quick size and cooling question (layout design)

hey im trying to fit my green into the smallest possible enclosure i can and i found a nice little enclosure i can use at a local store here and want to know if you think this layout would do?

its 10"x6"x3.5"

here is some pictures.

im thinking i may have some problems with cooling if i use it this way.

but let me know what you think

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7920.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7921.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7922.jpg

i would have the fans blowing out as you can see in this picture and on the other side i would have them blowing in.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7922.jpg

Hi Josh.
Sorry... but I can't understand where you would like to put fans...
Pics no.2 and no.3 you attached are... identical between them (maybe you forgot to paint fans positions over them...:p)
Anyway...
I think galvos (they seems me the same model I have) don't need so great flow of air for cooling.
Maybe the laser head has the worst position in the whole setup: it is "closed" at the corner of the case. Could be bit difficult to give it a good cooling flow.

On Web I've seen pics about 1 W - 2W single green projectors: their dimensions are about 35x25x10 cm. Maybe this can help you...

Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would install only one medium/big blowing-in fan (or two smaller) without any other blowing-out fan.
Your case will be small, so flow of air is "forced" to go out through the projection hole in the front. (this could be a nice trick for to keep mirrors clean from smoke;):p)
This is my opinion.
Cheers!:)
Steve

These are squidged up 190x260mm 1w units and work fine... a 60mm fan keeps the air positive pressure and moving through the back section with the laser/PSU's. The overkill heatsink/enclosure doesn't get warm, even with the laser driver heatsinking directly into it.

Steve, it's a good idea to totally seal up the optical side of things if possible

I would re arrange it so that the scanner pair is as close to the front of case as possible which would allow for a smaller output hole (due to scan angle). I would also use two adjustable routing mirror mounts that will making aligning laser output to scanners much easier, currently you have no adjustment, may be you dont need it but it is nice to have. If you want to keep it like you have it, slide the laser output as close to the scanners as possible and use the room behind the lasers for wireing or whatever. There are a hundred ways to lay it out. It looks good, I wish i could build one!:)

Just a verry quick drawing..
Maybe it could work for you?

http://www.hamond.nl/images/plaatjes.../quickdraw.jpg

oh it looks like one picture was a duplicate. so here... this shows the fans from the 500m5 laser head and also the drivers 2 fans..

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7923.jpg


are there any more pictures of the 1 watt lasers?

i would put the fan over top of the scan amps, you have fans on the back of the laser head and driver, if you can figure out which direction they're pulling you can use them as one set of fans to establish flow, so if they pull in, put the fan over the scan amps blowing out, and vice versa if they blow out.
if you have mounted your scan amps to a good baseplate, that will help to keep them cool as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

i would put the fan over top of the scan amps, you have fans on the back of the laser head and driver, if you can figure out which direction they're pulling you can use them as one set of fans to establish flow, so if they pull in, put the fan over the scan amps blowing out, and vice versa if they blow out.
if you have mounted your scan amps to a good baseplate, that will help to keep them cool as well.

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i was thinking about getting a little 1/4-1/2 inch thick plate to mount them on, that would still keep them low enough.

all three of those fans blow outwards so i will be getting another fan or two to blow in and they will be next to the scanner amps :)

sounds like a plan. that'll be a cute little projector when you're done.

one question: what are you doing with your connections?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

sounds like a plan. that'll be a cute little projector when you're done.

one question: what are you doing with your connections?

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yeah it will be a nice little toy :) i just need to think of a name.

something evolving small

for the connectors that should be a fun part :)

lol lots of tinkering and planing to do.. but i plan on just doing one serial port, no pass through. and then a power connector. and a small switch


any pointers would be great. i'll start the build on tuesday night!

how much height do you have? you could always mount the connectors on the top of the case by the fan, if that'll fit. You could also run the cables out to a breakout box.

Just a thing I came across with my scanner, you may wanna give some clearance between the galvo's PSU and the amp, it will get VERY squishy with wires in there, so you dont want bare 240V anywhere near other metal. Nice job otherwise!

I have been finding the nifty little motor controller boxes they have a couple 6 inch heat sinks on the sides for galvo amps and one simple flat lid, makes a tight RGY projector

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thesk8nmidget

hey im trying to fit my green into the smallest possible enclosure i can and i found a nice little enclosure i can use at a local store here and want to know if you think this layout would do?

its 10"x6"x3.5"

here is some pictures.

im thinking i may have some problems with cooling if i use it this way.

but let me know what you think

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7920.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7921.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7922.jpg

i would have the fans blowing out as you can see in this picture and on the other side i would have them blowing in.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7922.jpg

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Hi Josh
Take a look here...
Maybe you could find nice suggestions & ideas;)
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ghlight=VIASHO

Cheers.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thesk8nmidget

yeah it will be a nice little toy :) i just need to think of a name.

something evolving small

---

You should call it "The Mircon" and here's a micro symbol for a logo
µ

Josh
The components you are using are all very familiar to me. So I will put in my oar.
The laserwave head does not need to be mounted to a heatsink as its cooling is self contained. I would drill some holes in the front panel in front of where the laser is mounted and make a cowl from plastic or ally sheet that seals the holes so the air into them goes nowhere except into the vent hols at the front of the laser. Then make a duct up for the back of the head to exhaust that air out of the box. Laser sorted.
What I would do with the LW driver & PSU is to mount the driver so its fans pass air through the mains PSU - I have done this with great success and the PSU will never get hot. That said I would supplement this by getting as much of the PSUs surface area flat to an ally plate either the base plate or an upright off the baseplate. You need to plan where that PSU/driver air comes from and goes to but as pointed out you could have air circulating in the box while keeping the scanners and laser output sealed.
The scanner PSU wont get terribly hot and if mounted base down to a suitable base plate (5-6 mm will do), you will be ok. The Scanner drivers will get hot but again if you have them mounted down to the base plate you should be good. The scanner block to being bolted down well will be useful and as long as cool external air can be flowed in and out the base should stay cool.
Rob

that sounds like a great idea! i just need to buy some more aluminum and then go buy this enclosure!

quick psu question...

rob maybe you would know, or marc?

my current psu for the laser is 5 volts 7 amps. now would a 5 volt 5 amp psu work?

the reason i ask is i have a slightly smaller psu but its only 5 amps.

its a 500mw laser wave green.

i'll also email bridge.

Generally there is some headroom with the power supplies... however, I am unsure if the 5 amps would be adequate.

-Max

no worries now... i started the build and i found "just" enough room for the original 7 amp psu

now another question. i have scan pro 20s in this build and they run off a 15+ and 15- volt output. i bought a nice super quiet fan that runs off 12 volts. should i some how regulate a lead off of the 15+ volt supply or run some sort of boost driver off the 5 volt? or should 5 volt be adequate?

what would you guys do?

i was thinking the 15 volt then regulate it but is there a good easy regulating circuit for this?

I agree with Max on the PSU - you may get away with it as there will be headroom but if the Tecs are working hard you may find it starts to flake. If like you say you can get it to fit in then job sorted.
For the fan, take the 15 v and use a 7812 3 pin regulator - this will loose youe 3 extra volts. Screw it to the base or other convienent ally. Cant remember if the tab is connected top a pin or not so make sure you insulate the tab and screw.
to get ultra quiet fans I run 12v ones off 5V supply. Some wont run but most will and you gat a nice quiet gentle breeze.
Rob

thanks for the update rob. i will see how it likes the 5 volts if not i will get that regulator!

it is already a very quiet 12db fan so 5 volts would make it silent! :)

also im uploading some pictures now!

well you guys love pictures so here it goes!

i will be mounting the scanner amps on a L shaped piece of aluminum for better cooling.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7924.jpg
as you can see here i have the driver turned around so the fans will blow air through the psu's (a few pics down you will see the fan that will push air out)
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7925.jpg
here you see the lasers fan will push its air right out and there will be a filter here
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7926.jpg
in this picture you can see that the scanners psu is mounted above the lasers psu and there is a gap for air to pass through for better cooling.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7927.jpg
here you can see that the psus are mounted using the screws on the side.
i really couldnt figure out a better way to do this so i will just have to deal with some screw heads out the side :) but who cares what it looks like! :)
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7928.jpg
here you can see the filter layout.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7931.jpg
and then here you see where the fan is.
my goal is to have the driver push air through the psu's and then this fan will push that air out of the projector.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7932.jpg


any suggestions or criticism is encouraged!

Yikes... the cable that runs in between the scan head and laser scares me being so close to those mirrors... Regardless its looking good. I can wait to see how it turns out!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mliptack

Yikes... the cable that runs in between the scan head and laser scares me being so close to those mirrors... Regardless its looking good. I can wait to see how it turns out!!

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oh no worries that will be adjusted once everything is bolted down. its just sitting there at its free will. that cord is very thick and hard to really hold into place without little mounts or zip ties.

but i assure you it will be far away from the laser and mirrors :)

Josh I believe you... I actually wasn't worried about the laser burning it... you can usually see the decreased output of the beam ;)

But whenever I am working on my projector I always wrap my scanhead in cardboard and tape it... that way cords that close dont take 5 more years off my life.

as do i :)

and it currently is covered in cardboard but i had to take this off for pictures and aligning the mirrors :)

haha, alright... just seeing those pictures it caused some flashback images of seeing scanners with broken mirrors, and my stomach just sank.

Phew... theres a load off my shoulders...

yeah sadly i had my bad experience! and it was pretty bad...

here a picture of my dt40 pros....
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7769.jpg

mirror gone shaft also broken :(

but luckily i have those all fixed and jian even did a little upgrade to the amps that bill suggested :)

i am extremely careful now.

Wow - I bet there were some choice words when that happened.......

Well I am glad all is well now!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mliptack

Wow - I bet there were some choice words when that happened.......

Well I am glad all is well now!

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um yeah i think my dogs went and hid under the bed and my girlfriend thought i chopped my arm off!
but im glad its over and all is better! and in return i got a new improved amp design!

Good to see you kept those power supply terminals away from other stuff, I would have hated to see your reaction if the mains happened to touch something? :eek:

Nice work, very compact!

well she is all done :)

yippie! im giving the projector some test runs and i will be posting pictures shortly!

looks like the ground setup works so far i havent gotten any noise!

oooooh pictures!

pictures :)

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7954.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7955.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7956.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...t/DSCF7957.jpg

nice work!!!

Now powdercoat it black and put in an AR coated window

i really wish i still lived in oregon a very good friend of mine does power coating. i was thinking about possibly painting it black.

whats a good window to use? any links?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thesk8nmidget

i really wish i still lived in oregon a very good friend of mine does power coating. i was thinking about possibly painting it black.

whats a good window to use? any links?

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contact bridge,

He can supply AR coated glass.
Or maybe you can use photography filters.
A nice MRC sklylight filter maybe?

Also consider anodizing. Anyone know how well powder-coating works on aluminum? I have no idea.

There's a place in Portland that would do something like your enclosure for $40 for black or $50 with optical-black which absorbs light and has a slight orange tint.

-Jonathan

you can power coat aluminum just fine. but it can bring up some troubles, you just have to make sure its very clean of any oils or you will get spots.

you can powe rcoat anything that can be grounded. you can also powerd coat plastic but thats another story

Very nice work Josh! I like how compact it is! Don't forget an emission indicator!

yeah i need to find some labels i have a couple here but im not sure where!

quick question about my dt40s,

i am trying to figure out how much cooling will be needed if they are mounted onto a piece of wood, would the be fine just mounted to the woodand the mounts they come in cool them enough?

or is that going to lead to some problems? would i be able to get away with mounting an aluminum plate on top of the mount and cooling that way?

thanks in advanced.

When properly tuned, the scanner itself doesn't seem to generate much heat. You can probably get away with it just fine without a heat sink, just set them up and run a test pattern for about an hour, keeping an eye on how hot the scanner block gets. The only problem I see is that if they scanners come out of tune, then they will probably generate more heat than the block alone can dissipate.

Little Known Sticki Wicki Candidate Thing

Cambridge specifies a height extender block of at least 1" by 1" of heat conducting metal under the scanner block to a quote "substantial" metal baseplate.

Since most Chinese Scanners are 'Cambridge Clones', It behooves one to consider similar precautions for any height extender and to have baseplate cooling used in a projector using a cloned scanner pair.

If you like your bearings and magnets, provide a heat escape path for them.

Steve

thanks and i actually sent them off a while back to jian and he did the amp mod bil suggested and tuned them for me very nicely.