Build your own burning laser what a SCAM

mikediv

Guys I have to ask. I bought a few 16X DVD burners and took them apart to make my own burning laser I bough the Axixz kit for the housing and the Lens I took apart 2 perfectly good DVD players and at most the laser are a tiny bit brighter than a regular pointer
I even went back and called Axixzs and bought just the didoes from them .. same darn thing . Has anyone ever been able to make them work what am I doing wrong?? I also tried re-chargeable batteries like the kipkay video nothing just a bright laser pointer my temp gun
shows ZIP ZERO NADA not one tiny fraction of a degree change?? I found 100s of posts where everyone says it works great????

John R.

What kit, and what instructions? What are you expecting to "burn"? What posts on what forums? Where is the kipkay video>

The stuff I've seen for this type of thing has all been based on "blu-ray" burners, not "regular" DVD burners.

From what little I've seen/read (not really an interest of mine, so not much), this isn't a "scam", but I wouldn't be expecting to be burning much more than paper, and maybe some thin plastic.

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John R.
Click here to see my Nomad Build Log

PFloyd36069

They sure do work. i have made one with a diode from an 8x dvd burner. It will cut black garbage bags and make rubber smoke, and i once lit a match that i colored with a black sharpie. Make sure you have the dot focused to a pinpoint. i would also make sure that you dont put too much voltage to it, i fried my first diode that way.



bryan

Leon

It's a good way to blind yourself, if you aren't careful.

I remember someone where I once worked who got a new high-power laser and amused himself by burning the paint off the lab walls. These days he'd get the sack for it.

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Leon Heller
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM

mikediv

PFloyd36069 could you please explain, Just Google Kipkay build your burning laser you will get 100s of hits. I just wanted to be able to pop a balloon nothing big or fantastic I had been seeing all these web videos on people taking apart DVD burners 16X they said nothing about it being a blue ray. Leon I am 50 years old I just wanted to see if it was possible since everyone on the laser websites were making it sound like it was child's play ,, All the ones I have built work just fine but they certainly will not burn anything plastic bag included.
When I posted this question others had answered me with the same links to instructions that I already had When I ordered the diodes from Axixz they told me I would just need one of there housings so I could mount the laser diode and focus the beam.
So I know it could not be the wrong DVD players because I also used laser diodes that were sold to me for supposedly that very purpose. I am frustrated because while the lasers are working fine they are no warmer than a plain old laser pointer for 2 dollars.
I even built a supposed laser power supply using an LM317 that works just fine as well but made no change in the lasers output? If you watch the videos they very easily pop balloons light matches and melt plastic.
So my question is why do my lasers not even warm anything???
aside from referring me to the videos no one has been able to answer me in a way that makes any sense ?? Leon didn't you do some work with these?

Oh I do not know how valid this is but I made a little light meter using a solar cell to record the output of the lasers between the laser pointer and one of these high powder ones the meter output barley registered a change I do not know how accurate something like this could be but
I have no other way to measure the output with the exception of the finger test.. Also I do not want to post something objectionable so if anyone wants the video link just PM me.

Post Edited (mikediv) : 5/18/2010 6:28:52 PM GMT

pharseid

Ooohhh lasers! I built a helium-neon laser as a kid (42 years ago). In my case, the main danger was that I would electrocute myself. But I would reiterate Leon's warning about blinding yourself. Safety first. Success second. I've noticed Jameco sells a 75 watt laser diode. The beam divergence is not the same along different axes. Does anyone know how you focus something like that? My interest has waned as the using electron beams to vaporize materials in a vacuum seems the preferred method, but I'd still like to know how you focus something like that.

-phar

localroger

Pharseid, you have to use a collimator with separately adjustable cylindrical lenses. It's a lot easier since the laser is monochromatic you don't need to use color corrected lenses, but it is a specialty item.

Prettybird

Dangerous but more power. Check out ebuy. I have a purple one but only use for a robot pointer, not to burn things. It works great at night especially with a TV Cam. Much brighter then the reds. Remember the more power you pump into them, the shorter the life.

Leon

A friend of mine bought a He-Ne laser many years ago. He lived in an isolated cottage in Wales and used to aim it at walkers a long distance away. At that time they were quite new and I don't suppose they knew what it was.

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Leon Heller
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM

PFloyd36069

Here are some pictures of the laser i built. Another thing i would recommend is a good heatsink since these diodes get very hot and if left on too long they will die. Mine is just an old CPU heatsink that i machined to fir the doide and lens. For power i am just using 2 AA's in series.