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Jaguarstrike
2008-11-18, 03:51
So ive got a dvd burner in which the bearings in the motor failed. I plan on extracting the diode and dropping it into a housing that can be "jacked into" other devices.

The basic Idea is a box that has the "laser jack" facing a glass chamber where the buds will go, heating and vaporizing them.

There would probably be some sort of power control knob to allow for temperature control.

What kind of glass chamber would be good for such a project? How much voltage should i put across the diode to get a proper temp?

Would I need a beam splitter or something to that effect to heat it evenly?

Digital_Savior
2008-11-18, 05:41
I don't think I have ever seen someone try so hard to sound intelligent, while actually sounding like they know absolutely nothing about the subject at the same time, in my entire life.

*starts a slow clap*

Darkus
2008-11-18, 05:47
pew pew
lasers

0x29A
2008-11-18, 06:21
I don't think I have ever seen someone try so hard to sound intelligent, while actually sounding like they know absolutely nothing about the subject at the same time, in my entire life.


This.

~son~of~random~
2008-11-19, 02:51
Jeez, poor guy...

RDProgrammer
2008-11-19, 03:10
*clap* long pause *clap*

but in all reality, Its very unlikely to work. I think Trial and Error must win here

RDP

ATG
2008-11-19, 03:15
I really like the idea of using a laser. I saw a pic somewhere of somebody using one instead of a lighter in a bowl. I'm not sure, but I think a small fan in the chamber aimed at the bud could help spread the heat. Beam splitters actually sound like a good idea too, but I dont know if those are feasible for a DIY.

twotimintim
2008-11-19, 03:15
I am thinking something along these lines here....

http://www.technovelgy.com/graphics/content05/star-wars-laser-cannons.jpg

:cool:

jonogt
2008-11-19, 06:58
burner diodes have a specific voltage and current that they have to run on in order to work properly, and the only practical way to get it is with a laser diode driver. I beleive the burner that you're planning to pull the diode out of has a driver that will work, but its wired up to run the laser for writing to discs, and given your original post, you'd probably have a hard time modifying it for simple on-off (Not bashing you... I wouldn't be able to either. I'm just sayin). You can give it a try, and if it doesn't work you can buy simple ones online for various diodes.

As for actually using a laser as the heat source in a vaporizer, your idea of pointing the laser at the chamber to heat the buds would not work very well. There would be some refraction of the beam through the glass, which might disperse some of the heating action around to different parts of the chamber (and thus different surfaces of the bud), but most of it would be right where the beam is hitting. It'll just scorch the hell out of that little bit of pot. That bit and a small area around it will quickly carbonize and insulate the rest of the pot in the chamber, and you'll just end up with the bowl vaporizing unevenly, not to mention having no way to really halt the vaporization if you wanna take a break. similar to those cheap globe style vaporizers that are little more than a soldering iron with a metal cup in place of the hot tip.

What you might look into is having the laser hit something which has specific properties (material/geometry/color/etc) that cause it to efficiently absorb the beam and heat up. You could position this in the chamber above the pot, and have the whole thing set up so when you take a hit through the hose, air is pulled across the heated item, through the pot, and out through the hose. Whether or not your laser could deliver enough heat energy to an item to reach temperatures which would vaporize the pot, I'm not sure. The world of vaporizers has a massive range in power consumption, from just a couple watts, up to 400.

I made a thread a while ago about building a heavy duty laser pointing with a 250mW diode available on ebay. if you can find it, there's more good info posted by others about diode circuitry.

Jaguarstrike
2008-11-19, 19:49
I was thinking of something similar to what this guy did:

http://hackedgadgets.com/2006/11/15/high-powered-laser-from-dvd-burner/

But without having batteries in the housing to save space. The batteries would be in the main vaporizer housing, and it would have contact points to power the laser when inserted.

What sort of material do you recommend as the light-to-heat converter? It has to be something that can stand up to higher temps without oxidizing or letting off nasty fumes.

jonogt
2008-11-20, 01:12
ya a lot of those laser pointer teks have popped up in the last couple years. Most of what I posted about drivers and all was what I've read on different sites and what other people posted in my thread a while back, not personal experience, but I'm still not sure about some stuff in that link. He says you can run red laser diodes with no driver at all... maybe for a couple hours total operating time before it burns out. I'm not a pro with this stuff, but I know that it's not that easy. Products at www.wickedlasers.com are overpriced, but there is some complexity in a proper high powered laser of any wavelength. If it was that easy, everyone would be making these things.

If you read some of the comments at the bottom of that page, you see a guy mentions that those dvd burner lasers should only be operated at 150mw CW, not 200. Laser beams have a lot of heat energy for their size and power output, but I don't think even 200 would be sufficient for vaporizing. Maybe 400 CW in the optimal burning spectrum could do it, but that'd be an expensive diode and complementing driver. Also, I think that most diodes of that power, with an upgraded heatsink, can run for about 10 minutes or so before needing a break.

http://tinyurl.com/6jl82j
like that one

If you did find a laser that could make the needed power and run for extended amts of time, the thing you'd want to shine it on to heat up would probably do best if it were carefully cut/formed glass. different parts of it would need to be fumed with dark colors to absorb the beam and heat up and allowing the least light possible to leave the item (as much as possible being absorbed).

All of these items would be expensive. might have to go a different direction here.

PS: check out this site
http://tinyurl.com/2j9eyy
its a vaporizer made in germany with what i think is the best form/function out there. i think a similar one could be DIY'd without to much headache

Cousingrimm
2008-11-20, 05:49
PS: check out this site
http://tinyurl.com/2j9eyy
its a vaporizer made in germany with what i think is the best form/function out there. i think a similar one could be DIY'd without to much headache

This inspired me to try and find my old creepy-crawly oven from when I was a kid. I figure I should be able to modify it to allow the bulb to heat up the herb. It's worth a shot. When I find the thing and try ths out, I'll make a post.

jonogt
2008-11-20, 18:47
http://tinyurl.com/6zponb
is it that one?



If you want to convert a kiddy oven like that into a vaporizer like this, I'd suggest getting yourself an IR thermometer to measure temperatures at different points so you have an idea of how close you are to on target (430-460 F). Also, I don't know how those things look inside, but you may need to modify the oven to take a halogen bulb (if it doesnt allready) to get the needed amount of heat in such a small space.

I find the Aromed's big flex-neck thing on the heat source kind of awkward, and the digital temp control to be a bit overkill, so some day I plan to DIY one that's a bit simpler and more aesthetic. On their site they have a "shop" link where you can buy just the glass parts. If you scroll halfway down you can find the waterbowl and herbholder combo for sale. its about 56$ US. Just above it they have a bulb cover too... I beleive this screws into flex-neck socket, and then it slides into the bowl so those holes can be just above the herb. Those are the only pieces I will probably buy from them. The heat control I would do with a potentiometer and just a digital readout of the temperature. I'll probably build the actual housing for everything out of hardwood to look real ornate, or out of stainless steel hardware and plate for a rugged look.