New to lasers, and i have a question.

[lisaril]

I am new to lasers, and i am very interested in making a diy red laser pointer. i have been reading this forum's post about how to make one. All of the threads mentions that i need a "Aixiz Laser module" and/or a "driver" of some sort.
I understand what the driver is for(to regulate voltage&current to avoid distroying the laser diode), but what is the laser module for?????

i dont live in USA and shipping the aixiz laser module would be either too expensive or impossible. i've been wondering if a cheap keychain laser pointer (like this: surpluscomputers.stores.yahoo.net/5headlaspoin.html) can replace the aixiz laser module (and/or the driver).

i was thinking that i could buy one of those cheap keychain laser pointer and replace the laser diode with a dvd laser diode to make a stronger laser. is it possible? would it work?

 

[RA_pierce]

The laser module is a heatsink with a collimator lens. If you put power through the diode without a heatsink (even if it's regulated) it could heat up the diode and kill it. A heatsink is basically just a chunk of metal used to help dissipate heat.
The lens collimates the light so you can get a nice little dot rather than the big divergent blob bare diodes produce.

The keychain laser idea would work if everything fit properly, but the driver they come with and the lens are poor quality. Much of the power would be lost to the lens and the driver may be insufficient. Heatsinking would be a problem and the little button cells would be drained in ten minutes.
If you want to just replace a diode, get a cheap green (leadlights are pretty easy to mod) and use the driver and body to host your diode. You would have to remove the MCA and IR filter (if there is one) but everything else should work.

Check the experiments and modifications section for more info.

And Welcome to the forum...