New laser drivers designed by me.

[Giannis_TDM]

Hi LPF, So I was noticing that we have lost a lot of our old drivers so I wanted to give back to the community by designing cheap reliable, and no compromise drivers for us. My first design which I have tested with oscilloscopes tests coming in the following weeks from Zenodilodon Is a fixed current 0-3A set Buck driver with a with of 9mm and length of 16mm. To ensure that my design works I have done a test run of the design using the SO-8 Version of the ic which can be hand soldered. The production driver will have the 4mm x 4mm QFN version of the IC, Which is no different that the current SO-8 Version in terms of function.
A full list of the 3A buck driver specs and features with pictures can be seen below:
Output current: 0-3A fixed
Operating input voltage range: 3-18v
Minimum voltage difference between output and input: 100mv AKA to power a 4.7v VF LD you need to provide the driver with 4.8v
Topology: Buck
Typical efficiency: 92% and up.
Features: PWM dimming, Synchronous rectification, Reverse polarity protection, Overcurrent protection, Output short circuit protection, Soft start
Note: test pcbs are hand soldered and not to be sold.
The inductor is made from Panasonic, Caps from Samsung, and main ic from STMicroelectronics.
The calculation for output current is as follows Rs= 100mv / Rsense.

Here is it running a NUMB05 at 3A:

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Reserved for the Boost driver design coming. Btw give me feedback on what short of drivers you'd like to see ( linear, high amp Boost, low amp boost for high Vf diodes, and whatever else you can come up with.)

 

[RedCowboy]

I would like some 17 and 20mm rounds for battery contact spring in mostly 3.0A and less boost and even better a buck/boost 0-3A 17 and 20mm round would work with a lot of housings. higher Vf is good for some diodes and higher A as well. There is still no replacement for the black buck 8A

 

[jnrpop]

Awesome work Gianakakis, really happy to see another member step up and donate alot of thier time and energy to help out this forum, top stuff !!

There has always been a hole in the driver market - a buck/boost that fits the 12mm modules, and that can supply over 2A, boosting from 1 3.8Vcell.
This would be amazing for diodes such as the PLTB450B 1.6A Osram diode, or perhaps the higher power greens and reds on the market, which require above 1.8A.

Best regards
J

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Awesome work Gianakakis, really happy to see another member step up and donate alot of thier time and energy to help out this forum, top stuff !!

There has always been a hole in the driver market - a buck/boost that fits the 12mm modules, and that can supply over 2A, boosting from 1 3.8Vcell.
This would be amazing for diodes such as the PLTB450B 1.6A Osram diode, or perhaps the higher power greens and reds on the market, which require above 1.8A.

Best regards
J

~~Sadly I can't find any good ics that can do boost above 1.4A and require a minimal(under 10) amount of complementary components.
I will design a boost on the one that found because it seems like an excellent ic that would make a TINY driver. It's 1.4A boost~~ Discard that, I found a boost ic from TI that can go up to 3A. Will make a design based on that.

 

[gazer101]

~~Sadly I can't find any good ics that can do boost above 1.4A and require a minimal(under 10) amount of complementary components.
I will design a boost on the one that found because it seems like an excellent ic that would make a TINY driver. It's 1.4A boost~~ Discard that, I found a boost ic from TI that can go up to 3A. Will make a design based on that.

You are a legend. Would it also be possible to integrate that IC into existing circular LED drivers to lower costs and improve the form factor?

 

[Philipnzw]

I would like some 17 and 20mm rounds for battery contact spring in mostly 3.0A and less boost and even better a buck/boost 0-3A 17 and 20mm round would work with a lot of housings. higher Vf is good for some diodes and higher A as well. There is still no replacement for the black buck 8A

+1 on this.
I would LOOOOOVE some 16.80 mm or 17 mm circular drivers, be it buck, boost or linear. Personally, i need this form factor to complete a set of three stainless steel C3 builds with R G and B. This form factor of drivers would also allow for much shorter and compact builds.

 

[RedCowboy]

Exactly, I have embraced the ultra compact builds and wish to make some more using the convoy S2+ host ( I have several and like them a lot ) Also have some nice units made by Lifetime17.......you can thermally bond a 20mm modue head in the end and a round 17mm driver board would be perfect fit in the threaded pill, you can use a single 18650 or 2 x 18350 or a single 18350/16340 with the short center tube......There are no doubt other hosts using rounds as well.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Exactly, I have embraced the ultra compact builds and wish to make some more using the convoy S2+ host ( I have several and like them a lot ) Also have some nice units made by Lifetime17.......you can thermally bond a 20mm modue head in the end and a round 17mm driver board would be perfect fit in the threaded pill, you can use a single 18650 or 2 x 18350 or a single 18350/16340 with the short center tube......There are no doubt other hosts using rounds as well.

+1 on this.
I would LOOOOOVE some 16.80 mm or 17 mm circular drivers, be it buck, boost or linear. Personally, i need this form factor to complete a set of three stainless steel C3 builds with R G and B. This form factor of drivers would also allow for much shorter and compact builds.

Awesome work Gianakakis, really happy to see another member step up and donate alot of thier time and energy to help out this forum, top stuff !!

There has always been a hole in the driver market - a buck/boost that fits the 12mm modules, and that can supply over 2A, boosting from 1 3.8Vcell.
This would be amazing for diodes such as the PLTB450B 1.6A Osram diode, or perhaps the higher power greens and reds on the market, which require above 1.8A.

Best regards
J

Damn, I see so I'll push forward the 3A boost and ill make a 17mm driver for your needs and one that fits in a 12mm module. Keep in mind, Coming out of my own pocket like the previous design, It wold take months for me to recieve the prototype boards. Also, I'll do a small run of the buck driver with the small design. Price will be 20 euros per driver. Note: Keep in mind that I am 15 so I don't nor can get a job, hence why it will take so long. Because my ideology is that I am not going to sell anything until it has been tested to the greatest extent.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Sorry for the double post but since I saw how much yall liked the idea of a 3A boost I rushed to design it, So here it is!

Here it is! It includes all of the normal protections and then some! Programmable soft-start, Overvoltage protection in case of an open output that clamps the output voltage to 7.6v and turns off the driver, Undervoltage shutdown: If the input voltage drops below 2.9v the driver shuts off. and more!
Note: Minor changes and improvement may be made to the above PCB in terms of layout but the design itself will still stay the same.

 

[icecruncher]

I would like to chime in, I'm always looking for driver that can be driven off a single battery.
So, ditto on much of what was said above.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Update: The 3A buck has been sent to the YouTuber Zenodilodon for oscilloscope readings and Stress testing.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

(Sorry for the double post) Update and idea on a driver design: Very tiny boost that can be adjusted with 3 settings to 250mA 185mA and 140mA, With reverse polarity protection, open load protection, and internal soft-start with output voltage capabilities from vin to 25v and a max current set of 400mA if specified on order. Its size Is 7mm x 12.8mm. I will be having a poll for what driver do you want me to develop first. This is the small boost driver:

Now LPF what do you want to see first, Small boost or 3A boost?

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi,
Adjustables... would be fine better that resistor set.
Rich

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Hi,
Adjustables... would be fine better that resistor set.
Rich

I tried to go that route but there were a few things... 1rst a potentiometer might act as an antenna and knock the whole feedback loop to shit, 2nd going with an opamp and some trickery to make it adjustable would require many more components therefor would increase its size a lot. Also adding a pot in the loop would increase the inefficiency. just using a pot will make the output too noisy for more sensitive diodes. There’s no clever cheat around this sadly. My drivers are mostly fixed because sadly other options would increase the size too much and the output current is smoother when going fixed. Btw I must clarify something, the driver is gonna ship with the ability to change the current using a solder bridge. It has 3 settings 250mA 185mA and 140mA

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Hi,
Adjustables... would be fine better that resistor set.
Rich

Know what? I'll make a version with a pot to see how much it affects the driver. Just for you