Battery powered labby project

[RedCowboy]

I have always loved the look of multiple beams and multiple beams in an intentional pattern are very cool, even if it's not an earth shattering super high tech device just looking the part makes it worth building.

 

[Benm]

The ring idea sounds interesting, but that could be pretty bulky a dificult to build compared to combining laser diode outputs that are all in the same flat plane.

Wouldn't go quite as far as luggable for this build, could easily be carried in one hand with little effort. That's still portable in my book. Not handheld, but still portable. Similar bulk and weight to a PGL-III from CNI I'd imagine, which is considered portable.

Now that devices are getting smaller and batteries are improving in Ah/Kg I guess the definition of portable is changing, although in the radio world not much has changed. A big pelican case (or even a small flight case rack) is still considered portable, although LiPo batteries have certainly reduced the weight! Hell, a little gas generator and radio would probably still fall under the portable category depending on who you ask/which contest you're operating in.

Yeah, it's all a bit relative anyway. I suppose an average laptop is a portable computer to post people, but if you had a smartphone that was the same size and weight they would not really consider it a portable phone. Some satellite phones are about the form factor of a laptop though (mostly because you need the area for the antenna), so mileage may vary on that one too.

So yeah, i guess a lab style laser with a lipo packed stuck onto it (instead of the mains adapter) would be portable. Probably not something you'd want to shine around randomly with though

 

[RedCowboy]

The ring idea sounds interesting, but that could be pretty bulky a dificult to build compared to combining laser diode outputs that are all in the same flat plane.

It's not a big deal to build the basic structure, it's just a steel hoop like from a small wagon wheel with angle brackets holding chunks of aluminum with modules and drivers, my image shows wing nuts which would allow me to set the 8 lasers to converge at a given distance as they articulate on both the X and Y axis, no mirrors needed..........granted making them servo controlled adds another layer to the build including refinement and troubleshooting but just building a hoop to direct 8 beams in a cone is not a big deal, it could be an 8 inch wide hoop which would give....8 x PIE = LOL 3.1415927 inches of real-estate to mount each laser , so an 8 inch hoop on a 2 handed rifle type platform made from sticks of wood is not pocket friendly but it would be portable even if somewhat luggable LOL You could add a 6 inch ring behind the 8 inch to converge through, that would look very cool.

here's a guy who did similar using a lens to combine, it did not combine that well as the beams diverged and separated, but converging would work, at least for hand set distances I'm sure....and..............It would look AWESOME
p.s. PLTB450B's were a good choice, inexpensive too ........although BDR209's would be cool too.

 

[paul1598419]

You might find connecting your individual lasers to a ring with wing nuts will not be stable enough to get them to stay converged at one spot. Especially if you try getting them to converge far away from this loop. But, hey, that's how we learn.

 

[RedCowboy]

You might find connecting your individual lasers to a ring with wing nuts will not be stable enough to get them to stay converged at one spot. Especially if you try getting them to converge far away from this loop. But, hey, that's how we learn.

Barrel ring steel could be thin, could use .250 inch aluminum plate 2 inches wide and make a 6 or 8 inch wide box and mount the U brackets on the outside, then the stock can mount from the inside to a cross brace .250 thick and 2 inches wide 6 or 8 inches across, will be plenty ridged.





25 yards for this corrected 4 head and the modules will be fixed to the body once aligned then only needing to articulate basically up/down in relation to their brackets to converge from 1 to 25 meters, with this 4 head build that could happen quickly and with thick brackets and large wing nuts would be plenty sturdy, getting set up at 25 meters or less wont be that hard, I have already done something like this, granted it's best to work from a bench so you can brace the device.

Note: Center bracket screws are adjustable with Allen wrench if needed to true left/right in relation to bracket.

This is just for fun and not meant to serve any real purpose.

This should easily be modifiable into a 4 servo pot controlled unit ( 1 pot controls 4 servos simultaneously ) as all heads adjust at the same rate although I have not built a servo unit yet with the correct leverage it is feasible.

Adding a centered marker laser makes adjusting the 4 heads much faster as you need only set each once per range adj.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your modules need to have the beam centered and running parallel to your side plates or you will be fooling with that center Allen screw every range adj. and misalignment is magnified with distance, although as these beams diverge you will have some play but a good centerline overlap is preferable......really the triple knife edge design is the easiest way to go for a fast reliable ready to use paper cup zapper because any minute of angle off center in the module build can show up when doing it this way requiring the annoying center screw adjustment for wide range changes.
For short range this could be a fun build, I prefer the triple knife edge design and the combined + beam expander design, but multiple beams sure are pretty.

 

[Benm]

It's not a big deal to build the basic structure, it's just a steel hoop like from a small wagon wheel with angle brackets holding chunks of aluminum with modules and drivers, ...

Well, pretty cool build, but also fairly unpractical, and probably quite fragile as well: bend any of the arms on that thing and you have a grossly misaligned laser. Building all of it in one 2D plane would be much better since you could at least have a sturdy base plate to keep things in relative proper position and orientation.

 

[RedCowboy]

Yes, combining or converging and knife edging on one plane is better, but a circle of beams sure looks cool and that's part of the fun, I wasn't claiming that it would be superior, just prettier IMHO

 

[Benm]

I guess it'd look more like a big steampunk style raygun indeed

 

[RedCowboy]

Sure if you like.

It is fun to see the laser do work, example lighting a paper cup across your basement and a bunch of beams in a cone is prettier in my opinion than a single from the most polished pocket pointer, but it's all good and yes I/we always seem to want more, but for really tight burning/cutting rig you can do much better with a fiber coupled/collimator/BE but you can't enjoy the beam, for a home CNC sure, but for pretty I like a fine DPSS as well as an extra bright multi mode and obscure wavelengths are a treat, but multiple beams in a cone pattern are awesome IMHO.

I like it all and always seem to want more of it all.....although sometimes a 5mw pointer is just right, I have a direct true 5mw ( I have tested it ) 520 and the stability is great, remember those early dpss pens that cooked in 30 seconds ? it's actually fun on a foggy morning or a new moon night and I can pick it up and point it around a dark room reasonably care free, basically I say enjoy it all, safely of course.

p.s. Sorry I seem to have hijacked the thread, one thing lead to another and here we are in left field, anyway if I were OP I would add a beam expander, the improvement will be substantial, if doing so an adaptor plate with screwdriver adjustment for alignment is a good idea.

 

[hakzaw1]

haha
no foul
it was a 'mercy hijacking'.... you had to do what you did for the greater good.
maybe a higher class of 'groupies' are to be had w/ lasers (OH MY lasers are SO 5exy) but w/ the telescopes.. not so much..

 

[aaronnoraa]

Hi there, great build! Those look like OPT C-lenses and mounts.. those mounts sure take the agony of aligning those lenses, don't they? Sure wish I ordered mine with the mount! Great lenses.

I'm curious why you used two pair of C-lenses if you also used a wave rotator? Couldn't you have rotated and combined then passed the combined through a single set of C-lenses, or would it not have been possible to combine in a short enough distance that the 44's divergence would already be exceeding the 1st C-lens vertical without clipping?

If it would fit, your divergence would sure be improved as a result of increasing the distance between the diode output and the C-lens pair.. though you would have much larger beam size exiting the aperture. Basically would function as a free halfassed beam expander.. actually, since it would free up and give you a pair of C-lenses you could use on something else, it's more like a halfassed beam expander that pays you $84 Just moving the C-lens sets further away from the diode output in your current configuration would also function to lower divergence, as well. Just mentioning that since you mentioned you're considering adding a BE...

Again, excellent build!!!

 

[paul1598419]

Lol! Nice new avatar, Aaron.

 

[aaronnoraa]

Lol! Nice new avatar, Aaron.