Best place to switch the circuit.

[WWC]

I am wanting to find the best place to switch my laser on and off. I uploaded a terrible picture of my circuit.

Basically what i have drawn is switching the ground from the power supply to the driver circuit via a transistor and a relay. Is this the best place to switch this circuit?

 

[RGB]

There's no picture!

 

[WWC]

Ah darn. Ok i hosted on Photobucket. Hopefully it is working now.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Yes this is correct.

Most important thing is that you do not place the switch after the driver. The diode and driver must be permanently connected.

 

[WWC]

How about if i just used a MOSSFET instead of the transistor and relay so the relay is not clicking all the time. Another variation i was thinking of is switching the ground of the laser for on / off control.

 

[Eudaimonium]

That is up to you. Transistor switching should be more reliable, and MUCH faster than relay. If you are using it for CNC application, relay would be too slow to switch the laser ON/OFF fast enough for the laser to draw the patterns you need.

 

[WWC]

It is in fact for a CNC so i will probably go with a transistor or MOSSFET

Thanks Eudaimonium for your help in answering my question.

 

[Eudaimonium]

No problem, glad I could help.

If you need anything else, feel free to send me a personal message.

 

[WWC]

Will do.