Building a 405nm Laser (old one died) need help with the diode / driver selection

[cheech226]

you can use the back end of an aixiz module and a vise to press a diode into the front end of an aixiz (type) module. it is a ghetto method, but served many of us here well for some time. techhood is a good seller. you will probably reach a point where our own dtr will be your guy for diodes.

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

You can try pressing it that way, but 3.8mm diodes can be pretty difficult, especially if they are new and
have never been pressed into anything before. If it tries going crooked into a copper module, it leaves a big
dent which will cut down on thermal efficiency. I've been there before. Even with the right press tool you
have to be very careful.

 

[FrozenClear]

Probably the one case where you would not want to do it is with a round driver that is pressed
into a brass ring. Unless you have a screw or make some other type of contact that can be soldered to.

I was just thinking about the wiring of the case pin again and I wanted to get clarification. If I plan to make contact with the case through the heatsink I should solder the case pin to the driver. Correct? Also, If I do this I don't need to use the "Power +VE" on the driver to connect the case right?

Thanks,
Frozen

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

One end of the battery faces the driver and makes contact with it there. The other end faces the rear and
makes contact with the host. Electricity flows back around through the host, heatsink and module and
onto the case pin of the diode. So say the negative end of the battery faces toward the host's tail. The
case pin on the diode will then also be negative and attach to the - on the driver. I don't know what driver
you are using. This confuses a lot of people at first. All you have to do is make sure the input of your
driver is attached to the right ends of the battery and you're set.

 

[FrozenClear]

I'm going to be using the driver you recommended! Link In this case the spring is the -VE for the circuit. So I should use the case pin?

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Case pin goes to -VE

 

[FrozenClear]

Case pin goes to -VE

Wow it all made sense once you said that! Thanks.


Update:

I've received my diode and driver from china finally. Before I jump in and assemble it I realized there is something important that I neglected to think about.

Does my driver have a potentiometer? I had assumed it was that philps head thing on the back of the driver. If so how do i set it to the correct amperage? Should I assume since its a 200mw driver and the diode is 200mw that I should just turn it up to max and have it work?

Thanks,
Frozen

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

No! Overturning the pot will smoke some drivers. Your diode too if it happens to be attached. First you
should hook it up to a test load to make sure the driver is putting out the right current, and if not adjust it.
The search bar at the bottom is your friend!

 

[FrozenClear]

So I was looking over the pins for soldering and I noticed that if I orient my diode so that the two LD pins touch the top of the driver and the case pin touches the bottom of the driver the LD+ contacts the LD- of the board. This is the opposite of what I want right? A little guidance would be greatly apprecaited!

Is this correct:

Pin 1 = LD Anode = "+" = connect to LD+ on the driver
Pin 2 = LD Cathode = "-" = connect to LD- on the driver