18650 powering 5W diode?

[Sam14]

I’m building a 5W handheld laser and the only power supplys I have found that will work with the diode require a 12 V input. First of all, would it be practical to use a 18650 battery (would the battery life be short) and if so where can I find a 5W power supply that will work with 3.7 V. Attached are pictures of the diode and the type of power supply that I found. The diode can’t handle >4A. Thanks in advance!

 

[paul1598419]

The problem you are going to have is you need a boost driver to use a single 18650 battery. If you plan on driving it at 4 amps, it will pull more like 6-8 amps because it needs the extra current to supply a forward voltage for the diode and still do that at 4 amps. Your driver will run quite hot, so you'll need to heat sink it as well as the diode. In this case, you'll be better off using two 18650s and the buck driver.

 

[Sam14]

Could you recommend a reliable host for 2x 18650s? I found one on survival lasers but it is a little pricey for just the host. I was looking for one ~$25.

 

[GSS]

Member Lifetime17 has some modded flashlight hosts or custom.
He prices are great..

 

[Richie89]

Could you recommend a reliable host for 2x 18650s? I found one on survival lasers but it is a little pricey for just the host. I was looking for one ~$25.

25 might be tough, I love using Survival hosts, mostly because theyre easy to work with IMO. plus they have that basic look. lol but yea they can be pricey for sure, especially when youre on a budget like myself. see if you can find a MX900 laser host, theyre pretty cheap. i have a couple and the switches seem to be able to handle a lot, im running a 4amp NUBM08 in one of mine and its still going strong
I got mine from a member on here but I forgot who it was, I think Ricker was his name but I cant remember. hopefully someone else can help you with this.

 

[Sam14]

25 might be tough, I love using Survival hosts, mostly because theyre easy to work with IMO. plus they have that basic look. lol but yea they can be pricey for sure, especially when youre on a budget like myself. see if you can find a MX900 laser host, theyre pretty cheap. i have a couple and the switches seem to be able to handle a lot, im running a 4amp NUBM08 in one of mine and its still going strong
I got mine from a member on here but I forgot who it was, I think Ricker was his name but I cant remember. hopefully someone else can help you with this.

I will probably go for the survival lasers host. This is my first time building a higher than one watt laser. I’ve built a couple 200mws and a 1w but nothing like this yet. I already have OD5 goggles for 445nm. Are there precautions I should take other than eye protection and general laser common sense when dealing with a laser of this power. Should I bolt it to a table or something lol?

 

[Richie89]

I will probably go for the survival lasers host. This is my first time building a higher than one watt laser. I’ve built a couple 200mws and a 1w but nothing like this yet. I already have OD5 goggles for 445nm. Are there precautions I should take other than eye protection and general laser common sense when dealing with a laser of this power. Should I bolt it to a table or something lol?

Nah, you got it mostly. funny because you're taking more precaution than I do, I don't even wear my glasses half the time, only when im buring stuff up close, just remember that 5 watts is more than enough power to ignite fires instantly so keep that in mind when aiming it at stuff also with that much power its nearly impossible to have a long D-cycles, im running a 40mm heatsink and even thermal compound between module and sink yet I still don't leave mine on for more than 30 seconds. sometimes I push it to 31 seconds LOL!!

 

[Sam14]

Nah, you got it mostly. funny because you're taking more precaution than I do, I don't even wear my glasses half the time, only when im buring stuff up close, just remember that 5 watts is more than enough power to ignite fires instantly so keep that in mind when aiming it at stuff also with that much power its nearly impossible to have a long D-cycles, im running a 40mm heatsink and even thermal compound between module and sink yet I still don't leave mine on for more than 30 seconds. sometimes I push it to 31 seconds LOL!!

Thanks for the advice! You can never be too safe lol.

 

[Richie89]

Thanks for the advice! You can never be too safe lol.

right you are no problem

 

[paul1598419]

It couldn't hurt to private message Rich, Lifetme17, about a possible host. He machines the heat sinks for the flashlights and often sells these at very reasonable prices. You could end up with a better host for this than SL can supply.

 

[barthchris]

25 might be tough, I love using Survival hosts, mostly because theyre easy to work with IMO. plus they have that basic look. lol but yea they can be pricey for sure, especially when youre on a budget like myself. see if you can find a MX900 laser host, theyre pretty cheap. i have a couple and the switches seem to be able to handle a lot, im running a 4amp NUBM08 in one of mine and its still going strong
I got mine from a member on here but I forgot who it was, I think Ricker was his name but I cant remember. hopefully someone else can help you with this.

I love MX900 hosts! Rick Trent used to make some nice heatsinks for it but I recently asked him and hes out so Lifetime it is.

Rick had both copper and AL heatsinks. I've only used the Al but think a copper HS would work best for soldering a PCB W a spring contact. AL is almost impossible to solder, instant passivation layer from oxygen. I've tried so many online "tricks" to no avail. With AL I need to rely on a mechanical ground connection between the host and the module which can be a bit of a PIA to implement. Copper would make it so much easier since it's wettable by normal solder.

 

[Blades and Photons]

I'll also recommend lifetime17. He does very good work at very reasonable prices. You won't be disappointed.