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Thread: Cheap small spinning polygon with motor?

  1. #1
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    Default Cheap small spinning polygon with motor?

    I'm looking for a small spinning polygon mirror with motor. It can't be very big, a few 3" for the whole assembly maybe?

    Looking at mounting it in a large underwater flashlight housing and then doing PWM of one or two diodes against it to draw patterned line (AtMega code prob.)

    Laser printers seem to be one source of these but the assemblies I'm seeing are fairly large. Also, I plan to run this on batteries (probably lipo/lion + buck-boost to 5vdc get me where I need to drive diode drivers.)

    Thoughts?

  2. #2
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    You could try the Mirrors in a Laser Barcode reader. They produce that
    scan line.

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  3. #3
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    I was thinking that as well. I don't know if the cheap barcode scanners actually use a spinning mirror or a flapping mirror (think the Nintendo Virtual Boy?)

    The rate isn't super high but it should be fast enough to keep the laser from burning through the plastic on the front of the light housing.

    Will investigate, I have a few of those barcode readers (just not sure if they're at home or at a warehouse.)

  4. #4
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    I have lots of laser scan assemblies from laser printers. Many are coated for IR and are OK for red but not green or blue. Some are protected aluminum and pretty ok overall.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanBarlow View Post
    I have lots of laser scan assemblies from laser printers. Many are coated for IR and are OK for red but not green or blue. Some are protected aluminum and pretty ok overall.

    Plot thickens! I didn't know they were coated funky. So that might limit my ability to use printer engines?

    I'm told the cheap barcode scanners have a mirror that goes back and forth, I might investigate one of those to see if it's MCU will fire it off without a USB host present?

    I actually bought an underwater dive light to reuse, and the front is plastic not glass so I have to be careful not to mark it or burn through it.

  6. #6
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    A third of the way down the page,....

    http://www.timeline-inc.com/blowout.html#laser


    Steve
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