new kind of focusing

[dav]

has anybody tried making a laser were you twist the head to focus?
there are lots of focusing flashlights and it shouldnt be that hard to make.
and its a lot easier to twist the head than that tiny little aixiz ring. ecpecially if you have big hands.

 

[elitesniper]

Well Dark Horse makes ap caps that fit over the aixis rings that make them easier to focus and protects the lens from some dust, if thats what you mean.. :-?

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

I think that many of the high powered modules like the Sky Laser have a twist focus head.
or you can add an expander.

Mike

 

[nikokapo]

has anybody tried making a laser were you twist the head to focus?
there are lots of focusing flashlights and it shouldnt be that hard to make.
and its a lot easier to twist the head than that tiny little aixiz ring. ecpecially if you have big hands.

I'm currently designing an aluminum barrel for a green laser. I thought of making it focusable, it's not very hard but it's a lot of work for just one single piece so that would make it really expensive. There are lots of focusable lasers out there

 

[dav]

well a ap cap would give it a different look.
builds like igors or likeitbright's are small and would be real nice with this kind of focus.
it wouldnt change looks (maybe a little) but it would be real nice.

 

[691175002]

I generally don't focus my lasers at all since you might spend 5 minutes burning and then realize that now you need to spend 10 minutes trying to focus it perfectly to infinity.

That being said, there is nothing preventing you from machining your own lens nut (very large) or machining something to slide over the lens nut and turn it.

If you wanted to do things properly you could make your own direct contact heatsink and make your own way of adjusting the lens.

 

[CRFultz]

I've been working on these knurled rings trying to find one I like. I still want to mod them a bit more. But I'll make a bunch and send ya some if you want. I used some locktite on some but I can make them with a press fit. I think I'll make some with the front hole about the same size diameter as the lens. That will give a lip on the inside to press to. Maybe a bit wider as well. I hold the knurled ring and twist the body to focus.

Chuck

 

[Dark_Horse]

Are you thinking something like these? They make focusing and maintaining your focus-setting much better. They also hold a small auxiliary-lens, such as a line-generator, if desired.

 

[dav]

I've been working on these knurled rings trying to find one I like. I still want to mod them a bit more. But I'll make a bunch and send ya some if you want. I used some locktite on some but I can make them with a press fit. I think I'll make some with the front hole about the same size diameter as the lens. That will give a lip on the inside to press to. Maybe a bit wider as well. I hold the knurled ring and twist the body to focus.

Chuck

yeah thats sorta what i was talking about, but more like making the heatsink mounted onto the body (so the head wouldnt have anything to do with holding heatsink in place whatsoever) and using a ring like yours pressed or gleud to the head of the host.
its really hard to explain, but im getting a lathe soon so ill try and make one

 

[Geneticz]

I get what you mean completely, and yes it is a very good idea.

 

[Dark_Horse]

I see, this is sort-of how my DX200 is set-up, http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12341. Although they did not do a great job of it, kinda sloppy and it seams to focus ay one extreme or the other. A good way to do this would definitely be welcomed. I believe the focusable Sky-lasers use something like this as well, except it may slide instead of thread.

 

[SuicideKing]

I buit one of these using a maglite solitaire. It was powered by a 12v "N" cell and had just enough room left over for a simple driver.

Look at the parts in the picture.
#9 is the mini bulb and it's leads just push into part #8, which is the on switch.
The way it works, is the head is rotated to focus the light beam and if you turn it all the way clockwise, it screws down on the reflector, part #6, which presses down on the lamp holder, part #8, which has a side spring that breaks contact with the aluminum body, if pressure is applied to it; breaking the circuit.

What I did, was remove the light bulb and push the bluray diode's leads into the same socket holes. I made the LM317 driver circuit small enough to fit into the battery tube. The driver went in first, followed by the 12v N battery. -This is sorta like the Kipkay flashlight hack, but with a driver and in a Solitaire, instead of a mini.

Now, the focusing part...
I took the lens out of an Axiz module and pressure fitted it into a 1/4 inch rubber grommet, the kind with a channel cut in the center on around the outside. This channel is important, because it grips the edges of the Axiz lens and holds it tightly in place.

Now with the laser lens in the center of the grommet, remove the lenses in the Solitaire's head and, taking a tripple "A" battery, push the grommet/lens combo into the bottom part of the flashlights head. When you're done, the laser lens/grommet will be pressure fitted into the front part of the flashlight head.

Now you can focus your mini laser by turning the flashlights head, just like when it was a normal flashlight and you can turn the laser off the same way. This laser had a lot of limitations because of the lack of any heatsinking, but it worked well for short periods.

I wish I had taken pictures of it before I cannabilized the laser for another project, but I would be happy to explain the build in more detail if needed.

 

[rog8811]

I always go for easy focus bezels, the selection below are made from gas fittings, plastic tube, stainless tube and the middle one is the front of the host flashlight turned round the other way....

Many ways to do it and always worth the effort.

Regards rog8811

 

[tony70516]

what metal is the best for heatsinking. copper or aluminum?
probably an aweful question to ask but.

 

[bugattidude]

copper

i found that out when i tried soldering heavy wire... it sucked the heat right out of the tip of my soldering iron n i couldnt even get the solder to melt again cuz of it

 

[dav]

is titanium good ;D