Aluminum 445 Phaser Box

[ENX]

Hey LPF,

I want to share a little project I completed this week. I have been wanting to build a mini hand-held laser into an Aluminum project box I bought a couple weeks ago. I had some scrap / leftover parts laying around, so I started cutting, drilling, soldering, and gluing.

The parts list:

• Pomona Aluminum Box 2.25" X 1.13" X .88"
• M-140 445nm Diode
• Micro Boost Driver (750mA)
• Aixiz Module & 3 Element Glass
• Mini Momentary Push Button
• Aluminum Wire Lug (for Heat Sink)
• N-Type Battery Holder (Cut to Fit 10180)
• Mini 10180 3.7V Li-Ion Battery
• Wire, JB Weld, Hot Glue

Here is what I came up with.... It’s a 445nm running at about 700 - 800mW (estimated). The beam is super bright and with all the aluminum, heat seems to be dispersed quickly. The small 10180 battery doesn’t allow for a very long runtime, but I can get 10+ minutes out of a full charge before I notice the beam significantly dimming. I'm observing a conservative 45 secs on 45 secs off to protect the diode & driver.

I am really surprised I was able to get everything crammed into such a small area, but it went together pretty good. Once everything was in place, I hot glued the wires and battery holder into place. "Solid State"

This is one of my favorite builds with the all metal construction it really has some nice weight. The smooth small size (just over 2 inches) and mometary button makes it seem like a pocket phaser.
:lasergun:

I plan to get the fog machine out and do some more beam shots later this weekend.

Thank you for looking!!!

 

[ARG]

Wow, nice build!

Goes to show that you don't need a lathe or mill to make a nice compact handheld laser!

 

[awillis2589]

Interesting build but I really like this, nice work!

 

[ENX]

Thanks guys!

I have been looking at lathes and would love to have one, but no place in the condo for one . The Dremel is my go to tool for mill work.

 

[Distillate]

Nice idea for the aluminum electrical hub (or "lug" as I've always heard it called). What guage wire is it meant for and how snug does the module fit?

Good build :beer:

 

[ENX]

It is called a lug

The lug is something I picked up at Home Depot. I believe it is the Blackburn #2/0 Stranded Max Type-ADR 2, part # ADR21-B2-5. 2 pack for $2.25. These don't seem to be all created equally, some the 12mm module fits snug, the one I used, I had to widen the hole slightly with the Dremel and needed to trim off the corners to fit in the box flush with the side. The tab part is where the back of the module seems to hang on. I was able to get a good snug press fit with the module, but still JB welded it all together. With the small box, I couldn't use the set screw.

Where in MD are you? I grew up in Gaithersburg and moved to Florida in 2002. Family is still up there.

 

[Distillate]

Did you consider thermal epoxy instead of the JB weld? Hopefully you're still getting good heat transfer to the box.

I live in Frederick but I did work in Gaithersburg for 5 years or so :yh:

 

[Speedy78]

I reminds me a mini portable lab laser! Nice work.

 

[brucemir]

that is great, thinking outside the box!

 

[cheech226]

nice job enx! looks like enough heatsinking too, just watch those run times.

 

[Moistenator]

I love it! That's really neat! I would have put a switch on it but if it were me.

 

[ped]

Looks similar to something I built a few years ago..

http://laserpointerforums.com/f48/my-445nm-lab-build-54212.html

 

[jakeyboii]

that's a nice looking host you built there!

 

[ENX]

Thanks all for the comments!

@Distillate - I never really looked at the thermal properties of JB Weld. After seeing your comment, I found that surprisingly it's not great. I ordered some Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive for my next build. Thanks for the advice.

@Billiam - I was planning to put a switch on this one in addition to the button, just because its easy to hit the button when changing batteries, but I ran out of space in this small box.

@ped - It does look similar. Mine is a bit smaller , but I like the style and the built in fan is a sweet option.