The Most Powerful Laser Gun

[Dutch67]

Sorry pal,
Hard learned lessons....
At least your not scared to get in there and make a mistake. You'll do great

Yeah I tend to always learn lessons the hard way. Guess its time to order another driver and pill.

 

[SpaceWizard]

One last question (probably, at least for a week or two) do I need ot get a host? or can I instantly build this into a nerf gun or something? (I want to make it partially into a cosplaying thing, and spray painted nerf guns are all the rage)

 

[VirtueViolater]

You need a heatsink for that diode, the bigger, the better

 

[Dutch67]

One last question (probably, at least for a week or two) do I need ot get a host? or can I instantly build this into a nerf gun or something? (I want to make it partially into a cosplaying thing, and spray painted nerf guns are all the rage)

That thing will heat up incredibly fast. You will definitely need a large heat sink for it. They're are some unused hosts floating around the forums that you can definitely put an offer on. Especially if they're a host created by an artistic genius called "Eghemus". That man could make the most amazing and creative hosts you could ever imagine. They were great for larger lasers as well. Sadly he is no longer making them so we are left out here to fend for ourselves. I'm sure someone would gladly sell you one for the right price.

 

[Encap]

One last question (probably, at least for a week or two) do I need ot get a host? or can I instantly build this into a nerf gun or something? (I want to make it partially into a cosplaying thing, and spray painted nerf guns are all the rage)

What does "can I instantly build this into a nerf gun" and "want to make it partially into a costume playing thing" mean? What is it you want to do with a functioning laser?

What you can do "instantly" ----- is blind yourself or someone else forever----it takes less time than the human blink reflex of 0.25 seconds to do serious permanent eye damage.

There are some good no diode host kits here: No-Diode Host Bundles - each has excellent instructions and tutorials--then all you need is a laser diode to be able to build a complete handheld laser.

Build a hand held laser, gain some experience with it, learn about laser safety, legal use, and safe use before running off into a meaningless fantasy world and perhaps harming yourself and/or other people because of lack of knowledge and experience.

Here is a good Laser Hazard Chart --have a look at the possible consequences of even lower power lasers: http://www.lasersafetyfacts.com/resources/FAA---visible-laser-hazard-calcs-for-LSF-v02.png

Also see/study this web site: http://www.laserpointersafety.com/index.html

 

[lasertechgear]

Dennis the Menace??

 

[lasertechgear]

I have several laser hosts available for ya

808 - This is the "cigar tube" host that you can find all over the net/China - Red, Blue, Black, Silver, Pink, Turqoise, and Gold *image shows this host in the middle

850 - The Arctic Spyder style host without the lights and whatnot - Black *I modified this host a tiny bit using a SL copper heat sink epoxied (ASTA) to the aluminum host which typically uses a brass "LD Seat" which is actually quite efficient) and then I threw a SL adjustment knob and CREE Mini Flashlight bezel ring in red to match.

With filter correction showing actual color of NUBM05T at 5.5A with a high EFL doublet lens (I just use the larger of the three lenses in a 3EGL setup for more output and sometimes even better/tighter/smaller beam profile)

510 Adapter & Copper Heat Sink - It's like the DTR setup but with copper - I have run NUBM05Ts at up to 6A in this heat sink without issue at reasonable duty cycles of 1-2 mins or more on & off and ALL DAY with the current dropped down to 5A or below. *in the images below I am using the DTR aluminum heat sink with a finned "LED" heat sink which is close but no cigar @ 23.**mm vs the 22mm DTR heat sink, but it still worked out after I threw in some Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive. The copper one I make with this aluminum finned heat sink on top is IDEAL. I can't think of a better 510 heat sink that isn't water/thermal cooled. I've tested these NUBM05Ts on AVERAGE at 6.2W (4.5A to 5.2A) with a 7.238W (4.8A) high when I found that lucky diode.

Sky Ray S-R5 LED Flashlight Shell - This is a great... GREAT flashlight host as the design draws heat from the heat sink into most of the body rather efficiently. This one would require a heat sink which I am fresh out of, but several people on this forum can/do produce them. * S-R5 is the host on the bottom (Please do not mind the crustiness of the host and heat sink - this was probably my first build and I went overboard with the AS5 Thermal Paste.

 

[Nanolaser]

http://youtu.be/IzUoe-9bKa0

 

[vortish]

styro has defiantly lost his ever loving mind. I love it

 

[RedCowboy]

That's a fun looking floodlight.

 

[SpaceWizard]

Don't know if anyone is still looking at this, but I figure it's worth a try. Well after viewing styros video I would like to create something similar (no it hasn't got to have the same wattage). I just want to know how he was able to create a coherent laser beam using the DLP projector diodes. I am very curious about this, because it sounds like making a relatively cheap and powerful laser, which would be a blast. Also how do you determine the wattage of the coherent laser from the wattage of the DLP projectors? I understand how the knife edger works, but am mostly curious about the workings of the projector. Thanks for any response!

 

[anna3d]

Welcome to the forum!

First of all - I would not recommend starting out with something like this. The best way to start building lasers is with single diodes. You have to walk before you can run.

But if you decide to try and run first - here's a link to a diode array more powerful than the one Styro used. Nichia NUBM08E 450nm 36W High Power Multi LD Bank Blue Laser Diode Array | eBay
If you overdrive that array (5-6A per diode) you might be able to achieve 50W; thus you would need two arrays. This is going to set you back $3200, and then heatsinks, drivers, and the like will cost even more. The whole project will likely cost you $5000+, which is... expensive.

In addition, consider the fact that you have to handle 16 separate beams with something like that. This means that if any one of those 16 beams reflects off of something, it could blind you instantly. And it could potentially kill you if you use it wrong.

Assuming you insist on making a multi-diode laser, it would be best to wait until NUBM08E diodes are available as units, and then use a PBS cube to combine two of them. That'd give you 20W of power, which is more than enough for some serious destruction. In the meantime, you may want to try your hand at lower-power single diode builds.

nice thread, This is very useful, thanks

 

[plag]

What if you make it pulsed? You would be able to get much more power this way, using large capacitor.
The gun should be a gun, not a flamethrower

 

[anna3d]

good job