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General stuff I need to know

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Stianbl

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Hi there,
So, I just got my first green laser. Bought it over at DealExtreme, a green 50mW laser pen. I'v read now, that it might not be 50mW, but I only gave 20$ or something for it, so it's not that bad.

Anyways. I'v always liked lasers, and now that I got thisone, I'm really impressed. I mean, the whole beam is visible, even inside with lights turned on!

Then I searched the web sor some information, as I know there is blue and yellow lasers too. Came across this forum and read a little bit. Then I saw something about a CO2 tube? Outputs like 10-20W (also saw a site providing 400watt tubes, which is insane). And I started to get a little bit confused.

What I do think is great with lasers, is the visibility, range, and the ability to burn. Well, if I could choose, I would like to have both a laser with great range and visibility that doesnt burn, and one which does.

The reason why I made this topic, is to get some more information around the basics.

1. If I want to make myself a laser, what parts do I need? (please reffer to other threads that would help me)

2. Whats really the difference between lasers? I mean, the watt is what makes the power. and also the range and visibility? And the nm is wavelength, determines the color of it? Any other stuff I should consider when talking about the "standard" red/green/blue lasers if I want to make one for myself?

3. A CO2 tube/laser... Whats the main difference between such a laser, and the smaller ones. (std lasers, like red/green/blue).

Well, I dont want you guys to be looking at me as a guy who just wants answers, but for now I need to get my head around these things, before I can start to make myself a laser for real. ANd I really do want to make one with more power output than the one I already have. maybe even a CO2 tube when I get mor mony (will be some years from now, as standard lasers are enough for me atm ^^)

Sorry for any bad english. Wrote it kind of fast, as I really like these kind of stuff. :)

Looking forward to hear from you guys!
 





Stianbl said:
1. If I want to make myself a laser, what parts do I need? (please reffer to other threads that would help me)
At the very least, you would need a laser diode, wire, and a module. However, it is strongly recommended that you use a driver, and to have longer duty cycles, put it in a host. http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1218324818
2. Whats really the difference between lasers? I mean, the watt is what makes the power. and also the range and visibility? And the nm is wavelength, determines the color of it? Any other stuff I should consider when talking about the "standard" red/green/blue lasers if I want to make one for myself?
Watts are a measurement of power. It isn't the sole factor in visablility though; CO2 lasers are completely invisible-yet can be 100's of watts of power. It doesn't define range either; if it's not focused, or has bad divergence, it will not have much range, no matter how powerful it is. (Although more power does make it able to go further, it's just not the single factor) You wont be able to make a green or blue laser without owning large, complicated pieces of equipment; they use IR light pumped through special crystals that need to be aligned percisely for optimum output.
3. A CO2 tube/laser... Whats the main difference between such a laser, and the smaller ones. (std lasers, like red/green/blue).
They use gas as a lasing medium, are not portable, use a dangerous amount of voltage, the beam will get bigger faster, and the beams are invisible.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for your fast reply :D

So, as I understand what I will be able to make is a standard red laser?

How strong (watt) would I be able to make it? If I want to make myself a nice burning laser. And at what cost?
I'm till a student, and I dont have too much mony to spend. I bought my green laser, but I cant even feel the heat on my hands when I turn it on ald let it light on the same spot for several seconds. Even half a minute :P Guess it's far from what it was supposed to be (50mW). (btw: are there any rules of how long the laser could be on? Can it burn itself? In a paper I got with my laser, it said Warmup time 5 min. Well, my laser aint showing full strength until about half a minute of playing, but is this an upper limit of when I have to let it rest?

Sorry, lots of questions here.. :)
 
You _CAN_ build a green or blue laser if you buy the right crystal sets, I know a feew people have done it, but it is by no way an easy task. The difference of less than a millimeter of alignment can determine whether you get 10mw output or 300mw output.

You can buy or extract a DVD BURNER laser diode, they are in the 650-660nm range (So they are red), and can do about 150-200mw. If you manage to find a long die open can diode, they can do about 350mw.

And yeah, co2 lasers are AWESOME burners, but their beam and dot is COMPLETELY invisible to the human eye, so it is also very dangerous! They require high voltages to work, and most even need water cooling.

As for the duty cycle, just make sure it doesnt get too warm. A little bit of heat is alright, but you will start to notice it dimming if it gets too hot.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Thanks for the info :)

I'v been reading some posts in this forum now, and see a lot of blu-ray diy.

You said that the DVD Burners was red? Are there blu-ray lasers too, inside some dvd burners? or is that a whole different thing. Might have gotten them confused =)

I think I will be making a red (or blu-ray, if possible) laser. I want it to be about 100mW, but if its closer to 150 it would be great. (And even more, but I dont have too much mony to put into all of this right now. I mean, I got a green laser for 20$. And as I read in other posts, some of you spend several grand on a laser. I might do that sometime, but for now I'm just a student, wanting to make my own powerfull laser ^^
 
Stianbl said:
Thanks for the info :)
I'v been reading some posts in this forum now, and see a lot of blu-ray diy.
You said that the DVD Burners was red? Are there blu-ray lasers too, inside some dvd burners? or is that a whole different thing. Might have gotten them confused =)
I think I will be making a red (or blu-ray, if possible) laser. I want it to be about 100mW, but if its closer to 150 it would be great. (And even more, but I dont have too much mony to put into all of this right now. I mean, I got a green laser for 20$. And as I read in other posts, some of you spend several grand on a laser. I might do that sometime, but for now I'm just a student, wanting to make my own powerfull laser ^^
Click to expand...

All blu-ray drives have a violet laser in them. Blu-ray "writers" or "burners" have a more powerful laser in them, but all of them have one. Rather than looking to buy a drive, look at the Buy/Sell/Trade thread in this forum. You can get just the "sled" or just the diode here for less money.

Peace,
dave
 
Thanks for the tip :) I will check it out :)

But I think I have to do some more reading too.. Still a lot of stuff thats not clear to me yet.

EDIT: Came across this post: hmm, need 10 posts to post links. well, this is the thread, in the buy/sell: **F/S**BR/RED with driver in Aixiz Module $40

I guess its a fair deal, but how much would it actually cost to make one myself? And I read that you need to focus the laser to burn stuff (of course), but why isn't it focused all the time?
 
Stianbl said:
Thanks for the tip :) I will check it out :)

But I think I have to do some more reading too.. Still a lot of stuff thats not clear to me yet.

EDIT: Came across this post: hmm, need 10 posts to post links. well, this is the thread, in the buy/sell: **F/S**BR/RED with driver in Aixiz Module $40

I guess its a fair deal, but how much would it actually cost to make one myself? And I read that you need to focus the laser to burn stuff (of course), but why isn't it focused all the time?
Click to expand...

This is a very good deal. I would recommend going with a Flexdrive, which would cost you $55 from this seller. The cost of the items used to make this would be about:

-$15: PHR-803T sled
-$4: Aixiz module
-$25: Flexdrive

TOTAL: $44

He is only charging $11 more than it would cost to make it yourself, and keep in mind that on a first try, you will very likely kill the diode and have to get a new one. Plus, what is his time worth? This is a great deal, and we don't do this kind of stuff for profit. We do it to help each other out.

To make a (high-quality) burning laser, you will also need a host and a heatsink. How much you spend on these is up to you. I would recommend going with one of jayrob's builds because he is extremely helpful and friendly, and can guide you through if you just aren't understanding how to do it.

You can expect to spend around $100 for the cost of parts. Remember, you also need goggles! Probably a good idea to get at least two pairs; you don't want to be the only one who can see your laser, do you?

The laser is not focused all the time because you can set the focal point to whatever distance you choose. If you always had it set to parallel, you would not be able to burn anything. If you had a fixed focus about 10cm from the laser, it would be very blurry and out of focus a few feet away. This is why adjustable focus is by far the best option; you can choose to focus it wherever you want, for whatever you are doing.

Good luck!

-Mark
 
welcome to Laser Pointer Forums. well, according to the questions you ask, i think you really need to read up more on the basics of lasers. trust me, you aren't ready to build your own yet if you're asking this type of questions. not trying to put you down, but this is my advice. of course, you can always drop my advice and go ahead and build your own if you follow the guides. :)

good place to start is here http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1225049614 here http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1214032189 and here http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1218324818
 
Thanks :)

Yes, I know I'm probably not ready. And thats mainly because I dont actually know what each part is. If I had english as a first language it would probably make more sense.

Does anybody have a picture or link to a thread, explaining what parts that has to be bought to build a laser. As, picture to explain the part, and text.

Diode, heatsink, host, battery.. those I of course know what are.
What I dont know, is what a flexdrive is, aixiz module? Iæv read about it, and from my understanding its a housing with a lense? for the diode?
PHR-803T sled. (is this the diode part?)

I really hope I can contribute to help others when I get a better understanding myself :)
 
Stianbl said:
Thanks :)

Yes, I know I'm probably not ready. And thats mainly because I dont actually know what each part is. If I had english as a first language it would probably make more sense.

Does anybody have a picture or link to a thread, explaining what parts that has to be bought to build a laser. As, picture to explain the part, and text.

Diode, heatsink, host, battery.. those I of course know what are.
What I dont know, is what a flexdrive is, aixiz module? Iæv read about it, and from my understanding its a housing with a lense? for the diode?
PHR-803T sled. (is this the diode part?)

I really hope I can contribute to help others when I get a better understanding myself :)
Click to expand...
flexdrive is the name of a driver that is sold in our forum. here http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1209418066

you're right about Aixiz module.

yup PHR-803T sled is the diode. as far as i know, sled stands for Superluminescent Light Emitting Diode. i don't have any more ideas about it. somebody please explain.
 
Need 10 posts to post pictures in the Tutorials thread. Sorry for this. It is not for spamming purpose. :-/
 
Need 10 posts to post pictures in the Tutorials thread. Sorry for this. It is not for spamming purpose. :-/
 
Hehe, I just like to take photos.. :)

It's actually just a Nikon D40 with standard lense. And for the macro shots I use an macro adapter between the camera and lense. Bought the adapter at DX for about 9$. CHEAP! if you see the picture of the whole module. Thats the best macro I can get with my standard lense. With the cheap adapter placed between, I can get very close, as you see.. :) Requires good light, but I got a SB-400 flash with my cam.

Bought it about 2 years ago, or 2,5.. Had to give about 500$ for it, including flash and lense. Which at that time was cheap, as they where sold for al,ost 700$, plus flash for 200-220$. And I bought it new from an electronics store here in Norway. Love the camera, for its price :)
 
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