Laser keeps me awake most of the night

[stanwax]

Damn Rob... You build the coolest stuff! Love those pictures too. (Especially the Stanwax logo!) I'm starting to feel the need for a coherent light fix... I guess I need to fire up my projector and play a while! (I also need to get a new camera so I can take some more pics!)

Why thankyou pal if you are not careful my head will be bigger than my laser budget! And we all need a laser fix - I actually think it makes you healthier after all the good feeling of seeing the beautiful light has to do you good!

I can't believe you tear that projector apart and rebuild it so frequently! I think I'd go crazy.

Its only because I have done a bit each night but at the end of the night wanted soooooo much to see it in action.

I do agree with you about alignment though; I had a pretty easy time of it myself. I think part of the reason is that I did the final alignment in my backyard where I had almost 100 ft of throw. The long throw made it easy to get everything dialed in perfectly. (Of course, sweating my ass off and getting eaten alive by gnats and mosquitos in the middle of the night wasn't the greatest, but hopefully I won't ever have to do it again!) Another thing that I believe helped a lot was the larger MM2 mounts I used. They make adjustment really easy, and they're so solid that they never move once you set them. Finally, I had lots of adjustment, both on the mounts and the laser tables themselves, so that helped.

I look forward to your "history of contruction post"... I'm curious to learn the procedure you used for your alignment. (That might be a good topic for a separate thread, actually.) I'm also curious about your magnetic mounts, now that you've had time to use them for a while... Are they still performing well for you?

Yeah that long throw will do the world of good to your alignment - the further the better - within reason. We dont have the problems of heat or mozzies over here just the distinct possibility of getting rain in the projector - English summer you cant beat it! As for the mounts - I know I like to do stuff myself but I simply would never have fitted off the shelf stuff in my housing - its been tough to get it all in - but im getting there. This afternoon I have made a plate to fit over the top of the optical bed on which to mount the drivers for the lasers and other associated electronics and Im just gonna be able to squeeze the lid on. I also have made everything adjustable up down fore aft rotation I think some parts are adjustable in axes that havent been invented yet! Im sure this is the key to it - I have started to write up a foolproof guide to alignment which will hopefully help some of the novices - I have been mixing laser beams for about 7 years now and have made lots of mistakes and learnt a whole shit load on the way. Hopefully I can put this in words that will make sense for anyone.
The mag mounts have developed one more step for this set up - see pic at the bottom of the post - but again I will post some real details of them when I get time and have finished the projector.

Finally, I was interested in your power loss measurements across your dichros. Where did you buy them? (Are they from Edmund's or someplace else?) I've been thinking about giving OneStopLaserShop a try for my next set of dichros. Steve Roberts was saying that their dichros are a lot more efficient, and cheaper to boot. Just wondering where you got yours from.?.

Mine are EO ones - the 12.5mm type again as I am tight for space. I would be interested to see the one stop ones or hear a good comparison - maybe I will order some and test them before I publish my EO results....so much to do - and I keep stopping cos I have to eat sleep or work. Bugger!

Rob

[buffo]

Hi Rob;

Wow! Those mounts are starting to look like something you'd buy from Newport... I can't believe you're making those things from scratch. Clearly you're a lot better at working with metal than I am!

I'm looking forward to your alignment article, and also to your post about the new mounts. I don't remember the old design having the ball mounts, and there are a couple other features that look new... (Someone's been busy in the metal shop!)

You know, if your cost of production is low you might be able to make some money on the side building those things and selling them here. Considering a decent mount will run $35-$50 minimum, if they don't take you a lot of time to make you might be competitive... Something to consider anyway.

Adam

[steve-o]

That's G-10 circuit-board material on the right..right?
The concave screws with the ballbearings are nice

[stanwax]

That's G-10 circuit-board material on the right..right?

Something like that - I think someone else said FR4 - I dont know if there is a difference or which it is I just happen to have a few decent sheets of it that I was given and its very usefuls stuff and a joy to work with - Cheers To Dave Billinge who supplied me with this 10 years or so ago - I never imagined then what I would use it for!

The concave screws with the ballbearings are nice

Cheers - I will elaborate more on this when I provide more detail on the construction.

Hi Rob;

Wow! Those mounts are starting to look like something you'd buy from Newport... I can't believe you're making those things from scratch. Clearly you're a lot better at working with metal than I am!

Im not sure about that but thanks for the compliment - they really are not sophisticated and they dont take long to make.

I'm looking forward to your alignment article, and also to your post about the new mounts. I don't remember the old design having the ball mounts, and there are a couple other features that look new... (Someone's been busy in the metal shop!)

I will answer these questions when I do a post about the mounts - hopefully keep all the information in one place - I will try and drag myself away from the projector long enough to do this later today.

You know, if your cost of production is low you might be able to make some money on the side building those things and selling them here. Considering a decent mount will run $35-$50 minimum, if they don't take you a lot of time to make you might be competitive... Something to consider anyway.

You are not the first to suggest this and its a nice idea though I doubt I will have EO quaking in thier shoes.

Rob

[stanwax]

The low down on the new mounts is here

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...8278#post28278

Rob