Shorted a switch + lens protrusion

[Seffers93]

Hey LPF,

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I’ve been sick with strep since we got home from our trip. No fun!

I forgot to ask this when I was putting my Laser66 build together.

I’m not a fan of how far the lens protrudes from the host when focused to where I want it, which is just to a dot. To get around this, I tried freeing up some room in the host during my build by cutting an unused section of the switch so I could press the module in deeper. I saw someone cut the switch like this on a post here, but when I did it, there was a little puff of smoke from the button and the switch was no longer functional. I’m assuming I shorted it out somehow.

Should I just accept the lens protrusion? When it’s focused to a dot, a couple very small turns of the threaded barrel will make it fall out. It’s a G8 from DTR if that helps.

I also tried adjusting the actual lens within the barrel but it didn’t want to budge for me.

 

[Gryphon]

Pens are my favorite and I'm a big fan of having the lens cap on with the laser set at a fixed focus to infinity. To make everything fit I cut down the switch board right up to the edge of the switch, leaving only just enough room for a wire to pass across the front end and then carefully remove the traces on both sides of the PCB. This is necessary as its very likely the exposed traces from cutting the board down could short against the back of the laser module when everything is pressed into the pen.

 

[Seffers93]

Pens are my favorite and I'm a big fan of having the lens cap on with the laser set at a fixed focus to infinity. To make everything fit I cut down the switch board right up to the edge of the switch, leaving only just enough room for a wire to pass across the front end and then carefully remove the traces on both sides of the PCB. This is necessary as its very likely the exposed traces from cutting the board down could short against the back of the laser module when everything is pressed into the pen.

Aha!! Why the heck didn't I think of that lol.
Thanks! I’ll have to give it another go

 

[Deleted member 17304]

The g8 is a relatively long focal length lens too... You may also want to try other lenses.
- Acrylic is fine for lower power stuff, unless you have a 380nm uv diode which will melt it.
- If you still want a glass lens or have a higher power diode then maybe try a 3 element lens
- If you're married to the g8, you can shorten the barrel with a dremel