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Mrcrouse’s Tri-Diode host

ARG

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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.
w83wl.jpg


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.
q8xXc.jpg

RLOFB.jpg

t4uqR.jpg

w2mTd.jpg

It's held into the rest of the heatsink with a screw above the diode holes.
Ks10R.jpg


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.
6EhDg.jpg


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.
c8k8z.jpg


The entire laser is about 30cm long. (TI-83 for scale)
NFBNZ.jpg



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 :D 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.
 





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Thanks a lot for the review! There are definitely a lot of improvements in the works! ;)

For those who are interested, I am working on making a batch of 10 of these. It will likely take a month or 2 til they're done. Hopefully by Christmas! After that I'm not sure how many more of these I will be making as they are quite intensive to do one complete build at a time. So if you are interested, get your name in now! :)
 
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Wow it looks awesome, great job mrcrouse!! I'm definitely interested in one of these, please mark me down ;)

:beer:
 
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looks like it will be pretty cool :)
excited to see what people will make with them! and the price :)
:beer: Justin
 
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That is right. And that was before I decided to make quite a few improvements, but I will honor that price and stick by no more than $200. I don't want to make it too expensive, but realistically, if you are sticking 3 diodes and drivers + optics into this, $200 is going to be a smaller portion of the build.
 
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Thanks Hak! Two of these spoken for now. I'm estimating the batch to be complete around end of Novemember mid-December. Working on the headcaps and driver heatsinks right now. I'll be keeping a list of people as this is a limited offer and a first come first serve deal.
 
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Kizaru

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Would you recommend this for someone who's new to lasers and in the process of building a few right now? I was thinking of reserving one and keeping it as a long term project?

Besides the aligning of mirrors and cubes (which i read from the dual diode build was a pain), what would the wiring of three x-drives be like?

Or would I be taking on more than i can chew??
 
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I mean it is obviously not a beginner project, but with all the information on the forum, you could surely figure out how to assemble it no problem. The X-drives are not an issue as there is a nice location for each driver. All 3 drivers just connect to the same positive and negative terminal, and otherwise are wired like a normal driver. The decision is ultimately up to you if it is something you want to pursue. You still have about a month to think it over :beer:
 

Kizaru

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OK so wiring seems pretty straightforward. I'll definitely look more into this, before i make my decision.
 

ARG

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OK so wiring seems pretty straightforward. I'll definitely look more into this, before i make my decision.

It's really simple since each diode has space for it's own driver, just connect all the inputs to the switch and each driver output goes to a separate diode.
 
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Great host man :)

What will be the price for one ? ...

:beer:

With all the time and supplies required to make these, they are going to be $200. I also want to note that the ones in this batch are going to look much nicer than the pictures above. There are burrs and other uglies in that one which won't be in these. The one pictured above was a prototype concept that I sent to ARG to make sure the design was sound.
 




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