Peachy Printer Laser Diode
Tom wrote 07/11/2016 at 12:51 • 0 pointsDoes anyone know what the laser diode used in the Peachy Printer is?
From the assembly videos, it looks like they're just using a laser diode module, but with no external optics (other than the mirrors on the galvo) it can't be just the diode. A cheap, high(ish) powered 405nm laser with built-in optics would be a useful thing to know about, but I can't see any reference to a part number - it doesn't show up in the Eagle BOM, I guess because it's fitted into a socket on the board and doesn't appear on the schematic.
Any ideas?
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AFAIK the only external optics built by the Peachy Printer crew are the windows. On the house they built.
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LOL! It took me a while to decipher that.
I should not laugh. Maybe you were a backer. I probably would have been a backer if I had had the cash.
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I know. But, watching the assembly video, they've actually figured out nice, elegant solutions to a lot of problems in DIY stereolithographic printers. Some highlights:
* Their build platform is so, so clever. A plastic bottle and some plastic tube make a reservoir which drops salt water into the build vat. A sensor, which you can build from a piece of plastic, some aluminium wire and some heatshrink, counts the number of drops. The resin floats on the salt water, so if you know approx the volume of a drop and the size of the container, you can figure out how far from the bottom the current build layer is. As simple as that; a build platform with *no moving parts* that you can build from scrap.
* They build a fairly effective galvanometer from a few off-the-shelf magnets, some laser-cut plastic, a couple of off-the-shelf coils and some elastic string. It's open-loop control, so the precision isn't great, but then you could easily imagine making one of these with no tools beyond a sharp knife and a soldering iron. This looks like a fairly fruitful area for improvement of the design; add fast feedback control of the galvo and you'd improve the print quality substantially. Personally, I'm looking at using hard drive voice coils and a capacitative position sensor (ever notice that the arm on a hard drive head looks a lot like half of a variable capacitor?)
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I don't know what exactly they're using, but bare 5.6mm diodes and housings are available cheap on ebay. Add your favorite driver, and you're all set:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/405nm-150mW-Blu-ray-burning-UV-Ultraviolet-laser-diode-US-Seller-FAST-SHIP-/182047160979
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aixiz-laser-module-5-6mm-TO-18-diode-housing-US-SELLER-FAST-SHIP-/182191743508
some of the housings say they're specifically for 405nm diodes - I'm not sure if the optics are any different on those or not.
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Thanks for the tip.
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