New build underway

[absolom7691]

I am FINALLY putting to use, the case that KGB sold me. It has been sitting in the flight case for about 2 months now and I finally cracked it open and started working on it. The wife was out of town with her sister and no one here to complain if I spent all weekend in the garage! So far, everything is coming together nicely. I was hoping to finish the whole thing this weekend but, time did not permit. I mainly need to get the red dichro installed and finish dialing in the beam path. The hardware holding my flexure mounts down needs washers (I hate getting home from the hardware store and realizing that something was forgotten ) and there are a few other things to add but for the most part, this is it.

532nm Viasho 200mW
640nm Laserwave 340mW
450nm Osram 1.4W (running it at 500mW)
30K glavos

[KGB]

NICE

Hard to believe you were able to fit everything in there

[absolom7691]

NICE

Hard to believe you were able to fit everything in there

Thanks! Well, I knew going in that it was going to be a tight fit. I added a little bit of real estate by throwing out the aluminum plate that it came with. It was too small and only 4mm thick. I got a thicker plate (7mm) and larger in bother dimensions. I had to rearrange the PSUs on the bottom several times and the only configuration that I was able to get to fit was putting my Laserwave PSU on top. The other area where I had to substitue was the flexure mounts. I was hoping to use MM-1's but they were too large so I had to go with the flexure's. Hopefully I won't need to adjust hardly at all and since I don't do commercial shows, I won't be hauling this to gig after gig.

[planters]

Nice achievement in so short a time. One suggestion; the countersink holes in the base plate can be cut with very little chatter, if using a standard,over sized drill bit, if they are cut at a VERY slow speed. If after everything is aligned and drilled you plan to do a final dress up of the plate then this might be something to try.

How did yo do the fine adjustment of that prism pair in that vertical set up? I would think that would be hard.

Can't wait to see it finished.

[absolom7691]

One suggestion; the countersink holes in the base plate can be cut with very little chatter, if using a standard,over sized drill bit, if they are cut at a VERY slow speed.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not much of a machinist. In fact, fabrication (for me) is the worst part about lasers. I typically use a cross hole countersink for aluminum but damn if Home Depot or Lowes had one so I used a fluted. All the holes on the back of the plate were smooth. I guess I got my rythym down.

How did yo do the fine adjustment of that prism pair in that vertical set up? I would think that would be hard.

WIth the prism pair, I copied, as closely as I could, Zoofs layout. After a bit of trial and error I got it to look decent. I know it seems odd to configure it like that but I am mainly trying to match the slight oblong divergence of my green, which expands more in the vertical axis.

Can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks! Same here . I am just waiting for the epoxy to cure on my galvo mirror before I continue. The X galvo in the pictue has stiffened up to the point where the polyswitch triggers on the amp, even at low scan angles. I need to get the replacement galvo that I have here, installed and then I can mount the optical deck to the inside of the case and do my final beam adjustments.

Thanks again, for the props!

[absolom7691]

I just need to do a bit of cable cleanup but for the most part, my projector is done. I was so thankful that when I dropped the replacement galvo in, I only had to spend about 10 minutes retuning. Once I get home from work, my dSLR battery should be charged and I can take some better pics along with some beam pics. My phone camera just cannot handle laser light.

[blowfly]

That's a nice tight build, nice work! What is the black stuff holding the flexmounts to prevent them from rotating?

[absolom7691]

That's a nice tight build, nice work!

Thanks!

What is the black stuff holding the flexmounts to prevent them from rotating?

Lol, believe it or not, it's nail polish. I have found that it works very well in this situation. It is fairly hard when it dries and it is easy to remove without scraping or sanding if I need to add/adjust anything in the future.