9mm 445nm 2D Maglite Build [COMPLETE]

[Photonz]

Re: 9mm 445nm 2D Maglite Build

Yea, I've already saved the link to those lenses and will order the 3 pack for my other 9mm 445's that aren't reaching desired performance.

 

[Photonz]

Re: 9mm 445nm 2D Maglite Build

I received the 2D Maglite Host from Mrcrouse (great service btw. :beer and it's bigger than I expected!:wave:
Which is great! For this build: the bigger, the better

I purchased the following parts to add/use in the build

Arctic Alumina
3x G-2 type lenses
2.4A X-Drive

I will save the 1.8A Boost adj. for another build (most likely with an M140 diode)

Here are the pictures:

Still in the bubble wrap

Out of the bubble wrap, with Hex Key

The first reveal!

Massive Heatsink

I modified my tube (again) to take 2x 18350 AW batteries

Because I'm using the 18350 batteries, I had to bend the spring so it would make contact with the tiny circumference of the batteries.

Will update the thread when build is completed!

 

[Photonz]

Re: 9mm 445nm 2D Maglite Build

Completed the Build!!! (Well almost) I'm still waiting on some G-2 lenses I ordered.

So I used arctic alumina to glue the 2.4A x-drive to the heat sink but it was hanging over the edge so I had to rip it off with a lot of effort. At this point I was freaking out that I had damaged the driver even though it still looked completely fine. So, I made a new batch of the adhesive and put it on correctly, this time so the heatsink would be able to slid in.

So after that, I glued on a small copper chuck on the other side of the driver for even more heatsinking.

Then I put it together and it comes in at ~2.5W with a 3 Element Glass Lens!!!:wave:

so with a G-2 lens (30% increase) 2448.3mW x 1.3 = 3182.8mW!!

Here are the pics:

 

[Photonz]

G-2 type lenses came in the mail from techhood... I now get 3.1W of power!!!:wave:

 

[Alaskan]

Nice looking build!

You probably don't need a higher duty cycle or you would have done so but if you could make sure as much air as possible is exposed to as wide an area as possible for your heat sinks you would have more heat transfer to the air. If you could make some kind of ventilation to allow air to escape the battery tube, your driver would run even cooler than having it all trapped in. Regarding that beautiful smooth heat sink for the laser diode which I do admire, just having a mass of heat sink metal will "sink" heat for awhile, but won't do nearly as good a job of transferring that heat to the air and out of the heat sink unless you maximize the surface area of the sink, this means fins and lots of them exposed to the air. You probably know all of this already and didn't need a long duty cycle or to have a longer operating time but mentioning it for others who might not realize that. I see more and more laser pointers being built without heat sink fins lately. Again, if you don't need a long operating period it doesn't matter if you keep it short and let it cool down. A large mass of aluminum, as yours, will also take much longer to heat up than a small one, buying more time before you need to shut down to cool off.

Edit: I should add, regardless of my thoughts on better heat dissipation I'd love to own a beauty like that! Sometimes form is just as important and it sure is a nice build you have there & three watts is awesome! I've never seen this done before with a huge Mag Lite and it looks great.