when using the Aixiz modules.

Maybe I should use separate adjustable mirrors instead, especially since these knife-edge units are limited to eight diodes each when I have 12 for each color. I was also considering how to best fix each ball so it stays in place, I was thinking perhaps a rubber square with a hole in it pulled tightly around the unit somehow to act as a brake, perhaps a very tight thick rubber band with a hole punched in it, but such might be problematic, if just a band.

Bt if you have fixed edge mirrors from the projector, You must assure paralell beams, and the same distance between each diode. Additionaly this distance must be the same as the distance between two edges of mirrors.

So I think that separate edge mirrors are much easier to set.

I'm all for easier. I found some mirror mounts on ebay being sold by a guy down under, do you have a better source for either quality and or price?



Brass Flexure Mirror Mount Lot of 5 Pieces to Suit 445nm 532nm Laser Diode | eBay

Yes flex mirror mounts are for sure OK.

If you ask about quality and price.
I have quite good quality (they are not that stiff) but they are way cheaper. I think for tests you can use them, and in 1-2 month time I will also produce my own flex mirror mounts with discount for LPF.

Mirror mount 5pcs - Opt Lasers

Price for negotiation. If you find somewhere cheaper I will lower the price for sure. I have quite a lot of them. They are 3mm thick, made of brass. I'm using them in my 4W 445nm to join two beams. First mirror, then beamsplitter.

Thanks, I had not seen those before. I'm not sure if I will need flex mount or not, so much to figure out. I know this is simple for someone who is experienced with these things, but for me, I'm learning a bit at a time. OK, I better sleep, 12:30 AM here in Alaska.

Thank you for your help and suggestions.

Sure, if you doing it first time it is not that easy.

If you have questions I think lot of people will hep you here
Flex mounts one the ones that I have are very similar during adjustment.

Nice little mirror mounts you have here: Mirror mount 5pcs - Opt Lasers

I will have to buy those when I get some more money ahead.

You can get some of these flexure mounts for substantially cheaper ($18 for 3x). I've got a set myself, and they permit fine adjustment in two axises, which those OptLaser ones don't appear to do in their current form (though they can rotate it appears).

For fixed mounts, check out 12mm CNC shaft supports. They fit 12mm Aixiz modules perfectly and you can double them up if you want more heatsinking. What's nice is that you can tighten them down, so you won't have any gaps. They're also cheap on eBay. I also tried some of these (not from this person though), which I'm thinking I could mount directly onto a plate for heatsinking purposes. If space is not a concern use some mirrors to get the beams gathered together.

Also go on Amazon and buy yourself a box of hex-socket screws and washers. It really sucks to not have enough screws on hand to fix stuff to your plates. I got some M3 screws, but they're a little too small; M4 screws would more properly mount them better. For mounting larger stuff get some standard 1/4-20 or M6 screws.

Bionic-Badger said:

which those OptLaser ones don't appear to do in their current form (though they can rotate it appears).

Click to expand...

They can rotate in 2 axis - one is mountings screw and second is in small cube, move forward and backwards using mounting screw .

Thank you,

Since I need so many of them the China made ones are attractive to me too, I expect I will buy a mix of both types and see how it works out. Although I have to put some stuff up on ebay soon myself to build this RGB monster I want.

Thank both of you for your kind sharing of information, all of it is very helpful to me. Also, I've used some of those CNC rod mounts before with a bunch of 2W 445nm diodes and they transferred the heat well for me.

Ebay: I have four K&L 30-70 MHz Tunable Bandpass Filters in pristine condition to list, my understanding is they are used for lasers.

Bionic-Badger said:

I also tried some of these (not from this person though), which I'm thinking I could mount directly onto a plate for heatsinking purposes.

Click to expand...

That is similar to what I did for the 5.5W
laser pantograph. It does work very well.
I ended up going the custom route.

Nice heat sink

Thanks. Yes, it does work very well. It will
do 5.5W all day long. trussmonkey is quite
happy with it.

Tomorrows System said:

They can rotate in 2 axis - one is mountings screw and second is in small cube, move forward and backwards using mounting screw .

Click to expand...

But so what? Even the cheapest such mounts have the screw that attaches the mount to the plate, and while the vertically mounted screw permits the cube to change the angle, how often is that useful? Most such mounts are for attaching a dichro or beamcube. You mount it horizontal to the beam and use the fine adjustment screws + set-screw to direct the beam into position. Some super cheap mounts only allow vertical fine adjustments, but others also allow adjustments in the in-plate axis as well.

The mount on OptLasers has no fine adjustment screws, and lacks an axis to adjust vertical angling without resorting to twisting the cube around while also rotating the base. It's not well suited for directing beams in a precision manner.

The mount is also quite expensive for what it is. For only $2 more, someone could buy some higher end flexure mounts such as these (same as the original set LaserProject linked to). They have the same basic build of the Chinese ones though.

Overall, OptLasers seems somewhat overpriced compared to similar stores such as Laser Show Parts. Competition is a great thing and I hope all businesses involved continue to innovate.

The Lightning Stalker said:

That is similar to what I did for the 5.5W
laser pantograph. It does work very well.
I ended up going the custom route.

Click to expand...

Those are nice! I've been wanting some nice heavy duty "lab mount" heatsinks like that. I might try those on LaserShowParts, OptLaser if they ever carry any, or maybe get something custom done by one of the people here. All the ones I've gotten from China have been a pain to mount, or they have such low tolerances that they wouldn't conduct heat anyway.