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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Big ole PLD5000. Any experience?

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Jan 25, 2015
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Guys.

I come defeated by the Flexmod p3.3 It refuses to go into Gain current. No response from customer support......

i deal with industrial/Automation equipment for a living, so, this is right up my alley.

http://www.teamwavelength.com/downloads/datasheets/pldseries.pdf

Curious if anyone has had any experience? Theyre going reasonable on ebay.

This is going to be on my CNC machine, with a 8 or 16 bit DAC for greyscale. Why 16? because i can lol.
 





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Oct 26, 2007
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I've got one, but haven't gotten to rigging it up yet. I'll write up a tutorial once I have the process down. There is also an instruction manual you can follow. You'll probably want to use its power-feedback mode (photodiode), not just using the current to gauge the output. I'm probably going to try the current-base modulation first and then see what I can do for power-feedback.

You could also roll your own driver with a MOSFET to limit current.
 
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Bionic, cool man. I would def want to use the photodiode feedback.

I have one of DTR's 445nm blue laser diodes. I assume the unused wire is the photodiode?

Also, any idea if these 445nm diodes are Type A, B, or C?

Thanks
 
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Just heard back from Junktronix.

Says hes pretty sure the M140 diodes dont have photodiodes, which is fine. But told me itd be figure 9 in their data sheet that would do the right setup. So i think i'm gonna pull the trigger on this, unless i hear randomly for the good Dr about the flexmod.
 
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Hi Lighting Stalker,

2A max. This is just a single M140 445nm blue laser diode from DTR. The goal is greyscale picture shading on my CNC.

Needs to have analog modulation. 0-5v is great, but, i know i could work with other voltage ranges.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
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One of the Line Drive prototypes may be
able to do that if you divide the DAC
output down to 0 - 14mV, remove the pot and
attach it where the center pin was, though
I'm not sure how well it would work in the
lower ranges. It is something that would
need to be tested, preferably with an
oscilloscope.
 
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I do have a scope thankfully. Where are these at? i did some digging but couldn't find much.

Also how small are they? I'm not the best at SMD components, hence why i had some more experienced guys solder up my Flexmodp3. Luckily its their job to do that stuff lol.

The DAC is my own design, thats FPGA or CPLD based. Just need to change a few programming headers for either or. Simulates fine, just want to see the laser turn on before i go and build the thing. Id probably only need to change my resistor network to do 0-14mv, although getting 1mv per bit might be an interesting feat.

Most guys use 8bit counters for the DAC in this application. I can do 16. Is it required? no. But im curious to see what difference is in the end result.

Thanks Lightning Stalker.

Im jsut waiting a little bit longer, otherwise, i'll grab this PLD5000. Need to order some female pin headers, something to bolt a proto board to the driver itself.
 
Joined
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I do have a scope thankfully. Where are these at? i did some digging but couldn't find much.

They are a design I'm currently working on.

Also how small are they? I'm not the best at SMD components, hence why i had some more experienced guys solder up my Flexmodp3. Luckily its their job to do that stuff lol.

They are about 16x20mm, so pretty small.
All but one of the components are SMD. The
one available unit already has leads
soldered. I could remove the pot and
solder on an analog input wire. That is if
you decide you want it.

There are some pictures in the thread.

The DAC is my own design, thats FPGA or CPLD based. Just need to change a few programming headers for either or. Simulates fine, just want to see the laser turn on before i go and build the thing. Id probably only need to change my resistor network to do 0-14mv, although getting 1mv per bit might be an interesting feat.

A possibility would be to place a voltage
divider on the DAC output to get the
required range without sacrificing too much
resolution. I would recommend using metal
film resistors.

But it sounds like you know more about
these things than I do. There are other
possibilities on the driver end, as well.

Most guys use 8bit counters for the DAC in this application. I can do 16. Is it required? no. But im curious to see what difference is in the end result.

This sounds like an awesome project. I
would be thrilled if one of my drivers
is up to the task.
 
Last edited:
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Jan 25, 2015
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Lightning stalker!

Very nice work! Is that Altium Designer you're using for the 3D renders? And how the heck are you soldering those SMD parts?

I'm guessing there's very little for safety of the diode in this design? How is the current set? I know theres the trimpot, but is it set by putting an Ameter on the outputs? and is there a standby vs live current? I was trying to set my current very low at first, just to see it turn on. Test how the diode reacts with my heatsink. I will need to turn another one, cant seem to perfectly nail 11.87mm. Need to get my hands on a reamer or better boring bar.

I am interested. Havent pulled the trigger on that PLD5000 yet.

Will this thing be up to the task of running hours on end? Ive been playing with some switching supplies here, but, if i had to source a linear supply, that probably wouldn't be too much an issue. Heatsinking isnt an issue. I have plenty here and a buddy with a mill to make one if need be.

My only concern with such a low voltage for modulation is the inconsistency of resistors. Especially based on temperature! I have a 3D laserscanner, in which i used a simple LM317 driver circuit. If its nice n warm-hot out, thing runs just fine. But dead of ohio winter? Im pulling the darn controller board apart, setting the bias, etc. Not saying i wont have that issue with any resistor/component, but when some things drift a few ohms based on temp, nailing that high res is a bit of a concern of mine.

As i said above, this is going on a CNC. Itll be for grayscale image burning/etching. Its proven to work by others. Just takes a long time. Down the road if i get enough orders doing these, i'll be looking to upgrade to a higher power analog laser. I saw your video on the 5W laser and holy hell!

I see in your thread this thing going up to possibly 50A. Any way this can be pushed to say 60A @ 1.7V? Been looking at those coherent diode arrays. Be real nice for marking metal on my CNC. But, I'm not thinking about that til i get this little 2 watt guy to work!
 
Joined
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Lightning stalker!

Very nice work! Is that Altium Designer you're using for the 3D renders?

Thanks. It's rendered with Eagle 3D.

And how the heck are you soldering those SMD parts?

Very carefully. They are mostly reflowed
in an oven when I can. Sometimes they have
to be soldered by hand with a soldering
iron and that takes a lot of patience.

I'm guessing there's very little for safety of the diode in this design?

Well, I did what I could. There aren't any
fault indicators like the Flexmod. It has
the simplicity of a handheld design, the
higher current output required by higher
output diodes, and long runtimes with
adequate heatsinking.

How is the current set? I know theres the trimpot, but is it set by putting an Ameter on the outputs?

It's the same as with any other laser
driver - a laser diode test load.

and is there a standby vs live current?

That would all be handled by the DAC. The
current will be whatever the DAC tells it
to be. So if in your testing, you find
that it begins to mark at say 300mA, you
would figure out what 16 bit value gives
300mA and set that as the baseline.

I was trying to set my current very low at first, just to see it turn on. Test how the diode reacts with my heatsink. I will need to turn another one, cant seem to perfectly nail 11.87mm. Need to get my hands on a reamer or better boring bar.

I am interested. Havent pulled the trigger on that PLD5000 yet.

Will this thing be up to the task of running hours on end?

With the right heatsink and input voltage,
it will run indefinitely.

Ive been playing with some switching supplies here, but, if i had to source a linear supply, that probably wouldn't be too much an issue. Heatsinking isnt an issue. I have plenty here and a buddy with a mill to make one if need be.

My only concern with such a low voltage for modulation is the inconsistency of resistors. Especially based on temperature! I have a 3D laserscanner, in which i used a simple LM317 driver circuit. If its nice n warm-hot out, thing runs just fine. But dead of ohio winter? Im pulling the darn controller board apart, setting the bias, etc. Not saying i wont have that issue with any resistor/component, but when some things drift a few ohms based on temp, nailing that high res is a bit of a concern of mine.

As i said above, this is going on a CNC. Itll be for grayscale image burning/etching. Its proven to work by others. Just takes a long time. Down the road if i get enough orders doing these, i'll be looking to upgrade to a higher power analog laser. I saw your video on the 5W laser and holy hell!

I see in your thread this thing going up to possibly 50A. Any way this can be pushed to say 60A @ 1.7V? Been looking at those coherent diode arrays. Be real nice for marking metal on my CNC. But, I'm not thinking about that til i get this little 2 watt guy to work!

The one that is available will only go up
to 6A. It might do 15A if it is on a nice
flat water block and watched very closely.
The true 15A driver uses some different
parts and is still in development. 60A
would be theoretically possible with the
new parts and a similar design, but it
would be a ways off. As you say, we need
to learn how to crawl before we can learn
how to walk.
 
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Jan 29, 2014
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I have a couple but wish they could do higher current, keen on mods to do more.
 




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