Multiple beams

[RedCowboy]

Sheltering in place and being somewhat bored I bought a used projector for cheap with 2300 hours and harvested 24 x M-140 diodes that work very well, I am driving 4 laser diodes in series @ 1.6a using a LM338 as a current regulator using 0.8 ohms across the adj. and output pins and 8 x 18650 in series,.....my expideted mounts are angle brackets giving me X and Y adjustment so I can converge the beams where ever I want to.........thinking about what else I can do with all of these diodes.......maybe knife edge a bunch ? Anyway just goofing around and thought I would post a couple of pics.

 

[icecruncher]

thanks for the pics

looks like a load of fun.

 

[RedCowboy]

Thanks, Yes I just love the look of multiple beams converging at infinity or any given point in the night air, I'm going to have to make some much bigger arrays and some fixed alignment infinity convergence handhelds maybe 7 beams using the Sharp 488 and Osram 520 when they get cheap enough.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi Red,
Nice job with the build oh and thats a nice load stabilizer you have in the pic, they are great for pickem up trucks I use them .
tractor trailer drivers leave them and I cut the tube to fit my bed.
Anyway awesome thread thanks for sharing. Good job done...
Rich

 

[tedcs]

Sheltering in place and being somewhat bored I bought a used projector for cheap with 2300 hours and harvested 24 x M-140 diodes that work very well, I am driving 4 laser diodes in series @ 1.6a using a LM336 as a current regulator using 0.8 ohms across the adj. and output pins and 8 x 18650 in series,.....my expideted mounts are angle brackets giving me X and Y adjustment so I can converge the beams where ever I want to.........thinking about what else I can do with all of these diodes.......maybe knife edge a bunch ? Anyway just goofing around and thought I would post a couple of pics.

Very cool, oh the possibilities...
They could all be put unto a 4x6 array, and then pretend that they are a big NUBM34!

 

[RedCowboy]

How about a big circle of beams all aimed into a deformable parabolic mirror or a graduated parabolic mirror that slides to zoom.

 

[tedcs]

How about a big circle of beams all aimed into a deformable parabolic mirror or a graduated parabolic mirror that slides to zoom.

A mimetic polyalloy would help.
Else, a rotating bowl containing a ~room temperature liquid alloy, GalinStan, or something; mercury being politically incorrect.

 

[RedCowboy]

Did I mention I like the look of multiple beams ?
I have some pretty neat ideas, this isn't one of them but I wanted to test some poor-mans X-Y mounts I made to see how well they move heat, also want to converge half a dozen nubm44's focused as tight as possible at a couple of feet and see what they will cut/etch. Will be 40w in a pretty small spot so it should cut through soup cans.......just for fun........I will probably post some pics

 

[tedcs]

Did I mention I like the look of multiple beams ? I think I heard that.
I have some pretty neat ideas, this isn't one of them... We be patient.

but I wanted to test some poor-mans X-Y mounts I made to see how well they move heat, also want to converge half a dozen nubm44's focused as tight as possible at a couple of feet and see what they will cut/etch. Will be 40w in a pretty small spot so it should cut through soup cans.......just for fun........I will probably post some pics

ACCEPTABLE

 

[tedcs]

Did I mention I like the look of multiple beams ? . . . . I'll have to try that some day soon.
I have some pretty neat ideas ... An idea has been pecking at my braincell for a while.
For beam forming, has anyone tried polished metal foil?
Metglas™ would be my first choice, but nickel or stainless might be worth a shot.
Foil is a whole lot cheaper than decent glass, or even lousy glass.
If foil can be sufficiently reflective, whether the flexibility would be useful might be the next question.

Possibilities boggle the mind, still, again... yet.

 

[RedCowboy]

I was thinking about a couple of square frames with 4 lasers each ( 140's/7875's or nugm03's .........or sharp 488's pushed to 125mw ) in adj. mounts stacked with the 2nd frame rotated 45 deg. so I could have a ring of 8 beams focused to infinity then set in a cone, then use 8 hinged mirrors with an adjuster that rides on a center threaded rod for adjustment, this would allow me to turn the nut and adjust the cone of beams to any point, granted the further away the convergence point the finer the adjustment but as the beams diverge it should be just fine for looking cool, not really made to concentrate the beams for distant burning but just to look groovy in the night air.

 

[tedcs]

[...] it should be just fine for looking cool [,] groovy in the night air.

Yes, and you're lucky, 'round here, we don't get night air – not even at night.

 

[Cyparagon]

Interesting mount pattern. Say, If I merely mention Godwin's law, does that count as fulfilling it?

 

[RedCowboy]

Interesting mount pattern. Say, If I merely mention Godwin's law, does that count as fulfilling it?

LMFAO.......dam I didn't even see that, WOW............I thought it was the best way to fit the mounts symmetrically and it never even dawned on me what that looks like.......sorry about that.

 

[CDBEAM777]

LMFAO.......dam I didn't even see that, WOW............I thought it was the best way to fit the mounts symmetrically and it never even dawned on me what that looks like.......sorry about that.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH...."Woo Wass Call Woo !!! Woo maka me laugh " !!!....A quote from Mario Fudd....Elmer's half brother !!! Thanx for the pics....Have a Nice Ray !!!

CDBEAM

 

[RedCowboy]

HAHAHAHAHAHAH...."Woo Wass Call Woo !!! Woo maka me laugh " !!!....A quote from Mario Fudd....Elmer's half brother !!! Thanx for the pics....Have a Nice Ray !!!

CDBEAM

LOL

When I build my cone of 8 beams I will have them all intersecting at about a foot away or where ever I need ( it's all adjustable ) and then I can use 8 small mirrors to reflect the small circle of beams back through the center of my rig which has open air for this purpose, all 8 beams in a tight little circle/cluster and with the right concave mirror that circle could be pretty tight...........more of a + and x overlapped where all the bars come together which means each laser would be rotated so the bars point to center.......I really want to do c-lens correction on 8 x ndb7A75's and use them in my cone of beams set up and with the right concave mirror have a nifty little circle/cluster of searing blue glory............and if the divergence of my bundle from my concave mirror is not tight enough then I will lens that to infinity point.

Note: With a concave mirror it will need to be centered and all the beams will need to be rotated so that they are all in line to center, like pedals of a flower or spokes of a wagon wheel and each beam center will need to be the same height and same .......well it all needs to be symmetrical.......with a concave mirror you would intersect the beams just after they all cross over and are expanding again........but with 8 individual mirrors there's room for slop and you can intersect the cone in or out, just align each corrected beam to the finish line/distant point from the mirror point.

With the concave it's the ring dia. to cone length that has to match the concave mirror so the position of the mirror and cone length would be adjusted to get a tight cluster/beam out.