Laser Diode Holder and Wire Clamp

thingiverse

I'm playing with those cheapy cheap red laser diodes you can buy for a few pence (god bless banggood) by using an arduino to make them flash etc. I've basically got a chain of them on some ribbon cable, every 10cm or so. I've used them out in a servo controlled sweepy type device I made and just bluetacked to the walls and they look great with a bit of smoke. Budget lasers. What's not to love. The problem is the solder joints keep breaking and in the harsh environment of sweaty clubs they don't last the night. The point of this part is to house the laser diode and resistor while also securing the wire to prevent breakages. It's a simple two part jobby which is held together with a M3 x 8mm screw and nut. There are little pockets and bosses to keep it all aligned. The diode is constrained by a ridged... anti groove? Best of all the wire is clamped in place between the top and bottom. Now I can swing these about and not break the buggers. This is the static "bluetackable" version. Once I've made a bunch of them I'll add features so they can swivel and more... Oh and if you live in Bristol, like house, disco and nonsense come have a dance at Rumpf and bask in the laser glory. Here's a video of a bunch of them all flashing in their full glory : https://www.instagram.com/p/Brb5yrgHGuE/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq2_aeIHvzh/