I messed up...

[Voldy356]

Alright, so today I pressed my first diode.
The press was successful, but I damaged the diode a bit...

It's not too bad, I don't think.
But I know these things are very sensitive.
So what is my prognosis? Is it busted or is it fine?

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi,
Doesn't look too bad from the pic, You will know when you test it on a PSU or attach the driver and power it up. Looks like you'll be fine fingers crossed. When you build take your time and dont rush. Rushing a build is a recipe for disaster and a loss of time and money.
Don't be hasty ..
Rich

 

[Voldy356]

Hi,
Doesn't look too bad from the pic, You will know when you test it on a PSU or attach the driver and power it up. Looks like you'll be fine fingers crossed. When you build take your time and dont rush. Rushing a build is a recipe for disaster and a loss of time and money.
Don't be hasty ..
Rich

Thank you very much for your help.
Yes, I was a bit hasty. And it doesn't help that I don't have a press tool, so I used the back of the aixiz module, but it went in "uneven", so I tried to fix it.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi, Ok get in touch with Jeff his forum name is Flamingpyro. He has complete press kits for 3.8/5.6/9mm diodes and the sets come with exstractors they are about 65.00 +s/h from Oregon. He's usually out busy with other thing and might not get back real soon but give him a chance. If your serious about building you will definitely need these tools ..
Rich

 

[Voldy356]

Hi, Ok get in touch with Jeff his forum name is Flamingpyro. He has complete press kits for 3.8/5.6/9mm diodes and the sets come with exstractors they are about 65.00 +s/h from Oregon. He's usually out busy with other thing and might not get back real soon but give him a chance. If your serious about building you will definitely need these tools ..
Rich

Yeah, I know I'll need them. But, you see I am not from America, I am form Europe. Croatia to be exact. So it might be a bit expensive to ship all the way to here.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi, Once you buy them they will last forever regardless of the cost its a good investment for a one time sale . Eventually you won't be able to get them anymore. So strike while the irons hot..
Rich

 

[Voldy356]

Yeah, I know I'll need them. But, you see I am not from America, I am form Europe. Croatia to be exact. So it might be a bit expensive to ship all the way to here.

Also, sorry for bothering you this much, but would it be safe to test drive the diode with a TTL driver?


It originally drove a 200mw green laser, as seen on the picture, but the diode is fried so the driver is useless. The diode I pressed and want to test is a mitsubishi 500mw 638nm.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi,
No problem,
Your ahead of the game so I wouldn't dare use that Chinese driver, I would use the SD or X Wossee driver for laser diodes. DTR has them and can be set by him and shipped .
Rich

 

[paul1598419]

There is a tool made to press diodes into these modules. I have several and they work much better than trying to press without them.

 

[WizardG]

From your first photo it looks like the diode isn't seated squarely in the module. You may see some beam quality issues caused by the output of the diode not being centered correctly on the collimation lens. Been there, done that. A proper press tool is worth its weight in diodes!

 

[Voldy356]

From your first photo it looks like the diode isn't seated squarely in the module. You may see some beam quality issues caused by the output of the diode not being centered correctly on the collimation lens. Been there, done that. A proper press tool is worth its weight in diodes!

Yeah, it didn't quite sit property. I pressed it using the back of the aixiz module, so it was all "held together by tape", and when I started pressing, the whole thing just shifted outwards. Doesn't help that the vise I used wasn't exactly ment for something this precise. Oh well, it's my first ever attempt at doing this, so I shouldn't really have expected it to turn out perfectly. Also, I kinda rushed to get it done.