NUBM44 6W+ 450nm Laser Diode

[DTR]

Hi! i hope i am in the right place...
I have some time ago bought a NUBM44 6W Diode for using in my CNC for cutting stuff. Lack of better knowledge made me choose this diode so now i will have to make the best of it.
To counter the bad beam characteristics I have tried playing with some lenses but i suck at this so please help me
I bought a set of correction lenses (win or loose) on e-bay in hope of being able to improve my cnc cutting reslults.

My biggest problem beam shape all my cuts look like they have been done with a caligraphy pen - The cut is Wide in one direction and thin in the other.
Second problem contrast - The focused spot is blurry. I have 2 times the power i need in the center of the spot but no matter how I Experiment with Focal length Power and speed the cut does not get sharp edges... It is like using a blowtorch to cut paper...
Any help would be appreciated...

Feedback I get say best setup is a very short FL lens like a G-2 and no more than 30mm from the aperture to the work with good ventilation. For an idea of ability of this diode see the video in this post and you can ask in this thread for better help.
https://www.photonlexicon.com/forum...8bit-Shades-of-Grey-445nm?p=326361#post326361

If you want finer engraving you can get more detail as you go down in power. NDB7A75, NDB7875, PLTB450B and then BDR-209.

 

[Bx3mE]

Feedback I get say best setup is a very short FL lens like a G-2 and no more than 30mm from the aperture to the work with good ventilation. For an idea of ability of this diode see the video in this post and you can ask in this thread for better help.
https://www.photonlexicon.com/forum...8bit-Shades-of-Grey-445nm?p=326361#post326361

If you want finer engraving you can get more detail as you go down in power. NDB7A75, NDB7875, PLTB450B and then BDR-209.

Thnks! I am learning and currently im cutting 3mm chipboard at 80% power 1000mm/min with 10 passes. Biggest issue i have had is getting my head around that diode casing is same as Driver Ground (negative) which causes my entire machine to randomly stop communication with the PC - Classic misstake...

 

[CoryB]

Re: V1 445nm Laser Diode

Getting 1W on your skin isn't that bad Been there, done that.

Ha. Was adjusting the G2 on my NUBM44 tonight and CAN absolutely tell you that you do not want your finger tips anywhere near that fucker.

Felt GOOOOODDDDD. So f-ing good.

 

[Alien Laser]

CoryB welcome in what host do you have the 44

 

[CoryB]

CoryB welcome in what host do you have the 44

Still just messing around with optics and playing with the thing - it's in a project box for now, wired up really pretty and neat (I'm using NdFeB cubes to hold the batteries together, as well as using them to connect the wires to the batteries. Total hack-job for now..)

Don't want to bother assembling this into any host until I have a better feel for what this is all about. Frankly, I'm not even sure I want it in a host - having it set up like this is REALLY nice actually. If only because I can wire in whatever BS I want. At first I set up a proper interlocked circuit. Ripped that out in about 20 minutes.

Thinking of adding a fan (and maybe a TEC)(Thanks to Paul for the minor correction. LOL) to drop the temps a little around the photon factory.

 

[GSS]

Re: V1 445nm Laser Diode

Ha. Was adjusting the G2 on my NUBM44 tonight and CAN absolutely tell you that you do not want your finger tips anywhere near that fucker.

Felt GOOOOODDDDD. So f-ing good.

You can always super glue a few of the standard focus knobs together assuming you have one and a few more.
Lifetime17 has made a boat load of custom ones that will save your fingers from "blisters" unless you get enjoyment from it:beer::eg:

 

[Accutronitis]

I think with the right correction the beam could be so much better, At least very close to a small square over a bar and without losing a significant amount of power....

http://laserpointerforums.com/f49/o...-beam-correction-tests-96445.html#post1403957

I believe in this thread milos made significant improvements in the 44's beam with only a minor amount of power loss ?

 

[CoryB]

Re: V1 445nm Laser Diode

You can always super glue a few of the standard focus knobs together assuming you have one and a few more.
Lifetime17 has made a boat load of custom ones that will save your fingers from "blisters" unless you get enjoyment from it:beer::eg:

Hehe. Gotta admit, there was a certain level of 'holy shit wow' enjoyment, but I'm good from here out.

Really like the project box enclosure right now, but I'm sure I'll eventually stuff this in a portable (more portable) host.

Hell, I'm so old school this has the additional emotional charm of reminding me of build I did of a HeNe in the late 80's, when I built the box out of wood! :-D

 

[paul1598419]

Thinking of adding a fan (and maybe a TEM) to drop the temps a little around the photon factory.

Just a small correction. TEM stands for the Transverse, Electrical and Magnetic modes of the laser's beam. I think you meant to say a TEC, which is a semiconductor device used to transfer heat from one of its sides to the other.

 

[CoryB]

Just a small correction. TEM stands for the Transverse, Electrical and Magnetic modes of the laser's beam. I think you meant to say a TEC, which is a semiconductor device used to transfer heat from one of its sides to the other.

Yep. Replying while still half asleep in bed. LOL.

God I swear, I feel like a kid again being amazed at a 5mw HeNe. Ridiculous. I literally just popped a hole in steel in under a second. This thing is scary even with the right precautions in place.

 

[paul1598419]

Yep. Replying while still half asleep in bed. LOL.

God I swear, I feel like a kid again being amazed at a 5mw HeNe. Ridiculous. I literally just popped a hole in steel in under a second. This thing is scary even with the right precautions in place.

It's all good. I've found as I have gotten older I make silly mistakes too. Especially if it is late and I'm in a hurry.

 

[CoryB]

I've been messing around most of the day (and evening) with this guy - and there's one thing I've noticed that no-one has thus-far mentioned in the thread - (and yes, I did read it. All of it..) - if you fully focus a G2 lens to the best line possible, then defocus it a bit (about 20-30 degrees of rotation towards convergent 'burn' focus), the result is that you'll get a very nearly square output. Seriously, it looks like this actually gets the modes to diverge at about the same rate.. And here I was looking for 6x cylinders.

I'm thinking I'm going to take advantage of that and a longer distance to simply power a BE or hit a simple PCL.

Betting I'll get some damn fine characteristics out of basically nothing.

(waiting on a PCL to show up is killing me)

Bad news is this is now going to be more like a laser rifle in terms of size than a laser pointer. 1.5-3' will be a decent divergence distance..

I'm thinking that maybe using some first surface mirrors and a vertical multiple bounce run out could do the trick to expand this in a sorta kinda (not so much) compact package, while keeping the beam's divergence characteristics where I want them.. Anyone know of a bounce mirror that doesn't lose stupid amounts of power?

I'll report back when I actually try this.

 

[Alien Laser]

CoryB i would love to see some images of the 44 how you set it up so i can get some ideas

 

[CoryB]

CoryB i would love to see some images of the 44 how you set it up so i can get some ideas

Sure, I'll post when I've got everything done - but just as a small show & tell, here's a quick shot of the beam profile at 13' or so.

 

[Alien Laser]

what lens are you using i got the G2 and i have a perfect square line
i love the 44 am planing to get 2X diodes 1 for my Sirius-1 host

 

[CoryB]

what lens are you using i got the G2 and i have a perfect square line
i love the 44 am planing to get 2X diodes 1 for my Sirius-1 host

That's the G2. I can get the 'perfect square line' too, however that's a rectangle, with a really big divergence on one axis.. when using it with either a PCL or a BE I suspect this adjustment will be a good choice, given that it seems to make the beam a rather uniform shape, divergence seems to remain stable to infinity - so that a square(ish) beam shape is projected.

I might be missing something critical here, but this seems to be a great way to get a nice beam with reasonably equal divergence on both axis.