First projector help.

[bhwollen]

Hello everybody, I'm in the process of building my first projector and slowly accumulating parts,

So far I have:
15k scanner & glavos
RIYA Lite DAC
LSX Software (Lite)

Soon to get:
445 ~1.5W made with a flexmod p3
532 200mW with analog modulation
Unknown red. Suggestions?
dichro mounts.

Now I have a few questions

1. So a while ago I harvested a 445 projector, and I have some dichro's that came from that, but neither of them reflect my 445, why is this?

2. What sort of platform should I use for my projector? I was looking at the aluminum basses but they are VERY expensive, would mdf wood work fine? If not is there cheaper options?

3. What type of red should I get to balance out my my other lasers?

4. ATM my scanner only supports TTL, but I should by lasers with analogue for when I upgrade?

5. Is there anything else I am missing?

6. Any suggestions for a noobie?

Thanks everyone!

[ARGLaser]

3. Search for Chroma, it's a great application that can help you to get the perfect balance.

[sugeek]

3. Search for Chroma, it's a great application that can help you to get the perfect balance.

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...-color-blender - Chroma download link in the first post.

Chroma is a great application and a great tool, play around with it. That being said get as much power as you afford, you can turn down the lasers power output.

-Adam

[allthatwhichis]

1. So a while ago I harvested a 445 projector, and I have some dichro's that came from that, but neither of them reflect my 445, why is this?

2. What sort of platform should I use for my projector? I was looking at the aluminum basses but they are VERY expensive, would mdf wood work fine? If not is there cheaper options?

3. What type of red should I get to balance out my my other lasers?

4. ATM my scanner only supports TTL, but I should by lasers with analogue for when I upgrade?

5. Is there anything else I am missing?

6. Any suggestions for a noobie?

1. The Dichro probably passes or transmits blue and should reflect red and/or green.
2. Aluminum is probably the best for heat transfer's sake; I would not go too cheap on your case or base material.
3. a quad 660 red or dual 640 red.
4. Scanners do not support blanking, only lasers do. Are you saying your current 445 that you pulled from your old system is TTL? Either way you will want analog lasers for the number of colors they produce over TTL.
5. Safety equipment; shutter, key, and e-stop if you are only using at home; more if you want to do public shows. You will also need a couple of first surface mirrors on adjustable mounts as you never know how your lasers will be layed out in the end.
6. Learn patients... and warn your significant other that you are about to embark on a mission that will leave little money for anything else.

[taggalucci]

Hello everybody, I'm in the process of building my first projector...

Awesome! Welcome

1. So a while ago I harvested a 445 projector, and I have some dichro's that came from that, but neither of them reflect my 445, why is this?

Not sure, does the projector you harvested them from pass the blue through and reflect red and green to combine? If so then you'll need to follow that process to combine or get different dichros based on your preferred combining order and consideration of transmission & reflection efficiencies. Plenty of information on this forum about this.

2. What sort of platform should I use for my projector? I was looking at the aluminum basses but they are VERY expensive, would mdf wood work fine? If not is there cheaper options?

Don't bother with getting optical breadboards. Depending on the size and what supporting structure you fix the plate to, you can get away with 6mm to 12mm aluminium plate and drill the holes as needed. I have a friend with access to off cuts. You may find plate at the local junk yard as someone else here did recently.

3. What type of red should I get to balance out my my other lasers?

Get 1x - 1.5x the amount of green if 635/640nm. Get 3x - 4x the green if 660mm.

4. ATM my scanner only supports TTL, but I should by lasers with analogue for when I upgrade?

Yes, only buy analogue modulated lasers or laser drivers. If you have a RIYA DAC, then as soon as you have analogue driven lasers, you will be able to use the DAC and lasers in analogue mode. Not sure why you would say your scanner only supports TTL as the scanner/galvo is not a digital/TTL driven component.

5. Is there anything else I am missing?

Interlock/safety circuit.

6. Any suggestions for a noobie?

Have a look at my projector build thread...

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...x.-2W-system)?

You should be able to find a lot of useful info on there.

[bhwollen]

1. The Dichro probably passes or transmits blue and should reflect red and/or green.
2. Aluminum is probably the best for heat transfer's sake; I would not go too cheap on your case or base material.
3. a quad 660 red or dual 640 red.
4. Scanners do not support blanking, only lasers do. Are you saying your current 445 that you pulled from your old system is TTL? Either way you will want analog lasers for the number of colors they produce over TTL.
5. Safety equipment; shutter, key, and e-stop if you are only using at home; more if you want to do public shows. You will also need a couple of first surface mirrors on adjustable mounts as you never know how your lasers will be layed out in the end.
6. Learn patients... and warn your significant other that you are about to embark on a mission that will leave little money for anything else.

1. Yeah when talking with someone else I found out that they both pass blue, but they reflect red and green.

2. Where is the best place to buy a aluminum base then? I have seen the ones at thorlabs but they are upwords of $200. Is there anyone on the forum that can machine some?

3. How much do you think a quad 660 or dual 640 would cost me to build? I'm assuming between 400-500?

4. What I was attempting to say was the scanner/galvo combo I bought only supported ttl lasers.

5. Don't mean to sound rude, but is the safety equipment really necessary to just use as a fun hobby?

6. Significant other? I'm only 16... lol

[bhwollen]

Awesome! Welcome

Thanks! Its good to be here.

Not sure, does the projector you harvested them from pass the blue through and reflect red and green to combine? If so then you'll need to follow that process to combine or get different dichros based on your preferred combining order and consideration of transmission & reflection efficiencies. Plenty of information on this forum about this.

Yeah after doing some more research I figured out they pass blue and reflect red and green

Don't bother with getting optical breadboards. Depending on the size and what supporting structure you fix the plate to, you can get away with 6mm to 12mm aluminium plate and drill the holes as needed. I have a friend with access to off cuts. You may find plate at the local junk yard as someone else here did recently.

I'll look into it. Thanks.

Get 1x - 1.5x the amount of green if 635/640nm. Get 3x - 4x the green if 660mm.

I don't fully understand this statement. For 200mW of green I only need 200-300mW of 635?

Yes, only buy analogue modulated lasers or laser drivers. If you have a RIYA DAC, then as soon as you have analogue driven lasers, you will be able to use the DAC and lasers in analogue mode. Not sure why you would say your scanner only supports TTL as the scanner/galvo is not a digital/TTL driven component.

Does the lasers connect to the dac? Or the powersupply for the gavos?

Interlock/safety circuit.

I'll look into it

Have a look at my projector build thread...

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...x.-2W-system)?

You should be able to find a lot of useful info on there.

Looks cool, I will.

[taggalucci]

I don't fully understand this statement. For 200mW of green I only need 200-300mW of 635?

Yes, that's my suggestion, more likely 300mW of 635nm if beam is wider than 2mm at the aperture vs 200mW of 640nm which is likely a tighter beam. The tighter the beam, the less power needed to see it when scanning.

Does the lasers connect to the dac? Or the powersupply for the gavos?

The colour modulation signals are connected between the DAC and the lasers. See the ILDA wiring scheme. The power supplies are wired dependent on your chosen components.

I have wiring schematics on the thread I provided a link to.

Once you've read through that, feel free to ask if you still have questions or need better explanation.

[bhwollen]

I have just requested a quote from CNI about this laser http://cnilaser.com/PDF/PRL-FS-640.pdf. That should do right? Anybody know the price range?

Also, this should work for my base correct http://cgi.ebay.com/5052-H32-Aluminu...tem20b4bc0a5c? What size drill bit should I drill it with and how can I make it exactly precise?

[taggalucci]

I have just requested a quote from CNI about this laser http://cnilaser.com/PDF/PRL-FS-640.pdf. That should do right? Anybody know the price range?

Please can you update your profile with your location? Then someone in your region can give you pricing.

Also, this should work for my base correct http://cgi.ebay.com/5052-H32-Aluminu...tem20b4bc0a5c?

Should do, though I think it could be a little big (though you'd have room to spread things out a bit). You should only decide on the dimensions once you know the footprint of every piece of kit you'll be installing on the plate (and don't forget to allow room on the edges for fans and the rear-side of panel mounted items (keyswitches, buttons etc).

What size drill bit should I drill it with and how can I make it exactly precise?

Depends what you're mounting! E.g. some parts will need M6, some M5, some M4 and perhaps a few M3. You might want to drill 1mm smaller and then use taps to cut threads into the hole. I layed out the units and tried to get a reasonable alignment without mounting, then carefully mark the positions. Remove everything, drill, tap and reassemble. I did this in incremental stages, so that I could ensure my alignment was as good as possible.

Use a drill press and a vice or clamps to keep the aluminium plate still when drilling.

Allow for not being precise, if a laser module's mounting holes are M6, use M5 instead and give yourself some wiggle room. Instead of trying to get the lasers at the right vertical and horizontal position to intersect the beam through the dichros, use bounce mirrors on flex/2-axis mounts to allow adjustment to the beam positioning.