Lightobject.com Support Forum

Hello,

I have read several methods of attaching the wires from a 40W power supply to a 40W tube. All methods seem to include lots of insulation to prevent arcs. Then I was checking out a laser buildlog and found this:


Dang,that sure would be convenient...

Does it seem like a good idea?

Steve

Things could get pretty hairy (as we say in UK) if the clip came off and you pressed the 'go' button! PLEASE make a home video if you do this!!

Not recommend as static will build up sooner or later

Marco

Thanks for the replies. I shall avoid using the 'gator clips. It would be nice if there was a quick-connect and disconnect method of attaching these cables.

Thanks again,

Steve

I found these little guys on another website:



Hard to tell the scale from the photo, but they are substantially less than 1cm long. $0.60ea. They are tinned and solderable.

I'd gladly share where I got them, but not sure if Marco would approve referencing a semi-competitor's website in this forum.

Joe

Whether you can post or not, it would be nice to know what the"best practices" are for attaching the high voltage to the laser. There are lots of opinions out there, ranging from "wrap and solder to the leads on the tube" to "absolutely do NOT solder to the leads on the tube" to "use alligator clips" (<-- which is NOT a good idea..)

In the past, I have had problems with arcing. I really do not want a repeat of a previous incident.

This time around, I used a butt connector. Yesterday, I literally filled the connector full of solder. I then heated it just enough to let the exposed end of the wire slide in. I let that cool. Then I heated it just enough to allow it to slide onto the lead of the tube. That was then covered in Shoe Goo to fill in small voids and then slathered in more shoe goo and then covered with silicone tubing which was held in place by, you guessed it... more shoe goo.

This pic is after the butt connector was soldered in place, but before the shoe goo or silicone were put on. You can see the silicon tube in position further up the wire



Not sure if any of what I did is in the realm of "best practices" but I figured a good clean in-line connection that is completely insulated by several layers of silicone shouldn't be too bad.

Steve