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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

noob first build 3w 445

jammah

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Dec 27, 2012
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Hi there,
after a week or two of obsessively reading through posts on this site I have decided to throw myself in the deep end and learn by getting my hands dirty :yh:
I have been mucking around with old cheap projectors with low power and dmx only for about 7 years I also have some old martin roboscans a couple of smoke machines and a strobe, My partner and I are fairly into dance music and have a few talented dj friends who we put on a few fairly decent gigs a few years back, It was then I realized that organizing and lighting side was more my forte rather than mixing and so the obsession began.
A month ago I was asked to dust off the old gear for a 30th, it went well but I decided it was time to upgrade to a decent laser and after reading many of your posts I have been inspired to try and build my own.
I expect to hit more than a few issues but I'm keen to learn so here we go.
Living in NZ makes getting things a little bit harder but not too bad
I am keen on building a fairly powerful single color laser to start with I'm much more interested in beamshows and brightness than graphics
And nowadays its not payed gigs just private parties with Friends
today I ordered some bits off fleebay
I'm sure I have already stuffed up and either payed too much or got the wrong bits altogether any help with this would be greatly appreciated

3pk 1.5-2W 445nm M140 Blue Laser Module W/Leads& 405-G-2 Lenses
(1 spare)

2 x Laser Module Host for Φ5.6mm Laser Diode w/h Fan & 445nm Glass Collimation Lens

2 x 2W TTL 445nm Blue Laser Diode Driver/8-14V Step-Down Circuit w/ <2.5A Output

2 x 60w 12v tec Pads

VARIABLE ADJUSTABLE POWER SUPPLY 2xOut PSU 50w Total
(has two outputs 1 at 5v max7A for the lasers and one 12V 3A for tec and fans)

A 445nm pbs cube

and from meierlight 30Kpps Galvo scanning System -max50Kpps ( Including Show Card )

Hoping to combine two 445's to get a fairly decent blue projector

Im Pretty handy with metal and have lots of shop tools so mounts and cases should be interesting but achevable,
I have ALLOT to learn electronics wise but I understand basic components and can solder well

Im sure it will take a couple of weeks at least for it to all get here so I have a bit more time for research and to make the case.

Heres the first questions

What am I missing Hardware wise?
is 10mm aluminium thick enough for my base? (ive got a bit of it in the shed)
and what can I expect brightness wise from the lasers?

I would like to note that the lasershow regs in NZ are very relaxed and although it seems NO-One else does (almost every gig I have been to has had lasers crowd scanning) I would like to not burn my friends eyes out so I
am interested in whats required to make a projector safe.

thanks in advance for your help
 





Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
404
Points
28
It would be helpful to post links to the items you've purchased.

As for using a homemade laser scanner in public I would advise against it. This could become a legal matter.

Do you own proper eyeware for the wavelength your working with?
 

ARG

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Feb 27, 2011
Messages
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Looks good! You may want to consider a waveplate so you don't end up with a + beam (see my reference guide in the sig) They are around 65$, but it's worth it in my opinion. You'll loose a lot of the beam on the galvo mirrors without one.

You may also want a thicker base than 10mm, as the base heats up it will warp slightly throwing off alignment. Most people go for 12mm+. If you're not running this for hours at a time 10mm will be fine.

Also, since you're already spending so much on this build get an analog driver! It's the best upgrade you can make!
 
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jammah

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Dec 27, 2012
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so far the blue modules, galvo set, tec pads, mirrors and power supplies have arrived still waiting for drivers, heatsinks, pbs cube and the all important goggles

You may want to consider a waveplate so you don't end up with a + beam (see my reference guide in the sig) They are around 65$, but it's worth it in my opinion. You'll loose a lot of the beam on the galvo mirrors without one.

Wow ARG I now understand what you mean about needing the waveplate those galvo mirrors are tiny, haha a lot different from the massive ones on my old stepper motor laser
 

ARG

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Wow ARG I now understand what you mean about needing the waveplate those galvo mirrors are tiny, haha a lot different from the massive ones on my old stepper motor laser

Yup, they have to be super tiny or a lot of speed will be lost.

Remember to take pictures of the build! :D I want to see how this goes :)
 
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Joined
Sep 25, 2012
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I'd love to see pictures and what not. I am very interested in building a laser, but I have no idea where to start and I have ZERO knowledge of builds. Honestly, I registered here to learn about lasers and to make purchases and I haven't learned much about actually building them.
 

jammah

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Dec 27, 2012
Messages
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As soon as all the bits arrive and I actually start the build ill start throwing some pictures up I'm very new to this also :)
PBS cube arrived today
I also got impatient and repowered one of my old stepper motor lasers with a 100mw green, must admit I'm watching the letterbox like a hawk can't wait to get started
 

jammah

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Dec 27, 2012
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Most items have arrived but I have decided to go a little further down the rabbit hole, bought a 1.3w 650 cni and now I'm on the hunt for a 532 I have a 100mw but that won't do looking at another cni prob a 1w
I had a play with 1 m140 they are bright little suckers ill throw up a beam shot in the lounge
photostream
 

jammah

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Dec 27, 2012
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The 1.3w 650 cni arrived, it's bloody awful I'm measuring a 10mm plus beam at the module and its soooo faint I have a 6+ year old rubbish 150mw out of a stepper motor laser that's much brighter
I'm gutted
 

jammah

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Dec 27, 2012
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Right heres a few Pictures
I made a module for the M140 out of a peice of extruded aluminium angle and a old psu heatsink

Made some mirror mounts from some alloy angle

and I have throwen in a couple pics of the 1.3w cni that I am hating at the moment, the 10mm lines were too hard to see so I marked them with a black pen, I'm getting nearly 14mm at the module :yabbmad: however the guy I got it off is on the case and hopfully it will be sorted soon

and lastly a couple of beamshots the 650 is completly lost and the 445 dominates

now im going to work on improving the mirror mounts and then start mounting everything on the 500mm x 350mm x 12mm aluminium plate
 

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ARG

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Neat! Did you do the metal work yourself?

As for the CNI, what wavelength? Multi-mode I assume?
 
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jammah

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yep I spent an afternoon in the shed having a play just using bits and pieces I had laying around, ended up changing the mirror mounts the next day filed the holes square and set the mirrors in them, they aint that pretty but they seem to work well and quick to make
The red was a 1.3w 650nm cni my only guess is it got dropped in transit because its useless rather pissed about it
but I just bought a pair of 500mw 638's off DTR, Im going to build my own 1w 638
I had a play with the two left over m140s and the cube and in an hour and a half had a fairly grunty beam I probably wont use it but Im learning heaps and having a blast :)
 

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ARG

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Can you send the CNI back for repair, or open it up and try to repair it yourself?
 




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