Did I screw up my lens?

[JimBolder]

When I first purchased an empty aixiz housing for my 650nm laser build, the acrylic lens that came with it had a sizable scratch on the front.

I then decided to purchase a glass lens (non-coated) from aixiz on Ebay.

When I got the glass lens, I screwed it into the lens cap from the housing with some of that resin designed to hold screws in place. Unfortunately, some of the resin oozed onto the lens.

I had to take the lens apart to clean it up. Inside there were three components: a thick convex lens, a metal ring, and a thinner lens concave on one side and convex on the other. I used rubbing alcohol and lens cloth to clean up these parts.

I then put the parts back in in the following order (from the front of the lens housing far from the diode side to the diode side): thinner lens with the concave end facing inside, metal ring, and thicker lens with the more convex side facing the diode.

When I tried it out for the first time (I didn't think to try it out before I got it dirty and cleaned it up), I found that when I focus it down to a dot, a sizable "aura" of red light appears around the dot. When I tried putting in the acrylic lens, even with the scratch, it didn't have this. It was just a plain red dot.

So, are glass lenses just like this? Or did I screw something up?:thinking:

 

[Coherent Light]

Try this thread for assembly, and if that doesn't work clean everything again.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f49/aixiz-glass-lens-disassembled-40222.html

 

[JimBolder]

Try this thread for assembly, and if that doesn't work clean everything again.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f49/aixiz-glass-lens-disassembled-40222.html

I think I've narrowed down the problem to the lenses being in the wrong order or flipped around.

But my lens is a little different than the ones described in that thread. There's only three components inside instead of four.

Here's a picture next to the acrylic lens for comparison:

I don't know if you can see it in the picture or not, but the leftmost glass component has a sort of band around it a little more than halfway up. Maybe this lens is the first two lenses described in that thread cemented together or something?
And also, my smaller lens is a little concave on one side, and not completely flat like that other thread described.

So can somebody point out the right order they go in for me?

 

[Coherent Light]

http://www.sonic.net/~jayrob/AixiZ glass lens elements.jpg

See if this helps.

 

[RA_pierce]

The lens on the left is 2 elements "cemented" together as you guessed. That is how the newer Aixiz lenses are made.

Try cleaning the lenses with clean cotton swabs and 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol.

The leftmost lens (2 elements) goes in first. Insert it with the "thinner" element toward the aperture. Next, Insert the metal spacer, then the last lens with the convex side in first. I am 90% certain that's how it goes, but I haven't taken one of these apart in a while.

 

[anselm]

This is from a lens meant for 445nm, I don't know if they're the same, but maybe
this will help you:

 

[JimBolder]

Thanks guys.

I tried that configuration, and everything seems to be working as it should. No more "aura."