Drivers and Heatsinks !! QUESTIONS!

hi, i got few problems and questions:
1) what is a driver and it's uses? Does it improve the laser power power, if yes what do you recommand me to have a strong laser? (i use sony diode from stonetek)
2) what is the heatsink ?? i really don'T know what is that.

Problem: I folow this tutorial : laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1186966870 to make my first laser. ( sorry i cannot URL the topic because i don't have 10 post )
I folow this tutorial and i bought exactly the same flashlight, washers, resistors,etc. I have have my batteries and a pre-installed son diode in aixiz module.
Now my problem is that i don't know if i need a driver, heatsink and stuff llike that. i don't know what i need to complete my laser.
I checked the tutorial but i dont see any heatsink and drivers. i think he uses the thing inside the flashlight to solder his diode...is this a driver???

Please, help me to finish my laser!!

I'll answer a few questions,
1. A driver is a regulation circuit that only lets a certain amount of amps or volts into the laser diode. Without a driver, your laser diode will only work for a few seconds. You must have a driver if you want your laser to last longer than a few seconds!
2. A heatsink is what is used to keep the diode cool. In your case, heat will transfer from the laser diode to the washers, keeping the laser diode cool. Remember, it takes more heat to raise the temperature of a large piece of metal than a small piece of metal, so you want the most metal you can get to keep the diode cool.

thank you, finaly some1 reply to my questions!
And should i buy a driver here?
there is no driver i think on the tutorial i am folowing...can you explain me what he uses as driver ?

trixrabbit said:

thank you, finaly some1 reply to my questions!
And should i buy a driver here?
there is no driver i think on the tutorial i am folowing...can you explain me what he uses as driver ?

Click to expand...

In the tutorial he uses a resistor and capacitor as a driver.. This is not enough! For the main drivers, there's the Microdriver and the Flexdrive.
If you want to save some money and make your own, you can build the legendary DDL driver. There are other drivers, but those are the most popular ones.
Edit:
It looks like both pre-made drivers are on short stock now, try browsing the Buy/Sell/Trade section for any deals on drivers.

Ok so in this tutorial he makes the driver himself...but he say its not enought...
so this mean i need to buy a micro driver or a flexdrive??
or make one myself. Am i right?

is there somewhere we can chat on this forum?