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After months of testing and daily use I am ready to do a comprehensive review on Rick Trent's aluminum heatsink and laser module combo. I have owned Rick's proprietary designed laser module since February and since then have purchased 4-5 additional units for various applications. I first want to start of by saying I do not work for Rick nor was this review requested by Rick. I am doing this solely to contribute my experience and present my burn time with his product. That said here we go!
As I stated above, Rick's laser module is a one piece screw in designed module. The concept behind the design from my point of view was to simplify the laser kit assembly process. For those of us that have built our own laser from the bare diode up can appreciate the fact that there are many delicate parts that mud be soldered very carefully, assembled very meticulously, and at the end of the day function based on proper assembly and electrical connection. Rick's design negates a lot of the "grunt" work required in laser building by incorporating the laser diode, heatsink, driver board and accompanied wiring, along with the battery contacts for the front end of the host into 1 piece that houses the entire system. The module simply screws into the host provided in the kit and once you add batteries, you have yourself a fully functional laser. The concept is innovative and very appealing to the majority of us who don't have a tech or mechanical background because essentially as long as you have had any amount of experience with lego building, you can put together done of Rick's kits. Now although functional and serviceable, Rick's modules had a glaring flaw in the design which I had been plagued with on every single module I had purchased from Rick. Each of my modules would stop functioning properly after a period of time due to one main issue. Loss of Ground. Rick's laser module as I mentioned has one of the battery contacts attached directly to the driver. Now to establish ground, Rick had been placing solder (or at least as best he could) on the outer (negative) ring of the driver and crossing it over to the rim of the aluminum heatsink(bottom part of the module) so that when you screw the battery tube of the host it would contact the solder and establish ground, hence, providing all necessary connections to allow proper function and performance of the module. The thing is, as taking the module in and out of the host multiple times for cleaning or to put the module into a different host, the solver which was connecting the driver neg. contact ring to touch the rim of heatsink would be removed or knocked ajar, thus, rendering your module useless as there was no ground connection established for proper function. I had let Rick know about my concerns about this issue as it was becoming quite costly for him (to repair the modules for me) and I was almost certain that many of his customers were likely experiencing the same or similar issues. Here is a picture to illustrate:
After months of testing and development Rick recently sold me his new module which blew me away with its functionality, performance, and most importantly, reliability. Rick's earlier modules were very similar to the current design he currently sells with reference to dimensions and such, but there are a few differences in the newer design which leap frog it ahead of his previous module. The first thingRick did is he slimmed the profile of the threads that he had on the module to allow for a slimmer "looking" profile vs. his previous module. Next, and this is the big one, he had his local machine shop fabricate an aluminum ring in place of where the solder previously was connecting the outer ring contact of the driver to the heatsink. This subtle but MAJOR design modication has not only improved the aesthetic look of the module, but it has made it ultra-reliable and increased the structural rigidity of the bottom part of the heatsink which is essentially epoxied in place. Here is the new module for comparison:
Overall, I am very happy with the new Rick Trent laser module as it has evolved into a more reliable unit that (as long as you do your part in adhering to duty cycles) should provide years of enjoyment and fun. The design did not start off perfect, but Rick did a very smart thing and listened to the end-users of his product and adapted. As an added feature, the laser ovules Rick produces fit a multitude of host as he has a 2 step thread design which is essentially 2 different thread sizes on the bottom of the module to allow for a modular application over a range of host sizes. To demonstrate the versatility of the module here's a pic:
Rick continues to make advancements in how he builds his lasers and I have a few of his prototypes, one of them being this: A single cell (14500) 3.37W 3inch pocket laser
new world recorded 3.37w very small laser,smallest with the most power,2.8oz - YouTube
I would certainly take a closer look at some of Rick's gear if you are looking for a high output burner as his modules are putting out a tremendous amount of power at a price that's not unreasonable… Now, if you take it upon yourself to learn how to build, cost can definitely be reduced but its really up to you if you feel confident enough to do so. I just did my first build and it has its ups and downs and you end up spending a tad more because you blow a diode, ruin a driver, etc. In the end if you have a functioning torch, it was absolutely worth it. On the other hand you can also be in your room with what you thought was a completed functional laser, and the minute you hit the click switch, you are surrounded by darkness. Rick sells individual components as well and will actually walk you through a build by phone if you need a hand.
In conclusion, interpret the my thoughts above as you wish and if anything use them as a datapoint. In the end its your hard earned cash. I hope this helped someone become a little more informed. I always find a lot of value when thumbing through this forum and it feels good to be a contributing member.
Take it easy and don't forget to goggle up your seeing balls!
As I stated above, Rick's laser module is a one piece screw in designed module. The concept behind the design from my point of view was to simplify the laser kit assembly process. For those of us that have built our own laser from the bare diode up can appreciate the fact that there are many delicate parts that mud be soldered very carefully, assembled very meticulously, and at the end of the day function based on proper assembly and electrical connection. Rick's design negates a lot of the "grunt" work required in laser building by incorporating the laser diode, heatsink, driver board and accompanied wiring, along with the battery contacts for the front end of the host into 1 piece that houses the entire system. The module simply screws into the host provided in the kit and once you add batteries, you have yourself a fully functional laser. The concept is innovative and very appealing to the majority of us who don't have a tech or mechanical background because essentially as long as you have had any amount of experience with lego building, you can put together done of Rick's kits. Now although functional and serviceable, Rick's modules had a glaring flaw in the design which I had been plagued with on every single module I had purchased from Rick. Each of my modules would stop functioning properly after a period of time due to one main issue. Loss of Ground. Rick's laser module as I mentioned has one of the battery contacts attached directly to the driver. Now to establish ground, Rick had been placing solder (or at least as best he could) on the outer (negative) ring of the driver and crossing it over to the rim of the aluminum heatsink(bottom part of the module) so that when you screw the battery tube of the host it would contact the solder and establish ground, hence, providing all necessary connections to allow proper function and performance of the module. The thing is, as taking the module in and out of the host multiple times for cleaning or to put the module into a different host, the solver which was connecting the driver neg. contact ring to touch the rim of heatsink would be removed or knocked ajar, thus, rendering your module useless as there was no ground connection established for proper function. I had let Rick know about my concerns about this issue as it was becoming quite costly for him (to repair the modules for me) and I was almost certain that many of his customers were likely experiencing the same or similar issues. Here is a picture to illustrate:
After months of testing and development Rick recently sold me his new module which blew me away with its functionality, performance, and most importantly, reliability. Rick's earlier modules were very similar to the current design he currently sells with reference to dimensions and such, but there are a few differences in the newer design which leap frog it ahead of his previous module. The first thingRick did is he slimmed the profile of the threads that he had on the module to allow for a slimmer "looking" profile vs. his previous module. Next, and this is the big one, he had his local machine shop fabricate an aluminum ring in place of where the solder previously was connecting the outer ring contact of the driver to the heatsink. This subtle but MAJOR design modication has not only improved the aesthetic look of the module, but it has made it ultra-reliable and increased the structural rigidity of the bottom part of the heatsink which is essentially epoxied in place. Here is the new module for comparison:
Overall, I am very happy with the new Rick Trent laser module as it has evolved into a more reliable unit that (as long as you do your part in adhering to duty cycles) should provide years of enjoyment and fun. The design did not start off perfect, but Rick did a very smart thing and listened to the end-users of his product and adapted. As an added feature, the laser ovules Rick produces fit a multitude of host as he has a 2 step thread design which is essentially 2 different thread sizes on the bottom of the module to allow for a modular application over a range of host sizes. To demonstrate the versatility of the module here's a pic:
Rick continues to make advancements in how he builds his lasers and I have a few of his prototypes, one of them being this: A single cell (14500) 3.37W 3inch pocket laser
new world recorded 3.37w very small laser,smallest with the most power,2.8oz - YouTube
I would certainly take a closer look at some of Rick's gear if you are looking for a high output burner as his modules are putting out a tremendous amount of power at a price that's not unreasonable… Now, if you take it upon yourself to learn how to build, cost can definitely be reduced but its really up to you if you feel confident enough to do so. I just did my first build and it has its ups and downs and you end up spending a tad more because you blow a diode, ruin a driver, etc. In the end if you have a functioning torch, it was absolutely worth it. On the other hand you can also be in your room with what you thought was a completed functional laser, and the minute you hit the click switch, you are surrounded by darkness. Rick sells individual components as well and will actually walk you through a build by phone if you need a hand.
In conclusion, interpret the my thoughts above as you wish and if anything use them as a datapoint. In the end its your hard earned cash. I hope this helped someone become a little more informed. I always find a lot of value when thumbing through this forum and it feels good to be a contributing member.
Take it easy and don't forget to goggle up your seeing balls!
