Laser head

[Zax]

Either you have really big hands or that's a tiny laser module 

There's no way that heat sink would work for 15W, take a look at the Endurance Laser modules http://endurancelasers.com/endurance-10w-laser/

[crazeuk]

Lol. Bit of both maybe. The laser it self is 30 x 30 x    75 mm. The control power supply for it is the black heat sink (blue board).

My hand is 120 x 200 x 30mm and displaces 500ml.


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[ggallant571]

Do you have an oscope or logic analyzer?

From an ad on Aliexpress:

Parameter:
Wavelength: 450NM
laser power: impulse=15W, average 6-7w output.
Voltage: DC 12v 6a
TTL frequency=0v on 5v off; less 50k
LD currect input:2-2.5a

[crazeuk]

Nope, what are they?

Ya I figured it Maybe lower, then maybe they over drive in pulses.

I don't feel like I am even getting 5W.

Also, I noticed the power driver says 5W in the model number. You can see it in the pic.

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[crazeuk]

Oh oscilloscope? Lol no.

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[ggallant571]

I also have a "15W" and suspect it is a 3W because it draws about 3A at full on and the burn is similar to some other "known" 2.5W units.

You can purchase low frequency USB oscilloscope and logic analyzers quite cheaply. Good enough to measure most Arduino generated signals.

[crazeuk]

Hey guys.

An update..
So I contacted the seller to return the head.

They checked with their supplier who said it was in fact 2300mw - Although I suspect they knowingly sold it hoping people would not realise.

Just for the sake of it (to give the frame purpose), I purchased a 5.5w head (fleabay).

Here are pics comparing the two:
Original 15W (2300mw) Left - Replacement 5500mw Right


Original 15W (2300mw) Left - Replacement 5500mw Right


Original 15W (2300mw) Left - Replacement 5500mw Right


The VigoTec VG-L3 frame driver board.


The laser driver module. - Notice it doesn't have a connector for the PWM / Pwr / Laser slot on the above driver.


My Problem is when I connect the Laser driver module to the Frame driver board, i via Laser (on the frame driver board) - I do not think there is any power getting to the laser (the fan doesn't turn on, nor does the low power laser).

[Zax]

You have a separate power supply for the laser driver board, correct?

You have the TTL input connected to the controller board, correct?

I guess seeing your final wiring would be helpful but typically the fan runs when power is on whether or not the laser is on.

[crazeuk]

You have a separate power supply for the laser driver board, correct?

You have the TTL input connected to the controller board, correct?

I guess seeing your final wiring would be helpful but typically the fan runs when power is on whether or not the laser is on.

Thanks for the response.
The laser didn't come with it.

I did notice the polarity of the white and yellow cable from the frame driver to laser driver was replaced.

I've swapped the wires on the connectors, and it works.

My new question is what is ttl, Ttl+, Pwm and analogue. - which it better to use?

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[Zax]

TTL designates the voltage levels (logic) which in this case is 5VDC.
PWM is pulse width modulation a method of switching the voltage.

In most cases the Chinese use these interchangeably although they are very different, so when it says TTL it means a TTL/PWM and when it says PWM it means the same. You could have PWM at 12VDC (e.g. the MOSFET output) or TTL without any PWM, just on and off logic.

Analog would refer to a variable input voltage, probably 0 to 12VDC which is translated to a TTL/PWM output. I haven't seen this very often but if you had a simple potentiometer you could use that to control laser power manually.

It's not really a question of "better" but what you have available, since the Nano output is TTL with 8-bit PWM that's "best" in this case.

[crazeuk]

TTL designates the voltage levels (logic) which in this case is 5VDC.
PWM is pulse width modulation a method of switching the voltage.

In most cases the Chinese use these interchangeably although they are very different, so when it says TTL it means a TTL/PWM and when it says PWM it means the same. You could have PWM at 12VDC (e.g. the MOSFET output) or TTL without any PWM, just on and off logic.

Analog would refer to a variable input voltage, probably 0 to 12VDC which is translated to a TTL/PWM output. I haven't seen this very often but if you had a simple potentiometer you could use that to control laser power manually.

It's not really a question of "better" but what you have available, since the Nano output is TTL with 8-bit PWM that's "best" in this case.

Great. Thank you for the explanation.
That laser driver has a analogue input (blue connector) and a switch to switch between the two.


What I was amazed at between the two heads is the lower power one has a much bigger driver set in an aluminium heatsink box with a fan.

The 5500mw driver it's much smaller, in a plastic case. No fan.

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[ggallant571]

Diode lasers are about 15% efficient. For a 5.5W module you need to supply about 36W (12V, 3.0A) of raw power. The other 85% is dissipated as heat . Some vendors do a better job than others at reliably handling this heat. They all work for the first 2 minutes, you want one that will work for 2 days.