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FrozenGate by Avery

One of the worst Heatsinks ever...

Lotus_Darkrose

Lotus_Darkrose

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Feb 19, 2009
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Alright, so I mentioned in another thread that I got this laser:
100mw 405nm Handheld Adjust Focus Violet Purple Blue Laser Pointer SD302(1 x 18650 included) - DinoDirect.com

Since getting it and using it, I have had to mess around with it alot. Clean out the threads, fix the focus, clean the lens, turn the pot up (would barely smoke black plastic when focused), etc. It was working good until the switch failed today, so when I took it apart (again), I noticed something that made me say "wtf...?". I took some pictures of how the "heatsink" assembles.

stupidHS.jpg

The part that presses in DOES NOT make contact with the heatsink. About a milimeter all around is space. Brass to plastic to aluminum contact...

I accidently broke the diode window getting it seperated from the part where it presses in, so I had to cut away some of the can. I tested it really quick and the output is unchanged (visibly), luckily, so I sealed it in an antistatic bag and need to get an aixiz for it sometime.
 
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It probably wasnt designed to be a heatsink but just to keep the thing in place holder.
 
I do not believe this :D I mean,
Somebody somewhere DESIGNED that. Instead of making the brass diode pocket 1 mm wider, or making the heastink hole 1 mm smaller, or making 1 mm METAL ring in order to fit those parts, he made 1mm PLASTIC ring.

Good. God.

Anyhow, if you want the heatsink done properly (direct pressfit one, no Aixiz needed), just PM me with dimensions and I'll get it done real fast.
 
Also that "100mW" laser, have you metered it? its probably no more than 40-50mW , which to be honest...doesn't need heatsinking. I have a PHR "labbly" in a plastic project box with a 9v battery, and its just pressed into an Aixiz "head" , and that doesnt even get warm running at a constant 107mW.
 
An Aixiz head is a lot thicker than the press fit part on this lol. Probably at least triple in weight and size. Not comparable.
 
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ped said:
Also that "100mW" laser, have you metered it? its probably no more than 40-50mW , which to be honest...doesn't need heatsinking. I have a PHR "labbly" in a plastic project box with a 9v battery, and its just pressed into an Aixiz "head" , and that doesnt even get warm running at a constant 107mW.
Click to expand...

But if it's barely smoking plastic then I would also say it isn't anywhere near 100mw. I have a ebay 5mw 405 pen (actually about 40mw) that will smoke plastic. (But it's got better heatsinking than yours.

Still bad construction. As usual with most companies, cheap as they can make it.
 
Just send them a mail;

We are ready to assist you and solve all your problems anytime.
Best regards,
DinoDirect Support Team


You see there aint so bad, solve all your problems anytime.
 
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These look more like Chinese virility rings..
 
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Lotus_Darkrose said:
An Aixiz head is a lot thicker than the press fit part on this lol. Probably at least triple in weight and size. Not comparable.
Click to expand...

I agree.

However, my point was that these low power 405's generate very little heat, thusly needing little heatsinking.

Why they didnt just make the brass bit a bit bigger is beyond me, unless its to electrically isolate the diode body from the case.
 
I doubt the latter, since these diodes are case neutral.

Its probably just stupidy somewhere in the process, where they ordered the inner ring too small and the cheapest 'fix' was to put a plastic ring in between. Upside is that you could probably improve this host by replacing the plastic ring with thermal epoxy and just let it set.
 
Keep in mind that they DO make thermally conductive plastic(not saying this is though).. I've actually been trying to source some for a while for red and IR builds that need the diode electrically isolated.. However on a 405 build it's pointless. Most likely whatever manufacture made these was using pre made parts from something else and the plastic ring was the cheapest way to make it all work together.
 
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It looks like they used parts that were easily and cheaply
available... Reminds me when I was a kid and one of my
Asian made toys was made from a soup can... You could
still see the printing on the insude of the toy...

But like PED stated... if DD says its 100mW there is a good
chance that is is much below that and even the small inner
mount may give enough heat sinking for short runs...

Disappointing to see that just the same...


Jerry
 
Well the diode and driver still work the same as far as I can see (besides the switch which I will either bypass or replace, depending on it's new home). I never had it on for more than 20-25 seconds at a time, so I'm sure it wouldn't even have time to warm up to a dangerous temperature.

I do remember reading people talk, either on here or CPF about thermally conductive plastic which this is most certainly not. I took a risk buying the pointer since there were no reviews. As long as I've at least made people not buy the same one as me, I'm happy. When I have the funds to make this into a legitimate build I'll post a thread for it. Until then I have other lasers, lol.

Also, that aluminum heatsink in the picture will press-fit an aixiz or green module perfectly, so it can definitely be of use maybe in a future build.
 
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What does the driver look like, is it adjustable? If so you can probably just press the original diode into an aixiz module then reassemble the thing and adjust it back up to spec.
 
Yeah that's what I'm going to do. I already turned it up some and it's actually very stable. Just need some extra funds to buy an aixiz and maybe a cool host if I find one.

I might use the same host, might not. I'll have to see.
 
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