To my surprise I received my 445nm laser diode and my host yesterday, perfect timing… ready for the weekend. They took about a week, which seemed like an eternity.
The diode I received was from Pat (ElektroFreak) from his Round 3 Group Buy (
http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/round-3-sold-out-cheap-445nm-true-blue-5-6mm-diode-group-buy-51347.htm). This is what I received, the diode and its lens:
From Jay (jayrob), I received the 18650 kit with aluminum heatsink (inside the DIY Green host), the 'Hot' option (which includes the Micro BoostDrive pre-mounted) and the AixiZ housing (
[http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/fs-18650-build-kit-easy-assembly-blu-ray-red-43857.html).
Jay attached a note to the host indicating the settings, 640mA, which should be about 500mW (according to the graph being compiled by kevinmassey (
http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/post-your-ma-mw-51432.html#post710254), and the cable identification.
Here is a shot of the AixiZ disassembled:
This is a close up of the Aixiz lens:
This is the host disassembled, notice the nice aluminum sink and the driver already mounted. I completely forgot to add the copper heat sink to the order. I may order it later if I decide to increase the mA’s for higher mW’s:
And these are the tools that I used to build the laser pointer, in addition, you will need some thermal compound and a vice:
So, let’s start building the laser pointer.
And here is a close up of the diode showing how the pins actually look:
(Notice that Pat send me the laser diode with the middle pin shorter and slightly bended, this is good idea since it reminds you that pins is not used).
1. Put a little, very little, amount of thermal compound on the inside of the hole (indentation) of the front piece of the Aixiz laser housing, this is to increase the thermal conductivity from the laser diode to the Aixiz module.
2. Place the laser diode in the hole of the front piece of the Aixiz laser housing; be extra careful not to smear any of the thermal compound on the glass of the laser diode. (Also, make sure that you “ground” yourself before you touch the diode, this way you do not ruin your diode due to an electrostatic discharge.):
2. Although there are several ways to “press-fit” the diode into the Aixiz, I prefer the way someone described here a while back. Place the small hole of the back half of the Aixiz housing on top of the diode. Make sure the pins of the diode are inside and that is properly aligned as in this photo and press it slightly, enough to hold in place:
3. Next, place the three pieces between the jaws of a vise (notice the laser diode in the middle):
4. Slowly and carefully turn the handle of the vise and start pressing the three pieces.
5. The diode will then be pressed into the hole of the front piece of the Aixiz laser housing:
6. The laser diode in the front piece of the Aixiz laser housing should look like this:
7. The next step is to solder the two wires from the driver (you may want to have a printed copy of the diagram handy and match it with the laser diode pins) (In this picture the middle ring of the host is not in place, this is just to illustrate the wiring and soldering:
8. Next, insert the back half of the Aixiz housing into the heat sink:
9. Using a hex key, also known as an Allen key or Allen wrench, secure the front piece of the Aixiz laser housing in the heat sink. You may want to put a little amount of the thermal on the inside of the heat sink, and only close to the outer edge.
10. Next screw in the lens. Be careful of not going all the way in, this may crush the laser diode.
11. And… Viola! The laser pointer has been assembled:
12. Next is to test it, but first two things you must to:
PUT YOU SAFETY GOGGLES ON!! And second
put a cap on the laser output!!.
13. Once you done the two things above, make sure that you are not pointing the laser to anyone or to any reflective surface, next remove the cap and press the ON button:
For comparison, I placed my favorite laser, the 6X Dorcy 405nm ~200mW laser pointer, masterfully created by Dave (daguin ). Notice how strong is the 445nm laser pointer, I had to take the photo from the side rather than from the front, the intensity overloaded my camera and it is almost blinding… and that is with the cap on! So BE VERY CAREFUL when you remove the cap and turn the laser on.
NOTE:
Leaving the cap on and turning the laser on could kill your diode. I left the caps on just to show you how intense this laser is. Make sure you always have the cap on, if you actidentaly turn it on, it is better to kill the laser diode than to hurt someone.
Now a couple of pictures, the 445nm laser is expectacular, notice how strongly it illuminates the living room. There is no smoke added to the room.
On the next one, I turn on a 200mW green laser just to compare them.
Here I am pointing the lasers to a tree little over 300 feet away, it really do not do justice to the splendor of the blue beam and to its intensity.
I took a couple of short videos, I need to edit them before I can post.
On the side note, as I mentioned above, this laser it is set to 640mA, with an estimated output of around 500mW (
http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/post-your-ma-mw-51432.html#post710254), that is half the power that this diode is capable of outputting. I made a mistake, I put the Aixiz lens module that came om the package instead of Jay’s original 405-G-1 lens, this is what happened, the plastic melted and created a larger hole:
I had to remove the debris that deposited inside the front piece of the Aixiz housing and on top of the laser diode.
Well, it was really fun and rewarding to build this laser, hope these notes help you when you build your own.
