2+ watt 445nm for $210

[blrock]

So if 1 watt wasn't enought I decided to built a 2+ watt 445nm. The end result was rather impressive. Especially at the price of $210. The only negative aspect being that each diode is @ 90 degrees of each other therefore the "beam" is a cross. It looks round when the beam hits the wall and in mid air but if you look closely or wear protection goggles you can see the +. I'm a little disappointed with the aixiz lens. I thought the new lens would have made the beam a little more round.
Next step would to try add cylindrical lens to try clean up the beam. I'll have to source two sometime.

BTW, the pictures below shows the laser shining on the DLP of the XJ-A140. It acts as an AWESOME diffraction mirror!!!


$100 Two x 1watt diodes
$35 Flexmod N2 driver (diodes connected in series @ 1.3A 9V)
$50 Crylight PBS
$20 Aixiz new lens for 445nm
$5 two Aixiz laser housing
Heatsinks, etc etc all found in my scrap box

I need to buy some perplex so I can finish making a housing for the laser....
All in all it is a very bright laser! Over the next month I'm going to do a total rebuild of my 1watt green/500mW red laser projector so I can have space to add the two watt blue.

Will post pics.

 

[AnselmoFanZero]

Nice.
How many mW get lost after the cube?

 

[blrock]

Nice.
How many mW get lost after the cube?

There is almost zero from the beam that hits it @ 90 degrees, but the laser that goes straight through the cube loses a hundred or so mW. Guestimate

 

[AnselmoFanZero]

Sounds good.
Will you use beam shaping optics? Heard you can get a nice 3x3mm beam...

 

[zrealist]

Where is the best place to get one on those 445nm pbs cubes?

 

[AnselmoFanZero]

Depends.
I dont trust chinese when it comes to optics. I buy them from a German trader. He is fabricating in his own company...costs a bit more, but the results are awesome. Less loss...great quality...

IF it is a matter of price, try o-like or other chinese stores. If I decide to buy stuff from china, I buy from o-like and some few other.

 

[Rafa]

Oh yeah this is great.

Beam shaping optics?
I really like DPSS lasers because of their thin beam. Diodes trhu aixiz have a really fat beam, I don't really like it.

 

[CrazyMonkey]

If you want a thinner beam, then use a lens with a shorter FL.
You get a thinner beam, but worse divergence.

 

[AnselmoFanZero]

For a thinner beam you need a telescope...2 lenses...BUT, you would need AR-coated lenses. I lost about 50% power, so I just stopped trying.
Divergence will get real bad as well.

I made experiments with 405nm diodes...those are TEMoo. 445nm multimode...wouldnt even try.

I ordered some lenses and a PBS cube...as soon as I find the time, I will try something with it.

 

[loosekannonn]

working as a machinist for most of my life...
German machines, steel and just about everything else was always the best engineered machine, material, products to be found.
German Engineering is just the best there is IMHO.

 

[AnselmoFanZero]

German machines are very reliable and last long. Every nation has specialists, but when its about tech, Germany is one of the leaders...optics is one of those areas we now how to you know ;-) cars and guns as well.

Sad but true: Most of the stuff over here you cant effort! Not even on ebay! So its kinda stupid to say "buy German lenses and optics". Have to admit that.

My PBS cube will have one dull side and one rough edge. Got it real cheap ^^

 

[loosekannonn]

German machines are very reliable and last long. Every nation has specialists, but when its about tech, Germany is one of the leaders...optics is one of those areas we now how to you know ;-) cars and guns as well.

Sad but true: Most of the stuff over here you cant effort! Not even on ebay! So its kinda stupid to say "buy German lenses and optics". Have to admit that.

My PBS cube will have one dull side and one rough edge. Got it real cheap ^^

Here in Canada,
our Military is equipped with the German built Panther II Tank;
IMHO the best built Tank there ever has been.

95% of all Bolt Action Rifles are derivatives of the Mauser 98;
When Germany builds something, It's usually the best there is.

 

[Toke]

It is leopard tank not panther. And yes it is good.

How about fibre optics for shaping a beam?
In theory you could run the beam though a short length and get it out looking really good and ready for a lens.

 

[AnselmoFanZero]

There was a tank named Panther. But I am sure you mean the Leopard 2A5 or similar.
Only tank comparable to the US top-tank ;-)

By the way: Funny fact...they used SSY heads as well for aiming and measuring.

 

[james1095]

working as a machinist for most of my life...
German machines, steel and just about everything else was always the best engineered machine, material, products to be found.
German Engineering is just the best there is IMHO.

I've been very impressed with German and Swedish engineering & metallurgy. We have some very nice older Japanese machines at my friend's shop as well. The *old* American stuff was excellent too, however all that I've seen recently has been Chinese and other far east with American names slapped on it.

 

[james1095]

There was a tank named Panther. But I am sure you mean the Leopard 2A5 or similar.
Only tank comparable to the US top-tank ;-)

By the way: Funny fact...they used SSY heads as well for aiming and measuring.

The Panther was an amazing machine for the time. The fatal flaw that saved us and helped prevent Germany from winning the war was that it was too complex and they simply didn't have the ability to mass produce them in anywhere near the vast quantities that American factories churned out.

I saw a special about it some time back, they pulled one out of a river somewhere that had been submerged since the war. When they pulled apart the Maybach V12 engine it was found that the internals were in remarkably good shape, the shop said they'd better not damage the crankshaft because they lacked the equipment to make one to such tight tolerances.