Hello,
This is my first post after lurking for some time. I've always wanted to build a laser pointer that could do cool stuff like engrave wood and pop balloons; since my old brother's birthday is coming up and want to give him a cool cheap gift, I thought why not give it a go?
There is plenty on building them all over youtube and this forum but I've yet to find answers to some specific questions I have.
First off, I want to make the strongest possible DVD burner laser. It seems many go for the 16x but would I be correct in assuming the burning speed correlates directly to strength? So if I used a 20x diode, it would be a bit hotter?
Secondly, how would I go about giving the diode maximum possible amperage? It seems if I tried to experiment with it, I would surely destroy the diode. It seems if that wasn't the case people would just up the voltage on their laser pointers to the point where they cut their house in half or something...
What exactly is the role of the controller circuit in all of this? Would a controller make the beam hotter than a trivial circuit?
What I'm looking to build a pointer with the hottest possible beam. Are there perhaps relatively inexpensive diodes that are better than DVD burners for this sort of application?
Thanks!
This is my first post after lurking for some time. I've always wanted to build a laser pointer that could do cool stuff like engrave wood and pop balloons; since my old brother's birthday is coming up and want to give him a cool cheap gift, I thought why not give it a go?
There is plenty on building them all over youtube and this forum but I've yet to find answers to some specific questions I have.
First off, I want to make the strongest possible DVD burner laser. It seems many go for the 16x but would I be correct in assuming the burning speed correlates directly to strength? So if I used a 20x diode, it would be a bit hotter?
Secondly, how would I go about giving the diode maximum possible amperage? It seems if I tried to experiment with it, I would surely destroy the diode. It seems if that wasn't the case people would just up the voltage on their laser pointers to the point where they cut their house in half or something...
What exactly is the role of the controller circuit in all of this? Would a controller make the beam hotter than a trivial circuit?
What I'm looking to build a pointer with the hottest possible beam. Are there perhaps relatively inexpensive diodes that are better than DVD burners for this sort of application?
Thanks!