Another project red?

[MechEng3]

OK lets see some pix. I am begining to lock down the layout for the diode holders tonight. Is this going to be a share all thing or are there any others planning to build a 12 diode unit? I have had good results using a very small shorting pin or just a touch of solder on the 2 active pins. Try not to rotate the one pin...it will most certainly break the bonding wire to the die. On my leads from the diode I always have a shorting wire attached and is clipped and heat shrink covered after all conections. This bleeds off the stored voltage in the driver after setting it up. This also allows furure diode replacement with the ability to shunt the transplant. CYA ...point blank. I have finished another 1/2 watt red for now...time to start on the big guy. I will have access to a good mill next week for a few hours....time to nail down the locations of all holes...
On a tangent...the 12x 405 BR diodes... are they very expensive? Who has sleds for sale ? I would like to build a quad using these....

[logsquared]

Here are some pics. The one shows the two different mirror mounts i made. The one with the "rocker" was meant to have a 4-40 steel screw as the pivot point. The spring tension was to come from the 4-40 pivot screw. There is a 4-40 set screw on the tail end that pushes against the base. Two problems with this design. 1. its a PITA to machine with any tolerance. 2. i think the steel pivot screw will gain torque when the side pusher is used. i think this may lead to creep over time. The mount with the flat bottom i think is what will work best. Instead of a steel screw i use a nylon 6-32 screw. Now the tension comes from elongation of the nylon screw not bending. Also, the nylon screw doesn't turn with the side pusher reducing torque on the pivot.

In the second pic the 8X base can be seen. (not all the mirror or diode mounts are installed). There are two small issues i have seen with this mock-up. 1. The side pusher is only "one way" it is kinda like an old typewriter. If you go too far you have to back the screw off and manually pull it back over. This could be fixed with a "puller" screw next to the pusher. I don't think i will need it because after it's set i will glue the mirror mounts and take those side pushers out. ( we will see how that goes with 8 diodes though!) 2. My mirrors didn't glue on as straight as i thought i could get. To fix this i will machine the mounts to angle the mirror slightly up. This way the beams will all start out pointing higher than center allowing adjustment for mirror misalignment from glueing. Currently it can only be adjusted below center. If the back mirrors get glued slightly pointing down (some did) then they get clipped excessively by the front row.

Pretty simple huh?

[MechEng3]

This is a V2 of a proto that has proven to work and has good stability and compactness. This has undergone many hours of design and theory...I would be interested to get a file out to someone with a CNC mill.....these have all the goodness I will need for alignment....any jeering from the participants on a GB for a pack of these to be made up? Can be cut to lengths needed...shaded area is to be a drilled hole for rotational movement and tightening. Mirrored side faces the hole in the top of the device...keeping things centered and simple. Simple but very effective in this case for me. Material is T-6061 .375 round stock...cheap and readily available. I think it is a great item worthy of some sort of patent....maybe...my head is filled with ideas to take this chore on.

[logsquared]

NICE! I think simple is the way to go for this type of build.

The #2-56 will give you your Y axis adjustment. How will you make the X axis adjustment?

This seems like a variant of the square flexure mounts. I have never used the square type i have seen sold on this forum. Anyone know what the long term stability is? I steered away from the flexure mounts on my design because i worried about drift from the relaxation of the stress in the metal. I am not saying this would happen. It was a concern though. In my first designs i really wanted to have adjust-ability for correction if the beams started to walk. Somewhere along the line i came up with the set and glue idea. I am hopeful with temp. stabilization long term stability should be fine.

[logsquared]

I do remember the axicon thread... too bad it's been long gone and forgotten



--DDL

I must have missed this.

The axicon thread can live. Check this out: http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...le-beam/page12

[Laserman532]

This is a V2 of a proto that has proven to work and has good stability and compactness. This has undergone many hours of design and theory...I would be interested to get a file out to someone with a CNC mill.....these have all the goodness I will need for alignment....any jeering from the participants on a GB for a pack of these to be made up? Can be cut to lengths needed...shaded area is to be a drilled hole for rotational movement and tightening. Mirrored side faces the hole in the top of the device...keeping things centered and simple. Simple but very effective in this case for me. Material is T-6061 .375 round stock...cheap and readily available. I think it is a great item worthy of some sort of patent....maybe...my head is filled with ideas to take this chore on.

it is possible that I just dont see it...but how is vertical adjustment achieved (except other than precise machining). The issues (as I understand it) was the vertical height adjustment.

As I also pointed out to buffo in a PM...any design like this would also require PRECISE cut mirrors. (not to mention a standard thickness.

[buffo]

it is possible that I just dont see it...but how is vertical adjustment achieved (except other than precise machining). The issues (as I understand it) was the vertical height adjustment

Hi Pat;

Are you talking about Mo's design or Mike's design? With Mike's, I believe the vertical adjustment would have to be via shims, but Mo's design incorporates a vertical adjustment screw.

any design like this would also require PRECISE cut mirrors. (not to mention a standard thickness.

I completely agree. And in fact, my reply to you in that PM was that you already sell precision-cut mirrors that are all the same thickness (and are also quite affordable). So that's a problem that is already solved.

The key (in my opinion) is having the shelf on the mounts so that the top edge of the mirror is always straight and they're all mounted at the same initial height. Then you can shim the mounts to get the extra height you need. (Or, in the case of Mo's design, use the height adjustment screw.)

Adam

[logsquared]

it is possible that I just dont see it...but how is vertical adjustment achieved (except other than precise machining). The issues (as I understand it) was the vertical height adjustment.

As I also pointed out to buffo in a PM...any design like this would also require PRECISE cut mirrors. (not to mention a standard thickness.

I think the height could be adjusted with MechEng3 post style mount only by machining or shimming if needed. Probably a simple washer could be used as a shim. I don't see how the thickness of the mirror would matter much. I can't see from the drawing how adjustment in the X axis would be made.

On my combiner i use a jig to assure the mirror is the correct height and centered properly. My base plate is machined on a mill to accurately set the row widths at the correct place.

[Laserman532]

Hi Pat;

Are you talking about Mo's design or Mike's design? With Mike's, I believe the vertical adjustment would have to be via shims, but Mo's design incorporates a vertical adjustment screw.

I completely agree. And in fact, my reply to you in that PM was that you already sell precision-cut mirrors that are all the same thickness (and are also quite affordable). So that's a problem that is already solved.

The key (in my opinion) is having the shelf on the mounts so that the top edge of the mirror is always straight and they're all mounted at the same initial height. Then you can shim the mounts to get the extra height you need. (Or, in the case of Mo's design, use the height adjustment screw.)

Adam

About the adjustable mounts:

Shims - how many and what thickness would be supplied / necessary? With mikes design shims can be as simple as washers with a 4-40 hole in them (however washers will add instability and perpendiculariosity (leaning tower of pisa) issues.

Mirrors- I have found that most folks dont like aluminum coated mirrors (the ones I sell) (true they roll off quickly at 405 and are only around 90 something R at other wavelengths). (my ROI clearly shows that...DOH!)

Moes concept could be expanded upon. When discussing height translation, one must first determine "range of height" adjustment necessary. It is a very broad discussion with many variables.

The main problem has always been standardization (hence ilda). I make everything .75" above a 1/4" thick baseplate...making all beams 1" above any surface. The standardization thing was driving me crazy so I made my own standard (my euro friends would have preferred me to go metric )
About the concept:

In my first "response post (see my post #4)" I actually was not thinking of a bunch of diodes being combined with a bunch of adjustable mounts, I was actually envisioning a "disc" with diodes pressed in diode to diode (very much like a multi LED flashlight) which is why i asked if those were the beams or the diodes or the lenses (or something to that effect) Where I was derailed was with the first drawing thinking that it was a diode bank and not a beam pattern on the wall (artist rendition of course). Now my mind wonders to the question "are those aixiz modules nested" and if so...the aixiz's modules are far greater diameter than the beams exiting the lens's which creates one hell of a collimation problem.

anyway...would like to see what mike envisions as the mechanical setup not just what he would like the "spots" to look like on the wall...(no offense to mike here either)

mike do you have an artist rendition of what the mechanical layout of the array would look like?

[MechEng3]

Here ....maybe this will help...I am not spending time drawing when I can build. Considering the 3 engineers that doodled on napkins at a diner and designed the Studebaker Avanti in 1962...and went into production from there 2 weeks later... this laser will be made soon by me. I will show pix along as it comes together. Really want to build a quad with 4 of the BDR-205 diodes...reported to go up to 625mw each and live on a heatsink...I would like to see 2 watts from it though...Hmmm....2 watts of 405nm for less than $1K. Maybe I am not showing enough info on this platform setup..... No CAD drawings...just notes and sketches on my pocket notepad. By the time I draw all this out I can have one machined on a manual mill. My lathe in the workshed will do the mirror posts... I will scan the parts and then have a set of drawings on the server as soon as I can. Then all can just download and carve away...my reamer came in today for the Aixiz diode holders...now I can make a nice fit there. The ally diode blocks will be mounted onto a .5" T-6 block or copper with a TEC attached underneath it. This will be assembled onto the .25" baseplate of the laser. Comon guys...you have built this same thing but on a smaller scale. Just a few tweaks here and there. The big deal that everyone has missed is that the mirror holder has the dichro in the CL of the post. If you have aligned a multiple diode laser, you know that this is a big deal. Precision at the diode mount and drilling locations are utmost with this design. If the diode is in the right place...everything else will fall into place from there. I do use a bit of the ability to steer the beam a bit with the lens movement on the diode itself. Then all is locked down. Hope this helps and not to come off as a smart a$$. Just wanted to get people more involved with building and design. The other big thing is the fill factor and the beam placement at the cube.