Roast my open-source ESP32-S3 laser controller & web simulator (GalvOS) 💥

[andre1becker]

Hey everyone,


I've been working on GalvOS—an open-source ESP32-S3 laser show controller designed to drop into RGB galvo projectors and replace OEM boards.

Before I break more hardware or ship questionable code, I need the community to tear it apart. Don't hold back—roast the architecture, the KiCad decisions, the firmware, or the UI.

• Live Web Simulator: www.galvos.de (Try it right in your browser)
• GitHub Repo: Andre1Becker/GalvOS: Open-source ESP32-S3 laser show controller — built to replace proprietary OEM controllers in RGB galvo laser projectors

All feedback, harsh truths, and pull requests are highly welcome. Tell me why this will burn down my living room!
Life is to short with out eye sight - so wear protection!

Best,
Andre

[AnjinMeili]

I'll bite.. ordering the bits and bobs and will see where it goes. Would agree that bolting it on to the outside seems more user friendly... but I have a pile of extra parts.. and in the privacy of my own home, safety first always, do love to mix and match the parts into whatever box happens to be around. My missus once said 'If it doesn't fit in a cigar box...', so yeah...

Cheers
Anjin

[andre1becker]

Hi Roj,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to look at my project - much appreciated!

What is your ultimate goal, apart from sharing what you have created? Which niche market are you targeting? Who would the end users be?
Hobbyists or professionals?

If you may or may not read the whole readme or documentation (no hard feelings - it's a lot ;-) ): This is for anyone who has free time to waste. I'm just a hobbyist (who has no background in lasers or anything else in that topic) who has found a "cheap China RGB-Laser on AliExpress and found out that "you get what you paid for" is not just a platitude... This is not a commercial Product or intended to be.
Also, I don't know if this is a niche "market" - as you said before - there are many such projects out there...
I Don't want anybody who has a 1-8k$ can to butcher it - this is more for the sub 1$k prosumer devices - or if you have a broken one lying around, don't like the features your old Laser has, and so on. So endless possibilities there.
Regarding multiple Lasers: This is also possible - i what to also check out ESPNow - so you just need a reliable WiFi Setup - which is possible if you throw enough money on it :-)

Are those geometric shapes ILD frames?
Can they be easily sequenced and manipulated (size, symmetry, intensity, color, 3D rotate, & morph) in real time, and synchronized to music?
Can all of the above be recorded onto a DAW's timeline via midi control surfaces or OSC?
Can it compete against the status quo, like Beyond, MadMapper, ... and/or Neon Captain's Radiator?

Well, partially yes. OSC is supported, as with many other Protocols. Again, look at the feature list ;-)
I don't want to compete with anybody - So that's the best part! If a Software uses an industry standard - not proprietary garbage - the firmware could - and mostly will support it.

As for the ILDA D-Sub25 interface - well, it's 2026. If you're still using this not sitting like 2 meters (or whatever foot length this in freedom units is) near the laser, this is not for you then :-)
All jokes aside: I thought about implementing that, but EtherDream, Helios or ILDA Network seems way more reasonable.


Love to hear more from you,

Best

[andre1becker]

I'll bite.. ordering the bits and bobs and will see where it goes. Would agree that bolting it on to the outside seems more user friendly... but I have a pile of extra parts.. and in the privacy of my own home, safety first always, do love to mix and match the parts into whatever box happens to be around. My missus once said 'If it doesn't fit in a cigar box...', so yeah...

Cheers
Anjin

Hey Anjin,

Excited to hear your feedback!

Would agree that bolting it on to the outside seems more user friendly

What ever you prefer. I have 3D-Printed a small container which my THT Prototype lives inside the laser (cooling, to short wires and so on ;-) )

Remember, this is a hobby project of mine. I like to explore what is possible with close to no knowledge and using AI. So anything you find on the repo (schematics and stuff) is only tested by me with one setup. you will find stuff thats now working.

But if i hear this correctly you already know that :-)
I Will have a custom PCB in the making - but that needs more refinement.
Have fun and keep me posted!

[andre1becker]

Dear Roj,


Now I'm picturing Gandalf but with lasers!!! (Which is no insult, quite the opposite!)
Fun aside, I'm an 80's kid. I always had a weak spot for light shows, but never made a profession out of it. I remember when I got my first laser pointer as a young kid — good times — and our cat also liked to chase it around the room trying to catch it :-). In the late 90's, I saw my first laser show in a dance club — they had the biggest laser setup in Europe at that time, at least that was the rumor :-). The LJs really knew their stuff. Amazing shows week after week.
It is amazing what light can do, especially if synced to music (regardless of the genre). Well, that's the point. Having not much spare time (or thousands of euros for that matter), I was looking for a cheap solution to get things started and usable the way I needed them to be. I tried a couple of free lighting and laser software solutions, but most of them are not very user-friendly or have a steep learning curve. Modulaser is an exception, but it's paid — also personal preference, of course.

So I tried to implement most of the different features into a "one to rule them all" solution. This is also a good starting point if you don't have much money but want to get into the laserist realm, I guess.

So enough LotR references,


Thank you again for your input and have a good day!

[mixedgas]

Roast It? Naw. I'm going to build a few of them and populate the gaping hole in the back of some very old projectors with 12K and 20K Scanners.

Boards ordered from JLCPCB

I know programmers like to send the whole tool chain, but it might help if there is a complete ZIP in the repository of the PCB Gerber and Drill files, as I had to pull them down one at a time. The PCB makers like a clean zip.

So how do you handle fixed arrays of static beams , where each beam in the frame is like 5 points of dwell or more. Does your VERY impressive optimization code say "Hey this is a Beam Effect?"

Very happy to see your impressive effort.

I have a feeling it drives a confocal microscope somewhere academic? If not, there is one heck of a demand for low cost galvos right now as the big galvo houses often have a year long backlog. I've had more then one grad student ask for help. Well, a lot of them in fact.

I have one pair of Scannermax on a Mach DSP, this might be interesting...

THANK YOU for RELEASING THIS!

Steve

[andre1becker]

Hey, thanks for the kind words! :-)

The ZIP with the Gerber files will come once I'm 100% sure they're clean. I'm currently having some issues getting the PCB itself right. I hope you checked the schematic before ordering. It's specifically designed around the Mikoy OEM stuff, so you'll probably need some adjustments for your target scanners.


I'm going to recreate the PCB/schematic using KiCad MCP and Astra. In the meantime, you can always download the entire project as a ZIP directly from GitHub: click Code → Download ZIP.


Regarding beams: yes, they're detected. There's even a Dot Mode, where every preset becomes a point cloud :-) That gives you an almost endless number of possible combinations.


I'd love to see some photos/videos of your results!


If you notice anything wrong or have suggestions, I'd appreciate a heads-up or an issue on GitHub—or just let me know here.


Best,
Andre