Hello!! Manufacturing Tech intro thread!

[supermario680]

Just Like Pete sez--your closeups are they way we like (once re-sized--lol)


I like to give the impression I am big on re-cycling but actually I am at heart, a die hard dumpster diver- latest good find a friend made was a> 6 X 3 foot sound controller/console next to a dumpster (prolly would not fit) it was near where cruise ships dock and we figure it got replaced by a new and better (& smaller) one. must have had 40 sliders on it and tons of buttons and switches. it was prolly a very cool/spendy thing back in its day.

haha thanks, to be honest that is just an Iphone 4s shot though a small lit magnifying lens used when working on electronics. But I do have a little background in photography too so I'm aware about focus and centering and lighting etc...

Sweet picture! i think a 445 may be difficult to heatsink in this host, i would go with a 100mW green module. If you are comfortable soldering diodes, you can use a DX 100 or 200mW green. You can also just use the module straight up but I would personally get a better driver. (100mW LINK) (200mW LINK)

thanks for the links! I'll have to look into it when I get some time!

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you have access to some cool laser tech on a daily basis... looking forward to your future shares!

Have a great time getting to know folks here and learning. This is, imho, THE laser spot on the Internet. There are some really sharp folks here and a ton of cumulative experience. I'm a newb, but I learn something new everytime I stop by the forums.

This hobby is addictive. Be forewarned.

cheers!

Thanks!

LOL Kap

your warning is too late-

Both of us being photographers, we can say its often the pics of lasers and videos too that first catch our eyes.--

From there the slope is way too slippery to ever go back.

WE can go from a button battery red cat toylasers to a DIY +W RGBs in a short time.

If I had it to do all over i would choose to just skip handhelds and go to lasershows from the get-go.

I think many will agree that the blame/credit for our addiction falls on the green pointer- especially for those who got started when these first became affordable..

BUT say what you will-- I am sure more LPF members came here as a result of a KipKay VID, his links to LPF over the years are responsible for many newcomers as well as Vids by members like Spyro.

After that I think i have referred more than any others.

I did not think to keep track of this-- i se we have a place in our profile about referrale but just how those number grow in an unknown to me.

I have handled more than 100 customer support Qs for my dear friends at AixiZ and without exception I do my best AND try to get them to join any or all laser forums-hopefully they are become good members-

I think most have a good idea of how to join a forum and do it right- i NEVER just give a LPF link and say 'JOIN'- I try to help them get off on the right foot here-something that does not always happen and we have seen way too many that do NOT get a good start at LPF.

WL got us a crap-load of new members too... but many were a BIG waste of the forums time.










:wave:

WL?

I think I came across this site a few times in passing while researching lasers out of curiosity from using them at work. It was only recently that i've become more interested. Partially because of the lost laser techs at work here and partially from using a nice green laser on an AR15 setup but baffled at the price. This started me thinking about DIY projects more out of curiosity.

Welcome to the forum!

I'm loving the photos! Very nice! I hope to see more!

I actually have a fiber array package kind of like yours. They are really cool! They need lots of juice though!

Yes I don't think I'll be powering this up, just something I came across in passing. I believe its in the infrared wavelength.

Better listen to Kap!!! You will quickly get way deep in and $ will be flying out your bank account faster than you thought possible Lol.
Len (hakzaw) is dead on with the 532nm comment and how they get you sucked in. I still can't believe how even a 25mw 532nm will create an entire beam at night. Hope I never lose the wonder of it.
Hope you are still thinking seriously about the projector C! I'm telling you, it's the right progression for you to take.
Was hoping to see my QS today but it didn't come Oh well, made a giant 4.5' x 9' glow-in-the-dark canvas from black-out cloth and glow in the dark spray paint which turned out fantastic for the old 405nm "drawing with light". We have too much fun here RESPONSIBLE fun that is.
Seriously, my friend len should be respected and listened too. Not only has he been around awhile but is a wonderful person too.
If you can actually keep those parts that would be fantastic. Keep the pics coming. We eat that stuff up.
I think I already REPPED you but if I didn't there's an incoming super.
I'll pass on the same advice I give everyone besides all the safety stuff. Be overly kind!
Pete

Weird, says I've given out too much REP in the last 24 hours so I can't give it today. Have been recovering at home from kidney stone issues and have had way more time than usual to spend on the forums so I guess that is what happens. I'll have to take a look at what the rules say.

Thanks for the kind words everyone! and absolutely! they're my favorite too!! and not too many pics of this type of stuff even AROUND either...

I'll have to wait until another JDSU fiber unit goes out, they look pretty neat the way they arrange the fiber array in a circle.

 

[supermario680]

Probably for APC uses. Not sure in your case, but many used to use a weak diode to regulate the power cycle. Some of the older resonators use a weak IR OR 680nm diodes to help maintain stable output.

as in Automatic Power Control? If so I noticed it does have 2 photo diodes along with this "extra laser diode" too...

About the warning labels found on lasers== if your read that the laser is 15W MAX or <15W it could be WAY less than 15W -- most are accurate about the kind (like CW)and wavelength of the laser but the output --not so much ( all the time)

haha I suppose. I'm going to try to gather some basic info on all the lasers we have. Types, wavelengths and powers etc...

Sweet picture! i think a 445 may be difficult to heatsink in this host, i would go with a 100mW green module. If you are comfortable soldering diodes, you can use a DX 100 or 200mW green. You can also just use the module straight up but I would personally get a better driver. (100mW LINK) (200mW LINK)

Not sure if you thought I was actually using that diode array but its infrared so probably not...

anyways thanks for the links! i've been curious where to get reliable diodes. Those "modules" appear to have the optics, diode and driver all in one?


Also, spent a little time with this bad boy.... A Coherent LPX Pro! this was the one with the brilliant blue UV emissions (around 248nm I think...) Had a chance to watch it Pulse manually a little today, very cool! but very dangerous looking! I'll try to get a video sometime. Maybe some under the hood shots too.

 

[Antharak]

Welcome to LPF.
As all have said the well of knowledge here is bottomless.
Love the pics and hope to see "under the hood" of that LPX!

 

[supermario680]

Welcome to LPF.
As all have said the well of knowledge here is bottomless.
Love the pics and hope to see "under the hood" of that LPX!

Crap, forgot to re-size them again...

Anyways no time for any under the good shots of the LPX but I DID get a video of it pulsing from the backside view port! The red laser light you see on the flap is used to align the optics. They shine a 1mw Melles Griot HeNe though mirrors and partially reflective glass and shine it at the rear of the cavity so it bounces straight back and points exactly into the origin of the HeNe laser. That's how we know when the optics are aligned. Love the brilliant Blue even all washed out. No shots of any targets, just the cavity itself. Surprised my camera still works... This is NOT the business end though..

IMG 3264 - YouTube

 

[ultimatekaiser]

very nice vid!

Just a warning though, you may not want to point your camera directly into a powerful laser like that, be glad it was pulsed. cameras dont like looking into them anymore than our eyes do. you could burn up your camera's sensor!

 

[jeffreythe00]

Hey I just noticed. That copper piece that fiber laser is sitting on. That looks to be a massive TEC. Did you manage to salvage that? TECs that size aren't too common and are pretty pricy if you buy them new.

 

[supermario680]

very nice vid!

Just a warning though, you may not want to point your camera directly into a powerful laser like that, be glad it was pulsed. cameras dont like looking into them anymore than our eyes do. you could burn up your camera's sensor!

Oh this wasn't the emissions side... otherwise it would be fried for sure, this is the rear entry for aligning the optics with the HENE. I don't know how it works exactly... but the main emissions do not come from that end. The Emissions end can brown paper in a few pulses!

I'll upload a quick vid of the "business end"

Hey I just noticed. That copper piece that fiber laser is sitting on. That looks to be a massive TEC. Did you manage to salvage that? TECs that size aren't too common and are pretty pricy if you buy them new.

TEC? thermoelectric cooling/cooler? I'm not too familiar with that concept... I know it is sitting on a Massive Finned heat sink... (ligher copper color) and that little pad is sandwiched in between and has 2 wires running to it. (darker copper color) No idea what it is/was though....

just googled it and whoah! crazy! thats exactly what it looks like! i'll have to play with it and see if it still works... =)

 

[NKO29]

Just going off what you just said, i'd guess that it's a TEC. Basically one side cools and the other side heats.

 

[jeffreythe00]

Yeah, thats a TEC/Thermoelectric Cooler alright. Hopefully you kept it. They can surely come in handy some day .

 

[supermario680]

Hmm... will go play with it shortly... in the mean time here is a quick peek of the LPX zapping the wall a little bit. Around 200 mJ. I think. Scary!

IMG 3274 - YouTube



Also, just tested the TEC and WOW does that work good!! I only hooked up a 3v battery to it and it rapidly heated up! reversed polarity and it Very rapidly cooled. Very Cool!!

 

[jeffreythe00]

Hehe, you will love that TEC! Give it 12V and you can make ice sculptures! Those things can easily go to -30 and below. Be sure to keep the hot side on a heatsink. Thermal paste if you can. They are cool little devices! Pun intended

Oh and be careful hooking it up to batteries. TECs are very power hungry devices. Its very common for larger TECs to want to draw 10A+. Drawing this amount of current can damage the cell or even cause it to fail. Yours is massive so I would assume its going to want alot more than 10A. If you have the PSU it came with, use that.

 

[supermario680]

Hehe, you will love that TEC! Give it 12V and you can make ice sculptures! Those things can easily go to -30 and below. Be sure to keep the hot side on a heatsink. Thermal paste if you can. They are cool little devices! Pun intended

Oh and be careful hooking it up to batteries. TECs are very power hungry devices. Its very common for larger TECs to want to draw 10A+. Drawing this amount of current can damage the cell or even cause it to fail. Yours is massive so I would assume its going to want alot more than 10A. If you have the PSU it came with, use that.

Yea I didn't leave it plugged in long. Maybe 5 seconds or so on each side. I was amazed how rapid the change was.

 

[supermario680]

LOL Kap

your warning is too late- Both of us being photographers, we can say its often the pics of lasers and videos too that first catch our eyes.-- From there the slope is way too slippery to ever go back.

This was very true! MUCH too late! I was also a photographer in my younger years in 4h and won some decent awards.

BUT say what you will-- I am sure more LPF members came here as a result of a KipKay VID, his links to LPF over the years are responsible for many newcomers as well as Vids by members like Spyro.

After that I think i have referred more than any others.

I did not think to keep track of this-- i se we have a place in our profile about referrale but just how those number grow in an unknown to me.

Actually had only seen 1 kipkay video and that was probably after lurking here and i was also shocked by the lack of safety/care. and Haha!! I see we are very similar!! You have 11 referrals and I have 15 over on my 300zxclub forums lol. And also 6k posts.

pssst... (When a new member joins it will ask if they were referred by a member at the bottom somewhere, they have to enter your username.)

WL got us a crap-load of new members too... but many were a BIG waste of the forums time.

Haha! I actually never heard of them before I saw the reviews here, But I've also seen some... just terrible posts... Lol

 

[supermario680]

Oh, FYI I extracted the smaller diode from the SDL laser out of its module and its a TOLD 9211 - Toshiba 680nm Diode - TOLD9211S ... - Datasheet Search Engine Download