Dear Dr. Lava...

[Mohrenberg]

This is one of those times that making a similar product
may be acceptable...

If a member offers a product and other members start to
use and depend on that product... but the member supplying
the said (required) product can not reliably supply it then it
should be OK for others to produce a similar product and offer
it....IMO

It seems that these Drivers are always on the no stock list...
If the supplier has a problem with production (it does happen)
then it seems that he should at least address the queries of
his customers or potential customers....

Jerry

Has dr. lava patented the flex drive?
Someone just steal the design......
Maybe i'll ship one off to a manufacturer? muahahahaha

 

[anselm]

It shouldn' be too hard to reverse engineer from a high-res macro shot and an oscilloscope.

On the other hand, actually I've been looking and there are all sorts of DC DC boost ICs.
A few that might be worth looking further into:
LM5118
LM2577/-8
LM2621
MAX668
MAX862
MAX1760
LT1310
SC4501


I don't know though if they can be tweaked into constant current mode, but most are able to
provide an adjusted voltage, which is almost as good, just gotta take the diode heating up and lowering Vf into consideration....

It doesn't seem so dificult to make a particular one off driver for a certain diode, the real
challenge is to make one as darn flexible and universal as the dr.lava driver.

 

[rhd]

But that level of flexibility really isn't needed. Solder bridge for 1.2 & 1.8 would capture 90% of 445 use cases.

A second version could be made for 400 & 600, and you'd have 90% of red and 405 12x builds covered.

 

[lasersbee]

It shouldn' be too hard to reverse engineer from a high-res macro shot and an oscilloscope.

On the other hand, actually I've been looking and there are all sorts of DC DC boost ICs.
A few that might be worth looking further into:
LM5118
LM2577/-8
LM2621
MAX668
MAX862
MAX1760
LT1310
SC4501


I don't know though if they can be tweaked into constant current mode, but most are able to
provide an adjusted voltage, which is almost as good, just gotta take the diode heating up and lowering Vf into consideration....

It doesn't seem so dificult to make a particular one off driver for a certain diode, the real
challenge is to make one as darn flexible and universal as the dr.lava driver.

Reverse Engineering (copying) is not necessary...
You know what's going in and you know what you want out..
It is just a matter of designing something that will solve that
criteria.

@ Moh...
I don't think it's Patented... if it was... the Patent
Number and the word Patented would be plastered all over
the PCB and Documentation...


Jerry

 

[rhd]

Theres no way it would have been patentable.

 

[NetGod3Com]

I'd have to agree with rhd, too difficult to not find "prior art" on a dc to dc convertor, the only thing that is unique is the size.

 

[Trevor]

I'd just like to point out that reverse engineering in itself is not copying.

-Trevor

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Someone needs to design a new boost driver

 

[bhwollen]

We need Jib77 to make one!

 

[MegaTesla]

Someone needs to design a new boost driver

I'm on it. Single Li-Ion in, constant current 1A-2A out, capable of driving 445nm to the max. That is what I need now, so I'm spending my time on that. Buck / boost < 1A is easy and will follow later if the need still exist.

What is the maximum acceptable PCB size for a 2A boost converter you guys can live with?

I have now spent about 10hours looking at:
Texas Instruments, Maxim, Lumen-chip, Intersil, International Rectifier, Fairchild, Micrel, Vishay, Linear, National, Semtech, Allegro, Supertex, Seiko, ST, ONsemi, Analog, Zetex, Sipex, Melaxis etc. I'm almost half-way working through possible solutions.

 

[NetGod3Com]

9mmX12mm or smaller would be ideal.

 

[drlava]

Hi guys! Wow, I'm sorry to see the hate has gotten thick here, and it appears that some people, even a business owner might be trying to take advantage of it as an excuse to copy designs. wow!

The fact is I've had to take a break from selling these for the last month or two because finishing my degree took precedence. I apologize for the delays/inconvenience/laserache that has caused some of you, thank you for your thoughts. I'm happy to tell you that that is over and done with now, things are rolling, and I have a LOT of PMs to go through

The drivers are being made right now and I expect to be able to start sending out more of the V5's in about 15 days. Not only that, but a few people have signed up to be distributors, and these people are a lot better with communications on here than I have been able to be, so that is an additional bonus.

I remember when I made the first buck/boost laser driver on this board, back when it was considered a hobby for most people, a fun passtime. People responded with great enthusiasm to the extra capability such a thing provided to the hobby. Fast forward to this year, and it appears lasers have become quite a bit more than a hobby to a lot of people, to the point where they would threaten to undertake ethically questionable practices to 'feed the need'. I think that no matter what stories are made up, it is important to maintain ones ethics like many have in fact done on this board.

I'm especially saddened to see a post in another thread:
"I'm also very close to mailing off a flex drive to someone to reproduce, since I play dirty now." from Matthew Ohrenberg, a guy I think (thought?) is a pretty good guy. I haven't read on this forum recently, so I can't tell what may have changed in your life, maybe the bad economy's turning you cynical? It's so easy to get tunnel vision in a small community like this, but everyone should, and most people do, realize that there is a lot more to the world than pointers. If you find yourself abandoning ethics to 'feed the need' then it might be a good idea to look over the famous 12-step program to recovery.

All that said, lasers and the construction of them are a very enjoyable hobby and I'm working to improve driver availability to meet the expectations of members through helpful members like FlaminPyro, who will most likely become a distributor and contact for these drivers.

Also, I will go through every single PM and respond as appropriate to your questions as soon as possible.

If you have a question about a driver, PM, or anything else specific to you, please either be patient if you have PMed or PM me and I WILL get back to you.

Best wishes to all!

 

[rocket689]

Nice to hear back from you Dr lava...You might find a few pm's from me Oh, and congrats on the degree

 

[SpecV]

Excellent news! Can't wait to get some flexdrives.

 

[jayrob]

Please let us know about the FlexModP3 drivers as well drlava!

When will they be available?

Thanks!

 

[Tonga]

drlava this is good news! While I'm not out of Flex V5s they are slated for projects and I need many more!
I will be stocking up on this very versatile driver. Good luck finishing your degree man!!!