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FrozenGate by Avery

DIY - Two-Colour Combiner Optic Project - for the C2






Wow that's pretty complex. It looks cool but to be honest I'm not too keen on the pedestal that is supposed to flex with the force of the set screws. To be honest I don't think it will allow for enough movement to effectively combine, especially in the far field. It may be worth experimenting with but I wouldn't underestimate the amount of precise positioning control needed for this.
One other concern is repeated adjustment, if you plan for this to be a swap-able module where one can replace and upgrade lasers than you will surely need to re-adjust the optics and I just can't see that flexible pedestal holding up.
Sorry if it comes across as harsh but I'm really not trying to rag on your design I just wan't to help and I honestly don't want to see you wast your money and time when you can do something better. This type of thing is something I've been working with for over 4yrs now, I've spent literally thousands of dollars and hundreds if not thousands of hours. I've consulted top engineers in the field, particularly dealing with spectral combining and honestly I'm on the verge of releasing a combiner very very soon. I enjoy friendly competition which is why I'm trying to help you. Of course you should pursue whatever YOU believe in, I'm just sharing my opinion.
Best of luck to you Rhd!:beer:
 
I'm not completely sold on the pedestal idea. Though I'm amazed at the kind of precision CNI can get with the pivoting module approach. It's also probably the reason their two-colour builds are limited to such low powers - thermal dissipation.

I think the pedestal approach will be better. Remember, it's not being used for major aiming here. It's being used for refinement. The actual flex that this 1x1 mm column needs to facilitate is minescule. I don't think stress over time will ever be a concern.

That said, I'm open to suggestions here :)

My objective with this absurdly expensive and time consuming project really isn't to make money. It's a pretty darn narrowly appealing product. There's a market void, and I'd love for hobbyists to be able to make two colour portables.

I'd also love it if someone else had a product that could accomplish this. I wouldn't be doing this if there was ;) But you know, we've been hearing for months and months and months about boost drivers that are going to allow us to do X, Y, and Z. We still aren't seeing them. I've learned that with laser projects, everything is "in progress" until it's "not".
 
Do you have the latest estimation of your part? Should be quite expensive. :thinking:

The CNI module is more simple but lacks possibility to exchange a laser if ones burns. Arrange initially lasers with set screws, then grab mirrors, align, and fix.
 
Paddy said:
Any update on this?
Curious as to how well this works. :)
Click to expand...

I have the host that I decided to go with for design purposes now. The challenge at the moment is just prioritization. There are a few other things that I need to pay for before I can splurge on another EMS order. But this is still actively on my mind :)
 
been a while since i've seen an update. rhd, has this project been put on the back burner? i've been playing with red and green hene's and a dichro to combine beams and it is no easy task. i can get the spot to blend but getting the beams just right eludes me so far.
 
cheech226 said:
been a while since i've seen an update. rhd, has this project been put on the back burner? i've been playing with red and green hene's and a dichro to combine beams and it is no easy task. i can get the spot to blend but getting the beams just right eludes me so far.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's on the back burner. I think there are better design ides that I'd want to incorporate before going forward with this.

I think there are fewer points of failure if you position one module at 90 degrees, and then use something more akin to a mini-mount (like the PL guys use) to adjust one single dichro. I think I could design something that would work, but the reality is that even a small run of like 20 of these, would require a $1,000 investment through emachine shop. I just can't swing that on my own right now. There are too many other little things that I've "invested" money, and more importantly time in. Most of those investments have a negative rate of return ;)
 
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