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FrozenGate by Avery

PLD-40 Fiber coupled laser diode, for CNC cutting/engraving

A 20th of a degree ( roughly ) would be around 3 minutes of angle IINM, so if that's correct then it's not so bad, as it's starting at 1.7mm it would look good if it was a visible beam, but it's not a visible beam so if your looking to do work such as cutting then you will want to focus it down tighter.

I am going with adjustability and depending on your purpose you may want to as well, for setting cardboard on fire across the room it should do the trick, but there's a lot of cutting potential there, so I would go with an adjustable lens, otherwise it has limited use.
 
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That's a divergence of 0.716 mrad. For a multi-diode fiber coupled collimated beam in IR, it sounds really good to me.
 
Yea, about a 3-4 inch spot at 100 meters would be good for a visible beam, but as you cant look at it you will likely want to make use of it, and it can do so much more if focused tighter, with that lens you start with a 1.7mm beam and it gets wider, it would be good for lighting your campfire maybe, but not for cutting.

It goes without saying that the upmost care must be used.
 
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Received my fiber cleaver yesterday as well as my fiber polishing sand paper kit, will be working on my fiber soon, I'm keeping close tabs on this thread, always eager to see more posts added to it.
 
I'm sure you know this but I didn't, you must strip the cladding down to the glass core before using the cleaver or it wont work very well.

I got my connector and polishing puck, but my scoring tool and lensed module is moving slow and may not be here for a while.

Good news is the connector/termination fits nicely into the polishing puck. :D
 

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No polishing puck here yet, on the way. Yea, I've done some fiber fusion splicing in the past, but those were all low power telecommunication fibers, so this high power laser fiber diode is new to me. What is the lensed module you are referring to, that C-Mount you mentioned earlier?
 
Yes, THIS that way I can focus to my working distance, I'm going to try it and see, from the testing I have don I expect 1-2 inches from the fiber end to the lens should be about right, so that free space will be enclosed inside the module, I will test it and see. Unlike the tiny facet in front of our blue LD's PN junction the fiber end is not going to need any backfill gas, but keeping it clean and dry I expect will be a good idea.


---EDIT---

Something like below would be nice, but the cost is well beyond what I am willing to do.

https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_ID=8642
 
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I have a few of those I ordered a couple of years ago waiting in my to do room full of laser junk, but none of them have AR coating on the lens, I just sent a message to the seller asking if AR coated, I know they specify a range of IR wavelengths, but in my experience these sellers will do that for uncoated lenses, sometimes list a specific AR wavelength trying to snag buyers looking for a lens with that AR coating, inferring it has a coat, when it really doesn't and is good for a much broader range of wavelengths as clear uncoated glass.
 
Yep if so they got me, hopefully it's coated, if not it's a what.....a 5% reflective loss ?
 
A 20th of a degree ( roughly ) would be around 3 minutes of angle IINM, so if that's correct then it's not so bad, as it's starting at 1.7mm it would look good if it was a visible beam, but it's not a visible beam so if your looking to do work such as cutting then you will want to focus it down tighter.

I am going with adjustability and depending on your purpose you may want to as well, for setting cardboard on fire across the room it should do the trick, but there's a lot of cutting potential there, so I would go with an adjustable lens, otherwise it has limited use.

Thanks. So it's around 2.46 minutes of angle to be exact? Spot size would be around 3" at 100 meters or so? That is kind of big.

When I bought that collimator I knew the beam is kind of big for cutting, but I just wanted to get something to play around with and learn. If I'm serious about cutting, I will look into making one that is adjustable too.
 
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I am looking forward to seeing if you can make that cheap C Mount host work as a way to focus this down to a tiny point. If you are going to use this to cut, that is what you will want to do.
 
Just a thought, what ever we all build a power ON indicator light would be a good idea, possibly an aperture shutter as well if constructed as portable. :beer:
 
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About two years ago, I toasted the SMA output on a FAP800 module. I cut the "snout" back about .20" and carefully polished it with crocus cloth and then optical polish. It looked like new but the burn extended back too far to save it.
Chris sold me a new module and I found a Coherent 6" fiber SMA cable made for the module and I use it to protect the module from my stupidity! The fiber also smooths the output to a homogenized beam with no points.
I have been able to focus the beam to a burning spot at 24" using a basic BE but I want to get to that mentioned 4" spot at 100 Meters as mentioned above. I am working on a lens holder to try a 3 lens system. PCX - PCV - PCX seems a good starting point. I need to get the right combination to get it into about a 12" assembly.
I'm open to suggestions about FL on the lenses.
HM
With late winter snow, Hospital for flu, and spring repairs around the house, this project is slowed down.
 
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RC --- Good info there. A bit pricy for an old fart like me.
I get SMA RF connectors and punch the guts out -- then I machine the optical
mounts! The RF connectors (about $4 each) make for simple fittings. I'm simply trying to get
the right FL combinations to make it happen.
I'm good with a simple expander but I'm learning on this three lens system.
HM
Yes -- I'm at 808 nM
 
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I am looking forward to seeing if you can make that cheap C Mount host work as a way to focus this down to a tiny point. If you are going to use this to cut, that is what you will want to do.

No I'm not really looking to cut, just do some plywood burning art at 3-5 meters and maybe see how far I can pop a balloon, starting wider I should finish tighter further for the balloon record, the plywood art has a wide margin so this does not need to be perfect. I do expect that it will have a range where I can cut well, it may be 18 inches away but I'm not building a CNC, although I will build more and may do a CNC in which case a higher quality dedicated lens would be used, I may discover the cheap module lens is not any good at all, for 20 bucks it's worth a shot. :beer:

----edit----

Here's an add for a 16mm lens that looks a lot like the one in the module I have ordered, but it may or may not be, the one I ordered has no FL listed, this one in the lens only add is 39mm FL so it's not for up close cutting and that's good because I want to be able to reach out, it may do well for your unit Hemlock, I think I will order it and do a test while waiting for my scoring tool.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16mm-Glass...m-IR-Lasers-/321593006898?_trksid=p5731.m3795


Here's another one that claims 30mm FL

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dia-16mm-G...m=262855179948&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
 
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