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Thread: My LaserMAC build

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Denmark, Europe
    Posts
    127

    Laser Warning My LaserMAC build

    Hello

    As an offspring of the halfnote laser thread, a few people have asked for pics of the construction of my two laser moving heads, based on these halfnote heads, and Martin Mac250 lighting fixtures..

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    I got these two defective lighting fixtures a few years back, and a lot of work had to get done on them to even get the pan/tilt movement working..
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    Back then my plan was to feed the laser light to them by a fiber, so i mounted some G120 galvos in them and a friend and i tried to make our own galvo amps for them..
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    However the amps never got to working really good, and G120s are not really good scanners, so the project was given up.. (also partly because i got ripped off by the guy i bought the laser that was supposed to power the fibers from)...
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    So everything was pulled apart again, and so the new build started..
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    I had to rewire the whole fixture because some of the wiring was worn out, so that was the first task..
    and then i had to get all the power supplies for the head, laser galvos etc. fitted into the base of the fixture.. not much extra space there..
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    All in all the base contains psus producing the following voltages: 13Vac 5A, 11Vac 2A, 30Vac 8A, +24Vdc 3A, -24Vdc 3A, 12Vdc 10A, 5Vdc 40A.
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    Then it was time to mount the laser in the head.. i had to drill and tab new holes in the halfnote baseplate to mount new cooling (two 90W TECs and 2 powerfull PC CPU coolers) - it doesnt really feel good to take a drillpress to something as delicate as this, but it had to be done.. I also had to cut a corner off the baseplate to be able to fit it inside the head..
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    The halfnote laser is hanging on rubber shock absorbers, and the galvo drivers are mounted on top. The two nylon angles are for holding the galvos, so they move with the laser, but are not electrically connected..
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    More wires to connect...
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    On the back of the head, at the top is a solid state relay for controlling the TEC. The plate it is mounted on, will touch a heatsink on the external shell, so this will cool both the galvo drivers and the SS-relay.
    Below is the switching driver for the laser diodes, and still hanging in the wires is the omron temp. controller, that controls the SS-relay and thus the TECs.
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    And offcourse - everything has to be done twice.. i am building two projectors
    Here the back shells have been mounted and most of the wiring is done..
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    Then it was time to power up and adjust temperatures, rise times, currents and all that stuff, and make sure that everything was working like supposed..
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    Galvo mount, mirror and other last bits being mounted..
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    And finally the galvos are mounted and adjusted, and the last few plastic shells are mounted..
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    And FINALLY, two completely assembled lasers..
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    THEY WORK.. that called for a bit of celebration
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    All in all this has been an interesting project, and i have learned a whole lot.. however considering the amount of time and money that has been put into this, it would be a lot easier and cheaper to just buy a commercial product..
    It may look easy, when looking at the pics, but the pics does not tell about all the things that were made, that did not work out (making a psu solution and blanking took more than half a year, because my first plan was to make my own constant current source, and then use AOM blanking, but that presented some space and temperature problems, so in the end i decided to modulate the diodes in stead.. Also many many many hours have been spent cutting out pieces of the original lighting fixture, drilling holes, making new parts out of nylon, plastic or aluminum, and test fitting and testing all the different parts..

    I think i have some more pics of the cooling setup and the KTP temp controller somewhere.. i will try and dig them up and post them also...

    I hope this was fun and interesting reading

    Regards, Simon
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 4.jpg  


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Stockholm, Sweden
    Posts
    551

    Default

    Very nice build, I can see that this took some time and effort!! What is a "halfnote laser"? I have never heard that word before, are they laser modules that you took apart or some specialized product? how powerful are they, I noted the numbers on the multimeter, is that 2.8W !?

    Edit: this post http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7526 gave me the answer!
    Last edited by dar303; 07-10-2009 at 05:38.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Under a rock in Cambridge UK
    Posts
    1,353

    Default

    Very nice job, and well documented with loads a luverly pics

    Would love to see some video of those babies in action..

    Mark...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    1,090

    Default

    That is beautiful!

    Regardless of how tough it was to put them together, I'm sure the end result was well worth it. These look superb and should last a very long time

    Thank you for sharing the details

    --DDL
    I suffer from the Dunning–Kruger effect... daily.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    swansea, UK
    Posts
    198

    Default

    That is brilliant, well done a video of them both in action would be superb

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    3,702

    Default

    Love it.. Very neat work there.
    KVANT Australian projector sales
    https://www.facebook.com/kvantaus/

    Lasershowparts- Laser Parts at great prices
    https://www.facebook.com/lasershowparts/

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Cairns, Australia
    Posts
    1,896

    Default

    VERY nice work!

    Man those things are packed with electronics!!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Wesbury, Wilts,, England
    Posts
    125

    Default

    Love it !!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Vezon, Belgium
    Posts
    1,017

    Default

    this is HUGE man!

    you really have mastered the skills!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Merseyside, uk
    Posts
    14

    Default

    Thats so cool!!
    I love the older Mac250s there awesome fixtures.
    Last edited by Dave512; 11-25-2010 at 15:46.

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