Fired up @ 2.8A

[RA_pierce]

I'm not sure if this should go in experiments & mods or what, so since it's a video it goes here.

Man... I just got 3 and a half hours of sleep... and the sun is already up. I'm tired.

Anyway, I fired up my 2W 808nm snoctony diode today.
I have it bolted to a PC heat-sink and focused with an Aixiz.
This thing BURNS.

When I get this thing portable-ized (soon) I'll have to show it off more.

You can hear the "pop" from the cardboard when it ignites.
Video may still be processing on youtube.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukcPrIgMAGQ[/media]


So far, I've managed to set wood, paper, and cardboard on fire and cut a small moth in half.
I love it.

 

[Switch]

Nice! How much was it? Are those still on ebay? And how much were your goggles, that I assume you have? Did you have IR goggles from before or did you buy them just for this?

 

[RA_pierce]

Nice! How much was it? Are those still on ebay? And how much were your goggles, that I assume you have? Did you have IR goggles from before or did you buy them just for this?

$95 for the diode.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2000mw-808nm-la...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

Heruursciences (spelling?) is selling those grab bags and individual diodes (that I'm sure you're all aware of) at great prices, so I'd pick one up from him.

I don't have IR goggles at the moment (I guess that makes me a sinner) but I'm looking into the OEM ones and the cheap zonestealth goggles. Those are about $30 so I might just see how those work. Right now, it's mounted on a big chunk o' metal facing a beam dump so it's not like I'll be swinging it around in my face.

This is an awesome project.
It's basically the same as Billg's IR builds using the AMC7135 regulators- and I got a lot of help from him.

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

That little thing has some oomf to it, thats for sure

But you might want to move that battery

 

[billg519]

Nice work. First light is always fun with these diodes. Get the goggles and fast, though. This is a lot more power than the little can diodes!!! A reflection off something could be nasty to the eyeballs. I keep the goggles right on my bench so I always have them at hand if I want to put a diode in a test mount and try it.
You should be able to ignite steel wool, light a previously-lit candle, cut 1 mm solder, burn through 1/8" black plastic quickly, light fireworks, light sparklers, and all the other good things that a nice IR burner does.
I just shot mine at a battery like in your video, the black part of the casing smokes nicely! You should get good certified goggles. (oemlasers.com)

 

[Kenom]

I have one of those setup in my Kryton smooth. I've got another that I've been trying to get rid of as well. Just the host.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

at 2.8 amps, how much power are you reading ?? Should be over 2 Watts

Mike

 

[RA_pierce]

at 2.8 amps, how much power are you reading ??  Should be over 2 Watts  

Mike

I've got a Laserbee I on the way, but it only reads up to 1W. I'll have to cut the power down somehow so I can get a reading.
Any suggestions on how I can do this and get pretty accurate readings?
I think Nd filters should work?
Eh... I don't really feel like spending more than I have to though...

 

[DashApple]

Hi

Nice laser , im building one with a 2 watt 9mm diode with tec cooling . dose the aixzi module work well for focusing the diode i DID have a 3 watt diode too .

 

[RA_pierce]

Hi

Nice laser , im building one with a 2 watt 9mm diode with tec cooling . dose the aixzi module work well for focusing the diode i have a 3 watt diode too .

It works ok. It only allows for focus up to about 3-5 inches from the lens.
I would build a better optics setup for this laser but I need to conserve as much space as I can.
Either I'll shorten the Aixiz glass or make my own lens mod inside the brass Aixiz lens nut.

 

[Cyparagon]

Before I had a 10W meter, I measured higher powers on my 1W meter using a simple ratio formula we all learned in middle school and a diffraction grating. This only works if the output is stable.

 

[lasersbee]

[quote author=Hemlock Mike link=1240754921/0#6 date=1240887569]at 2.8 amps, how much power are you reading ??  Should be over 2 Watts  

Mike

I've got a Laserbee I on the way, but it only reads up to 1W. I'll have to cut the power down somehow so I can get a reading.
Any suggestions on how I can do this and get pretty accurate readings?
I think Nd filters should work?
Eh... I don't really feel like spending more than I have to though...[/quote]
Hey Pierce... you can easily measure higher powers with the LaserBee I LPM...
Like you mentioned... use a Glass ND Filter... similar to these....

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=120310772159

We use these glass ND2, ND4 and ND8 filters for experimenting in the shop...  

Jerry

 

[T_Warne]

I don't have IR goggles at the moment (I guess that makes me a sinner) but I'm looking into the OEM ones and the cheap zonestealth goggles. Those are about $30 so I might just see how those work. Right now, it's mounted on a big chunk o' metal facing a [highlight]beam dump[/highlight] so it's not like I'll be swinging it around in my face.

What is a "beam dump?"

TW

 

[charliebruce]

A surface designed to absorb all of the energy. In my case, it happens to be the far wall, but for high powered lasers, a more safe way of catching the beam is needed. I've seen cinder blocks used for really high-powered IR lasers...

 

[RA_pierce]

Hey Pierce... you can easily measure higher powers with the LaserBee I LPM...
Like you mentioned... use a Glass ND Filter... similar to these....

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&it em=120310772159

We use these glass ND2, ND4 and ND8 filters for experimenting in the shop... Cool

Ah... those are what I was referring to thanks for that!

What is a "beam dump?"

I use a black piece of stone to absorb the beam so I don't have 2W of IR bouncing around my room.