it’s pointed the wrong way.

Posted at 2:34 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by BigD145

that is sweet. i want one. anyone have an estimate as to what it would cost to make?

Posted at 2:38 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by hypoxide

Great Guide!

The only problem that is see with a more powerful laser is that you would need a better cooling system and a bigger battery.

Posted at 2:40 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by Spyingwind

Nice little project. Just 2 minor problems I have with it (aside from the safety of getting flashed in the eye with it). have to be really careful with those laser modules. some can be very fragile.

1) I didn’t see a schematic. maybe it didn’t load for me?
2) I really dislike installing batteries in a parallel circuit without some kind of current control between them. If one goes dead before the others, that can cause a lot of problems, such as explosion/leaking.

Posted at 2:43 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by Josh

Hi, I will try to answer some questions :)
It is pointed the wrong way for a couple of reasons, the main one is the focus point can be easily be found as it is right on the edge of the lid, so hold the cigar against the lid and it lights.I can engrave plastic and wood by resting the lid on the surface, it keeps it in perfect focus. Another reason was just to get it to fit.

Cost to build was around $30 including the lighter.

Correct on the more power, I had to weigh power to room available, the Blu-ray gives a much higher mw output per ma input ratio than IR or red.
Schematic is there somewhere. I am never that happy with parallel batteries but with only 38ma/h batteries I need to do it for longevity…and it makes best use of space.

As to the eye safe I would not suggest lighting a cigar with it in your mouth, it works well enough just getting it to smoke.

Regards rog8811

Posted at 3:14 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by rog8811

sounds rather cool; how long does lighting a cigar take with this thing?

Posted at 4:15 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by dan

sweet now i can make myself a lazer bong lighter!

Posted at 10:38 pm on Feb 27th, 2009 by nick

If you look at the video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2493812/flip_top_laser_lighter/
You will see it took around 9 seconds to light a cigar, I would say that the batteries had been well used during the day before I made the video.

I would guess a laser bong would be quite easy… that would certainly blow some minds :)

Regards rog8811

Posted at 12:58 am on Feb 28th, 2009 by rog8811

Warning: Do not look into laser with remaining eye.

Posted at 1:10 am on Feb 28th, 2009 by kyoorius

Are there instructions for attaching this to a shark’s head?

No, seriously, it’s creative and retro-futuristic and is a winner.

it’s like a lighter you might find in “bioshock” which i am only now just playing.

Posted at 4:25 am on Feb 28th, 2009 by strider_mt2k

Very nice. Nice hack.

Posted at 4:39 am on Feb 28th, 2009 by larry

awesome ! a new high-tech way to get cancer.

Posted at 2:51 pm on Feb 28th, 2009 by mike

Quality hack.

Posted at 3:56 pm on Feb 28th, 2009 by Jack

Considering he managed to burn his finger right off the bat, I’m guessing he doesn’t realize the damage he’s doing to his eyes. With lasers this strong, just looking at the dot it casts is enough to burn blind spots in your eyes. Reflections that hit his eyes would be enough to cause blindness. These lasers ARE NOT TOYS. If you’re not a laser technician, you probably shouldn’t take one of these diodes out of its case.

Posted at 8:40 am on Mar 1st, 2009 by Terc

You are making a big assumption there terc. I have built and used higher powered lasers than this, I am well aware of the dangers which is why I have safety glasses to wear when burning or engraving. I do not have the cigar in my mouth when I light it, Ok I burnt my thumb, which I found funny so did not edit it out of the video and it made a point.
On my website there is a page called “lasers are not toys” which explains the dangers of lasers and how to use them safely.

Regards rog8811

Posted at 10:06 am on Mar 1st, 2009 by rog8811

another hazard with these lasers is that they are UV-A which means even diffuse
reflections can cause “arc eye” as well as the retinal burn hazard.

just to give you an idea i built an experimental pcb etcher with a similar diode and the beam is powerful enough
that even the badly focussed 1″ diameter beam can degrade the emulsion from across a desk. i had to step down
the power for this reason (makes it slightly safer while tuning) despite using welding goggles enough light
got through them to cause problems the next day.

i have reason to believe that the cheaper (Bluray burner) diodes even emit into the UV-B range which makes them
even more dangerous! Focussing one on your skin is a BAD IDEA at any power level.

#include “$0.02.h”

Posted at 12:04 pm on Mar 1st, 2009 by andre

That’s actually so cool it makes me want to take up smoking just so that I can own one of these. No lie.

Posted at 3:12 am on Mar 2nd, 2009 by PKM

i just finished my attempt at this bad boy and i can tell you mines looks no where close to how good this one looks.

Posted at 10:35 am on Mar 2nd, 2009 by rootKRP

Definitely should use goggles with a laser of this much power.
Judging by the noise in the video it seems the camera’s CCD or CMOS sensor has been damaged by the laser it’ll do the same thing to your eyes if you are not careful.
BTW that is a blue-violet laser 404-407nm not UVA 400 nm–320 nm.
UVB is 320 nm–280 nm and only excimer and nitrogen lasers can generate that.

Posted at 7:23 pm on Mar 2nd, 2009 by nitori

all of the shiny surfaces make my eyes ache! The one reason why I cannot have a toy as cool as this is that retinas work as attractors for laser light.

Posted at 11:16 am on Mar 3rd, 2009 by matt

iirc spurious UVA and UVB emission can indeed occur from any InGaN based diode, Nichia had 370nm diodes a while back.

You can get LEDs that emit at 320nm but they are insanely expensive.

_A

Posted at 11:54 am on Mar 6th, 2009 by andre

That’s so cool, and for only $30? I really want to make one now.

Posted at 3:42 pm on Sep 18th, 2009 by Jack London