Which of these designs do you like best?

[GBD]

btw.. you looked.. don't you?

Yes... Ive found some copper and aluminum shavings.. misc dirt and dust.. and a chuck key I havent seen in ages (for a drillpress).
How did that get there? :thinking:

No Leo though.. gotta keep looking.

Well.. about selling.. we will see how things go I suppose. doubt I will be selling anything anytime soon though.

 

[Leodahsan]

Nah, when I posted that ("you looked.. don't you?") I was referring to "*flees from the lathe and hide behind you*".. it seems you haven't looked hahah..

 

[GBD]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YouTube - FFFFFUUUUU

 

[alf638]

I think option one in matte black

 

[shhh]

I would say one in matte black as well. But the the fins in the head also in matte.

 

[Juniortore1]

I thought you made your own drivers, not used buck and boost. Can you post pictures of your homemade drivers?

 

[GBD]

A buck/boost driver is a style of driving topology. just like linear (LM317 for example) is a style of driver etc.
The homemade aspect of it involves making the actual PCB itself and soldering crap onto it. Also.. you'd only be using buck or boost, not buck and boost. buck for a step down DC-DC convertion, boost for step up.

Ill post pics when I make the new board for this build, I dont have any more that arent inside hosts.

EDIT:
Since on the topic, for this build, like any, I try out different layouts and better designs, just to see if I can get the driver as relaible as possible without taking too much room.
This screenshot is my first layout for this build, but I think I will revise it should I be able to make the layout smaller or change the driver.

So here is a quick screenshot.. I put a TO-220 for size referance.
I doubt this will be the final layout.. I think I can do better.
(as you can see, this thing is too huge compared to most drivers here.. needs to be shrinked... alot)
As much as I would have liked to aviod it, I will probably have to do a double layer design, rather then single.


Ill probably make this one anyway, just as a prototype so I can know that the final design itself works properly (Ive been having some issues with inductor saturation in early lashups, I found the issues and now Im worrying about an actual layout.). then I can worry about downsizing.

 

[Eudaimonium]

A buck/boost driver is a style of driving topology. just like linear (LM317 for example) is a style of driver etc.
The homemade aspect of it involves making the actual PCB itself and soldering crap onto it. Also.. you'd only be using buck or boost, not buck and boost. buck for a step down DC-DC convertion, boost for step up.

Ill post pics when I make the new board for this build, I dont have any more that arent inside hosts.

EDIT:
Since on the topic, for this build, like any, I try out different layouts and better designs, just to see if I can get the driver as relaible as possible without taking too much room.
This screenshot is my first layout for this build, but I think I will revise it should I be able to make the layout smaller or change the driver.

So here is a quick screenshot.. I put a TO-220 for size referance.
I doubt this will be the final layout.. I think I can do better.
(as you can see, this thing is too huge compared to most drivers here.. needs to be shrinked... alot)
As much as I would have liked to aviod it, I will probably have to do a double layer design, rather then single.

[pic]

Ill probably make this one anyway, just as a prototype so I can know that the final design itself works properly (Ive been having some issues with inductor saturation in early lashups, I found the issues and now Im worrying about an actual layout.). then I can worry about downsizing.

What driver is that, again?

I have my LM3410X boost design if you need it, here are some pictures of drivers:

 

[GBD]

It was gonna be a buck for an LPC-815 Eud.
I also noticed a few screwed up on the PCB layout(good thing I noticed too, I was gonna etch it). Im probably gonna ditch this board and design and re-do it. (time to hunt for a good buck driver IC)

so forget the picture I posted, its pretty much junked now, either way, im gonna try to make a simpler design and layout.

btw.. how did it take you to solder that thing?
I keep shorting some stuff out from blobs forming and then having to resolder..its a pain and time consuming.

EDIT:
Also, as a final note, I have selected what I will do and not change anymore, the host will be partially anodized like #1, but a black tail cap as well. the heatsink part will be polished.

 

[Eudaimonium]

It was no problem soldering that for me, I have a steady hand and Aoyue 936 soldering station with pretty good pointy tips. As well as some years of experience.

If you need your stuff soldered, I'm here I enjoy soldering small fidly stuff.

 

[GBD]

lol

Soldering stuff isnt a problem for me either.. ive been doing it for a while as well..

Not having the good solder iron to do it because I spend my solder tool budget on lasers.. well..thats a different story (and no, im not compromising either! )

 

[Juniortore1]

Heh, this makes me remember when I used to solder with that thick pure silver pipe solder. Not the stuff with the acid, but still was pipe solder. Wow, I remember my soldering jobs then, with a soldering gun, not iron. Now a few months later, with JBTM and GBD, my skills with rosin core solder are amazing. It was just yesterday, yobresal's 1W blue laser. I went to focus it, and the heatsink spun. I went to turn it on, and it didnt go on. So, I had no choice but to disassemble it even though his ad said "do not open or it will break". I then noticed the red wire broke off the laser diode, and the black wire broke way off in the tiny hole where the driver is inside the pill. To make this already long story short, I had to do some real precise soldering. And, it now works.

 

[GBD]

Yeah, Justin told me about that tore, its nice to hear you fixed it..
a broken red is okay.. no big deal.. but a broken 180$ 445nm laser isnt very pleasant

Just an idea, and I do this with most of my builds.
Why not put some clear silicon gasket sealant around where the diode is and its connections? when I do this the damn thing doesn't move, it insulates both leads and pins, and even when you twist it it wont deform/break the pins or the leads.
This sealant is quite strong, but can also be removed if needed to (like hotglue. but stronger).

But I wont recomend doing this with your yob laser.. you got it working.. leave it alone!

This stuff usually costs <4$ and is avaialable in most automotive stores.. the tube will last for a while too.
only bad thing is you need to let it sit and cure for a few hours.. but a full day is best.

 

[Juniortore1]

Yes, What I ended up doing, was having to make the wires going to the diode longer. So I hot glued over where the two wires met so it wouldnt short on the host. I just soldered the sires to the diode, and left it how it was. I would rather the wires break off the diode leads then way inside that pill with the tiny holes for the two wires to come out. But, theres no reason to worry about making things better, as I have no reason to take it apart again. The crown is nice and tight so the heatsink wont spin when I focus it and break the wires again.

Well, not too long until I make a red laser one way or another. I am well determined to make this work!