- Joined
- Sep 16, 2007
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I just assembled 97% of my 445nm Evolution.
Edit: 100% complete.
The diode is from an A130 projector.
Current is unknown, power output is set to 375mW. Edit: This laser has been turned down to 250mW.
Driver is V5 FlexDrive, lens is Aixiz 445nm. The switch is a constant on/off forward clicky. It is powered by 2 NiMH AA batteries.
The activation indicator is the excess output from the diode fed through the module by fiber optics.
The plastic "plug" in the host that covers the indicator is apparently not cut right on the inside, so the indicator light is not a perfect "dot." I didn't want to fiddle with it for risk of breaking it trying to get it out.
This project was pretty simple. It is not much different than any other pen type lasers, which I build a lot of.
I measured the transmittance of the AR coated for green window and found that it actually does a good job of passing 445. IIRC, the loss to the window was less than 5%. Back reflection is not an issue.
I did run into some problems with electrical contact. The safety pin mechanism of the Evo is really crappy. It worked ok with the original green module installed, but with the FlexDrive, the poor contact was very noticeable. I had to bypass the safety pin because it simply could not be fixed, in my case. The inside of the lock is cheap plastic and was cracked and the pin was too thin to make even contact. I never used that feature anyway. Anyone that wants do do something similar... be warned. The safety mechanism may be problematic.
It took me 3 hours of fiddling before I gave up and bypassed the damned thing.
Anyway, this thing rocks. I will have to do something about the wickedlasers logo, though.
I am running it with a loosely enforced 2 minute on, 2 minute off duty cycle. I am not afraid to run this diode hot and the aluminum body does a good job of removing heat. I would not recommend >400mW for this host.
The heat transfer is good, but there is not enough mass or surface area to make this a reliable Class IV. At 500mW this diode will be dumping a lot of heat.
It is fixed focus, set for lowest divergence. This was not meant to be a burner, but it will burn.
I like how this project turned out so much, I may make another with a 638nm diode if I can afford to do it before school starts this semester.
More details will be provided once it is 100% complete.
Click thumbnails for full size:
"World's most powerful military grade blue laser pen."
I did it first, Steve Liu. :na:
Don't trust the marketing hype.
Edit: 100% complete.
The diode is from an A130 projector.
Current is unknown, power output is set to 375mW. Edit: This laser has been turned down to 250mW.
Driver is V5 FlexDrive, lens is Aixiz 445nm. The switch is a constant on/off forward clicky. It is powered by 2 NiMH AA batteries.
The activation indicator is the excess output from the diode fed through the module by fiber optics.
The plastic "plug" in the host that covers the indicator is apparently not cut right on the inside, so the indicator light is not a perfect "dot." I didn't want to fiddle with it for risk of breaking it trying to get it out.
This project was pretty simple. It is not much different than any other pen type lasers, which I build a lot of.
I measured the transmittance of the AR coated for green window and found that it actually does a good job of passing 445. IIRC, the loss to the window was less than 5%. Back reflection is not an issue.
I did run into some problems with electrical contact. The safety pin mechanism of the Evo is really crappy. It worked ok with the original green module installed, but with the FlexDrive, the poor contact was very noticeable. I had to bypass the safety pin because it simply could not be fixed, in my case. The inside of the lock is cheap plastic and was cracked and the pin was too thin to make even contact. I never used that feature anyway. Anyone that wants do do something similar... be warned. The safety mechanism may be problematic.
It took me 3 hours of fiddling before I gave up and bypassed the damned thing.
Anyway, this thing rocks. I will have to do something about the wickedlasers logo, though.
I am running it with a loosely enforced 2 minute on, 2 minute off duty cycle. I am not afraid to run this diode hot and the aluminum body does a good job of removing heat. I would not recommend >400mW for this host.
The heat transfer is good, but there is not enough mass or surface area to make this a reliable Class IV. At 500mW this diode will be dumping a lot of heat.
It is fixed focus, set for lowest divergence. This was not meant to be a burner, but it will burn.
I like how this project turned out so much, I may make another with a 638nm diode if I can afford to do it before school starts this semester.
More details will be provided once it is 100% complete.
Click thumbnails for full size:
"World's most powerful military grade blue laser pen."
I did it first, Steve Liu. :na:
Don't trust the marketing hype.
Last edited:
