Looking for a 450 nm laser at least 1w

[Pi R Squared]

What is the "drilled pill" option? I've seen but didn't know what it was. Is it just holed for wire to pass through?

Also why is the 1.8A driver from Survival laser better?

This is the drilled pill: Drilled Driver Pill & Brass Ring you can see the difference.

Read my post again, where did I say the driver was better? It does however double as a battery contact board and it fits the pill in that host. It is just one more choice of parts you could use. The X-drive and battery contact board are just as good.

Alan

 

[Bruno28]

This is the drilled pill: Drilled Driver Pill & Brass Ring you can see the difference.

Read my post again, where did I say the driver was better? It does however double as a battery contact board and it fits the pill in that host. It is just one more choice of parts you could use. The X-drive and battery contact board are just as good.

Alan

Sorry I miss read.
Wouldn't the extra material on the pill help for heatsinking? The two wires would still go through to connect to module. Or is there something I'm missing that I don't know?

 

[Pi R Squared]

Sorry I miss read.
Wouldn't the extra material on the pill help for heatsinking? The two wires would still go through to connect to module. Or is there something I'm missing that I don't know?

No it's not enough to make a difference. Yes and they will have to be really short making it difficult to put together as well as increasing your chance of an accident by twisting your wires as many first time builders do.
Yes your missing something, there is very little room to work with in this host. The 2 extended heat sinks they sell are long enough to come in contact with the pill. The regular heat sinks are shorter giving you a little more room provided your not using a full length module. Without that extended and tapered heat sink a full length module won't even fit in that host without the drilled pill.

There are a few little issues like this that are important to know when building lasers, you have to become familiar with all the parts and learn what works and what fits together. Keep reading and build several lasers and soon you will be an expert.

Alan

 

[Bruno28]

Great, Im ready
Thanks for the help Alan, and everyone else who helped in this post.

once i get everything ill post pictures

 

[Bruno28]

last question.

Should i get the adjustable 1.6A to 2.3A driver instead of the 1.8amp. So i can try and run the diode at 2amps?Survival Laser Driver

Can the diode run at 2amps? or would it fry?

 

[Pi R Squared]

last question.

Should i get the adjustable 1.6A to 2.3A driver instead of the 1.8amp. So i can try and run the diode at 2amps?Survival Laser Driver

Can the diode run at 2amps? or would it fry?

No.

No.

Yes it would soon fry.

That diode is supposed to run at a maximum of 1.6A but most everyone runs it at 1.8A and this has proven to be ok.

Alan

 

[Bruno28]

No.

No.

Yes it would soon fry.

That diode is supposed to run at a maximum of 1.6A but most everyone runs it at 1.8A and this has proven to be ok.

Alan

Ok thanks 1.8A it is
Just undecisive on either to get the X-drive from DTR or the 1.8Amp from Survival Laser.

Whats best option?

 

[Pi R Squared]

Ok thanks 1.8A it is
Just undecisive on either to get the X-drive from DTR or the 1.8Amp from Survival Laser.

Whats best option?

There are about equal, I would go with the one that costs less.

Alan

 

[Bruno28]

Ok doing order now.
Anything i should be worried about when building? Static electricity?
Any hints or tips?

 

[Pi R Squared]

Ok doing order now.
Anything i should be worried about when building? Static electricity?
Any hints or tips?

Yes I can think of several things, I'll think about that and answer later, I may or may not be back on for a few hours.

Alan

 

[Bruno28]

Yes I can think of several things, I'll think about that and answer later, I may or may not be back on for a few hours.

Alan

No problem,
items won't arrive in the next week.

 

[Pi R Squared]

Ok doing order now.
Anything i should be worried about when building? Static electricity?
Any hints or tips?

Yes static electricity can always be a danger to the diode. If you have a anti static wrist strap and mat then use them, if not it probably doesn't matter since you won't directly handle the diode, if you were going to press a diode in a module and solder to it yourself, then I would use the wrist strap and mat, but since you are buying a DTR module then some of the hard part is already done. Pressing a diode and soldering wires or a driver to the pins is where it sometimes goes wrong. Just don't walk around in your polyester socks on the synthetic carpet before handling the module.

Another place where it goes wrong is when you press the round driver or the battery contact board into the brass ring and again press that into the pill. This should be easy but sometimes people mangle the brass ring such that it's not useable. You also have to solder the outer ring on the battery contac board to the brass ring, should be a small amount in two places. Look at the photos in my two builds with Survival Laser parts, it may help.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/assembled-445nm-9mm-stainless-steel-host-pic-heavy-85997.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/assembled-m140-c6-pic-heavy-83543.html
Look at the pill to see what it should look like. Here is a YouTube video that may help some, don't use electrical tape, use heat shrink.

Another thing you must be very careful of is how and in what order you screw the parts together. It is a common mistake for people to twist the wires when screwing it all together and break a pin off the diode, if this happens it's not repairable, some people have even done this multiple times, and that would be an expensive mistake.

When you insert your batteries you must always insert them the correct way, in this case it will be negative to the tailcap, if you insert them backwards and turn the laser on then it will only take a few seconds to fry the driver. In this host you will be using two 16340 button top, you can also use two 18350 button top, but be aware that not all 18350 will fit in this host. If you decided to get the battery extension tube then you will use two 18650 button top. Remember to charge your batteries before using them.

Once the laser is assembled and you insert the batteries, before you screw on the tail cap you must point the laser in a safe direction. Twice before when screwing on the tail cap for the first time the switch was on and I didn't know it, so there is the potential there for an accident if you're not careful. You can avoid this by testing the tail cap first with your DMM to see if it is on or off.

That's all I can think of right now. Something often goes wrong on a first build, hopefully I have covered the important points.

Alan

 

[cineinc]

I have never used such high powered 1mW laser. I only use very low powered 5mW blue laser for stage light decoration for my work.

 

[Bruno28]

Thanks Alan for the tips!
Only saw your message now.

The module arrived today!
Now for the host waiting.....

how come your module came with a white wire? mine only has a black and a red. Its the module without a driver

 

[Pi R Squared]

Thanks Alan for the tips!
Only saw your message now.

The module arrived today!
Now for the host waiting.....

how come your module came with a white wire? mine only has a black and a red. Its the module without a driver

My PLTB450B module only had a black and a red wire, some of the others had the white wire. The white wire is to the case pin, but the PLTB450B is case neutral so most people would never use the case pin. Some red diodes are case negative and IR diodes are case positive and therefore DPSS modules are also case positive, depending on how you wire it and what host you use, then you may or may not use the case pin. If a diode is case neutral then it can be wired with the host negative or positive, but not with every driver. To complicate matters, in some hosts the diode is isolated from the host, if that's not what you want you can use a wire from the case pin to correct this. Some hosts have continuity from the host to the diode, like your SL SS host does, you can test this with your DMM from the threads where the tail cap screws on to the heat sink. So if your using the round driver from SL make sure the wires are black to black and red to red with the batteries negative to the tail cap. Most diodes are case neutral but if it's case positive or negative you must take extra care in deciding what driver and host and how it's wired.

Alan

 

[Bruno28]

Hey guys,

everything arrived and I'm ready to build.

But whats the brass ring that comes with the host for?

The one on the lower right side... where doe that ring go? Is it to hold the driver in place to the head of the host?

DIY Stainless Steel Host Assembly, Extended and Tapered Heat Sink, Unmarked