Re: FS: >110mW PHR, >140mW 4x & >170mW 6x Blu-Rays
I'm back! Just finished installing my new laptop. The old one finally crapped out completelly. I've been without for only three days and i felt like in the stone age.. A few people thought i must be dead cos i was not online.. ;D How did we live before computers and internet?
But the silence gave me the opportunity to finish work faster.
It's all done and shipped, except those who asked to wait for batteries. As for the batteries, i tried to get the package out alone, said it was for personal use, but they wouldn't let me. So i filed the official paperwork, waiting for it to get processed so i can pay them a small fortune... :'(
I'll ship those as soon as i have the batteries in my hands, or you tell me you don't need them. (
If you want to buy your own, there are some stores in the US, where you can order them, just be careful, some of them drop-ship from China! Make sure they have them in stock in the US, if you do this! In some cases you can find them in camera shops too.)
I took some pictures along the way, so it would be easier to imagine how much work this was. I'll post them in a bit. Unfortunatelly for me, only the paid-for lasers are finished. Now there's still a bunch of counterfavor-lasers to be made, so more work awaits. Not to mention answering emails from almost a week!
I almost think the emails will take longer. :
I'll try to sort through the emails ASAP, but i hope everyone is reading this, since it probably answers most of your questions.
EDIT: I am starting to see i got some people worried with my absence. I am very sorry about that, but i simply had no time to setup my new computer until finishing the last of the work, cos i wanted to get the all of it all shipped before the weekend! I was working from the morning to the evening EVERY SINGLE DAY! The fact that i was without my computer was a two edged sword. It allowed me to work faster, but it also prevented me to talk to all of you, and you're used to me answering multiple times a day.. I was worried about that, but at the same time, i was hoping, that with most of you we know each other well enough by now, that you would know i wouldn't leave you hanging. Even tho i wasn't able to talk, i still fulfilled all orders.
I sent yet another express "multipack" to Glenn (most of batch #2), for him to dispatch from within the US with Priority. Since some of you had to wait a bit longer, i paid extra for the express and the re-shipping out of my own pocket, to minimise or eliminate the wait. With this amount of packages, express is almost worth it.
It was all a bit crazy during the last few weeks. First i had batch #1 which only repaid purchasing the 6x's, then suddenly batch #2, then #2 started getting bloated, and there simply was no end in sight! I was working like crazy! Quite honestly, i almost lost my mind from all the pressure. The workload was overwhelming!
In case you are wondering, my work looks like this:
1. First i pre-test ALL diodes on my "Diode Analyzer", sort them into groups, depending on efficiency. Then i weed out the weaker ones, and select the good ones for my builds..
You can see some of the plots in the top of the attached picture. I had total of 46 diodes to test, and this took a few days! Then i assign diodes to names, selecting such, that fit the requirements best..
2. Then i take a few bags of AixiZ module blanks, and all the heatsinks. The AixiZ modules have bad OD tolerances, so i have the heatsink made with small tolerances, and then i spend hours matching them up! I go through the bags of modules, trying every single one in every single heatsink, until i find perfect matches - where a module is almost a press-fit. Very tight, but not so tight to require special tools to get it out. I don't want any looselly fitting modules! This way i ensure perfect thermal transfer from the module to the heatsink. Look at the number of those heatsinks (
bottom left of picture). All of them neded to be filled with guts! (This is just batch #2 and #3! a few are "counterfavor builds"..) I assign heatsinks to names and put assigned diodes into them...
3. Then i take the etched driver boards (which i had to etch first!), and solder microscopic SMD components to them (
bottom right pic shows a few of them - i had to make 35 of them total!). This is actually the hardest part! Then i have to set the current (based on the PIV plots) to reach the power you ask for. Then test every single driver, by attaching it to a dummy load, and varying the input voltage from 4.5V to 2.2V, making sure the output current never changes more than 0.2-0.3mA! Making the drivers is actually the hardest part of it all! That's why i'm having the PCBs done in the factory from now on. I will still have to solder the components myself, but at least i won't have to do the etching, and the soldering will be easier on factory made PCBs.
4. Then i just solder the driver to the diodes and close off the heatsink/modules.
5. Then come the optics. They have to be assembled in a clean environment, so as not to get dust between the lens and the diode. This often takes hours, as the lenses are often dirty when i get them! I use a dedicated no-lens blu ray, to iluminate the springs, and visualise any dust particles, while brushing them off. You can probably imagine, this also takes some time.
6. Then i have to measure the power of the lasers, make sure they really are where the PIV plots suggested (and you asked them to be). If they are off, i have to take the laser appart and do some fine-tuning.
7. Then come the power graphs. Recording them takes HOURS with so many orders! (i'm gonna start regretting offering them)
8. Then it's done, right? But it still all has to be packaged, while making sure i don't forget anything. The packaging is usually the craziest part, cos i'm always paranoid i'd forget something, an i quadruple check everything, just to be sure. While packaging, i do one last power measurement, and write it on the inner flap of the box.
Then i can relax. Untill i remember i have another bunch of lasers to make, and those aren't even paid for...
I have to answer all the emails, so nobody gets (too) paranoid, but i will have to do that in the morning. It's three o-clock in the morning right now and i REALLY need to sleep.
Talk to you soon!
