questions on building an own laser scan

[addictive]

Warning! n00b questions ahead!

So I see al these great pictures and movies oof your own home made laser scans, and now I'm like "ah, I want that too ".

Offcourse I could buy a laser which is good-to-go, and then just hook it up to a DMX control panal and start playing, but that is not what I want.
I would like to build it all by myself, and so get some knowledge of lasers, and be able to control them better.

I want to create effects like these:


posted by yaddatrance: *click*


posted by JayDC: *click*

I know that to get the effect shown on the second picture I will need to have a laser which supports blanking.

Furthermore I would like to do some graphics with the laser aswell

About the controls, I its possible to hook the laser up to an USB port and then draw graphics, but Im not sure if it is also possible to make the 'standard effects' like a tunnel etc (when thinking about it, I'm sure that is possible as well )
So I do would want it to be controllable with my pc, so I guess I must choose an special driver then (I have no clue about all the different drivers available)


So I will need:
-a laser diode (Well, I want three finally, but lets start with one )
-2 microsteppers/galvo's (I understanded that microsteppers are a no-go, since they are to slow, and noisy) and I have no idea about which speed galvo's to get
-a driver (with the possibility to be controlled by USB)
- power supply any comments on how to power this thing?

Any other things I totally forgot about?

So as you can see I am new to all this, but very willing to learn I guess my questions can be answered with no problem


So you made it all the way to hear? You guys are cool! Thanks for your time, and share your wisdom with me

[ArcDevilz]

Very nice of you to want to dive in to this. Let me first warn you that this is a way of life. Once you are hooked you'll want more power thus the never ending money pit.

Also be carefull about who you buy from. I don't want to sound negative but there are some shadu characters in this biz. Hopefully they may have dropped off the earth by now.

So yes there are a few systems that are out there that can let you draw your random laser frames. They range from the cheap to very rediculous are you serious. Mamba Black Medialas-Pangolin....

First we need to know your budget? I figure you can put something together with about 1200-2000 but it all depends.
I'm going to be putting a site together that tells you how to build your own projector.

Maybe I can convince the guys at Photon Dream to slap an 8 bit board and laptop together on the cheap so you can at least start drawings frames and creating beam shows.

You can build a Cambridge based system for roughly 1500-2000 with a green dpss. I know the Chinese make knock offs of the Cambridge stuff but I don't know the quality. Ebay has random stuff for sale all the time.

Just be patient and try to learn as much as possible. Ask lots of questions.

Damn with you being in the Netherlands there seem to be a lot of laser folk in Europe.

[Aidan]

Yep, I’m here to.

Seems all the money and toys are with you guys over there!

[the_kcar]

*Tap, tap tap*...just to let you know, I'm still around

The reds we do have blanking.

The reds we do also have been used by quite a few of the fellas here.

I'll be around.

[addictive]

thanks guys

Also be carefull about who you buy from. I don't want to sound negative but there are some shadu characters in this biz. Hopefully they may have dropped off the earth by now.

Yeah, I already got in contact with marconi and Spec, and they have got some kick-ass diodes

First we need to know your budget?

I don't really have a budget, or well, I will save my money untill I have enough to buy some good equipement
I cant really tell a budget, since I have no idea about the price of the driver/controller and power supply.
But for the green diode I was thinking 500-ish
Thee later on a red one next to that.

Since I want a white light laser in the end (who doesn't ) I was thinking, you need to get diodes with a balanced power, else the green/red/blue would dominate, when you pick a to strong (in comparison with your other diodes) diode.
So is there a "rule" on the percentage of power they can differ from eachother to get a nice white beam?

[MechEng3]

I have good results from Laser Design Pro. And 9024 driver board and galvo set. It downloads signals via USB to the controller. I have not had a data jam. The software is very capable of producing about anything you can draw or program in it's own cad table. Waitng on 473 nm unit to make ...hopefully white coherent light. Spec has the trichro unit...if any is left. You will need it for color mixing. The catweasel is also a good unit. Just be carefull and look for ILDA member affiliation or a good reference from someone that has dealt with them. Hope this helps :!:

[the_kcar]

On making white:

Here ya go


Image courtesy of laserfx.com

[addictive]

I have good results from Laser Design Pro. And 9024 driver board and galvo set.

Do you have a website of that software maker? And a brand for the driver board, google doesnt give a good result

It downloads signals via USB to the controller. I have not had a data jam. The software is very capable of producing about anything you can draw or program in it's own cad table. Waitng on 473 nm unit to make ...hopefully white coherent light. Spec has the trichro unit...if any is left. You will need it for color mixing. The catweasel is also a good unit. Just be carefull and look for ILDA member affiliation or a good reference from someone that has dealt with them. Hope this helps :!:

Allright, thanks

On making white:

Here ya go


Image courtesy of laserfx.com

woah, that awesome! Thanks kcar!

[MechEng3]

The website for the stuff I have is as follows... http://www.laserdesignstudio.de .They have online updates as well as a show packages . Most are with MP3 music files choreographed together. Or you may create files and use your own music to sync up with the frames that you animate in 3-d or scrolling. The only limit , seems to me , is one's imagination and use of software. It is a powerfull tool for a creative mind. But of course we're all a little different. Thats why we are here.Chech it out......you may find a package that suits your needs.If you can't get connected with this guy...let me know. I know another distributor for these sets.Hope this helps .

[addictive]

The website for the stuff I have is as follows... http://www.laserdesignstudio.de .They have online updates as well as a show packages . Most are with MP3 music files choreographed together. Or you may create files and use your own music to sync up with the frames that you animate in 3-d or scrolling. The only limit , seems to me , is one's imagination and use of software. It is a powerfull tool for a creative mind. But of course we're all a little different. Thats why we are here.Chech it out......you may find a package that suits your needs.If you can't get connected with this guy...let me know. I know another distributor for these sets.Hope this helps .

thanks a lot! Cool software

So if I buy a card shown on that site:



I can hookup both my laser and my galvo's to that?
And by using their software (or can I also use other software like the free 'popelscan' with that card?) I can control the laser. Right?


I just found this page: http://www.mylaserpage.de
on that site (hardware >> Easylase USB) I found a card which looks exactly the same as the one on LaserDesignStudio.de. And it says it's also compatable with LDS

And they also sell the 9024 galvo's you were talking about


So with the Easylase USB + those 9024 galvo's I would be good to go?