Just blew 4 diodes!!!

[whatsupadrian]

Sorted the knife kit I really like it. got a little work done here. Very easy to set up. But the mounts are VERY stiff and i keep bending alen wrenches. Craftsman is just pure junk, bondhus seems to be the ticket, their alen wrenches are very nice. I Managed to twist one but still didnt round off like the craftsmans. Now i could get the two stacks closer together but then i really start cutting the beam. As it is I think its a similar beam to the 445. When i start cutting the beams i start to get a line going through my dot which is the corner of the mirror's reflection. I'm sure it wont really make a difference when it gets to the galvos but thats the reason i have the two stack so far apart. I NEED a LPM so I know how much power I start loosing when i start cutting the beams. I need to get fresh alen keys before i try and get the beam tighter. Here are some pics with a little smoke. I have no idea what power all i know is I have 1.5A going through it, gets warm but not terribly hot. Iv had it on for maybe 10 mins though at this power. I aligned it at the thresh hold its much easier to see the dots. Here are some pics. That dot is about 32 feet away.

[whatsupadrian]

Is it necessary to isolate the quad kit powered by the flexmod? I would think so since the entire optical plate is earthed.

[polishedball]

Looking at the pics, I would better setup near field you have alot of space between the beams and how you adjusted them to make teh point at the end will only work for that exact distance and shorter or longer and you will not be converged. Stack the beams tighter esp the ones on top of one another. Or does this mount lens combination not allow you to get them closer? Your last pic seems to show a huge gap at the exit point.

Also have you tried setting it up on the other pole like | instead of - might shrink that space abit.

[whatsupadrian]

i cut the beams closer and got a much smaller dot. Focusing this kit is easy. Since the baseplate is grounded, and the diodes are case neg, should the kit be isolated from the baseplate?

[taggalucci]

Yes, it is a good idea to isolate all DC from the baseplate to prevent ground loops affecting the scanner image quality. You should also isolate the scanner block. See the info from Bill Benner on Pagolin's website about projector wiring.

I use silcone thermal transfer material (which is double sided adhesive) and then a thin plate of aluminium cut the same size as the laser module's base or scanner block base. Then you'll have the insulation sandwiched in between and can still move the unit around on the baseplate. Without the alu sheet, you'd be stuck to the baseplate.