2w 638nm build

[jeejeedr]

Very nice work!!

I always wonder which case you use for your lasers. I know you mill the top and so on, but what do you use as a base to start milling?
Not a chunk of alu I assume...

[andy_con]

die cast aluminium housing

[jeejeedr]

Ah, like these then:
picture

[-bart-]

Just curious:
Is the thermal junction between baseplate and diode-mount lapped, flattened, or treated with thermal paste ?
(edit: the baseplate looks indeed a lot more shiny on the later pictures)

Maybe it is by customer demand, but a de-9 is the last connector on earth I would choose.
Theoretical the pins have the current capacity, but hey, to me it signals "cheapest possible connector on the outside, can't be much on the inside".
Personally I'd like screwterminals or something like a phoenix screwable pluggable connector, but that's me.

[andy_con]

Ah, like these then:
picture

yep .

- - - Updated - - -

Just curious:
Is the thermal junction between baseplate and diode-mount lapped, flattened, or treated with thermal paste ?
(edit: the baseplate looks indeed a lot more shiny on the later pictures)

what?

Maybe it is by customer demand, but a de-9 is the last connector on earth I would choose.
Theoretical the pins have the current capacity, but hey, to me it signals "cheapest possible connector on the outside, can't be much on the inside".
Personally I'd like screwterminals or something like a phoenix screwable pluggable connector, but that's me.

oh well

[jeejeedr]

to me it signals "cheapest possible connector on the outside, can't be much on the inside"

Actually, if you look at an RGB lasersystems module, which are not of the baddest and cheapest, they also use sub-d connectors to go to their drivers...

[andy_con]

Actually, if you look at an RGB lasersystems module, which are not of the baddest and cheapest, they also use sub-d connectors to go to their drivers...

and that's where I got the idea from

[RichieR]

Hope this is not a silly question - I am still fairly new to this sort of stuff - but why would someone want a 'fatter' beam ?

Again - sorry for my ignorance - but isn't the ideal output to have the beam as thin as possible ?

[andy_con]

who said anything about bigger?

the beam is 3.5mm by 3.5mm

[Bradfo69]

I think I understand the nature of Ritchies question. If you study the picture in the original post, it plainly shows the effect of the correction lenses and how it narrows down the beam and then broadens it back up to where it looks much larger than what's coming out of the diode.

Rich - keep in mind you're only seeing one end of the process. You're not seeing what the beam looks like 50 feet away. Yes, the beam exiting the diode is smaller but..... if you saw it on the wall 50 feet away (without those optics) , it would be the size of your head. The lenses do make the beam larger right where it comes out of the diode but, that beam then stays nice and tight so that once you're 50 feet away, that beam is only the size of your nose.

Ok, Andy... I have to ask the question... US dollars - what are we talking about for one of these little gems, ready to drop in a projector?