Scanner box, builders block

[Stuka]

You sure picked the right guy - Buffo (aka Adam) is one of THE premier posters and contributors to this site! He (as well as several others) was (and continues to be) a HUGE help to me when I was getting started in this craziness!!

[keeperx]

awesome.. im gonna need a phone number.. ... wait is it andy as in andy_con from LPF and laser-man.co.uk?

[buffo]

Actually, no - it was me (Adam), and my number is (843) 767-0061. Call me anytime if you want to chat. I'm normally available in the afternoon and early evening from around 3 PM 'till 8 PM or so (Eastern time.)

Those pictures you linked to were from a long time ago. I had just bought those lasers, and they were on the tables you saw in the picture. I've since mounted everything in a real projector with much more stable floating tables for adjustments. I've got much better optics, better mounts, and a bunch of other improvements. Come to think of it, I've made quite a few changes to that projector... (Laser swaps, galvo swaps, adding a shutter, and most recently, adding a remote kill switch.) It looks nothing like that now.

Here's a link to the gallery album for my projector as it is now. (Well, actually, it's in the process of being modified slightly - DZ has graciously offered to re-wire it for me, and he's also moving the lasers around on the table a bit to make it more compact. Pics to follow in the gallery soon.) But it will still be in the same housing with the same lasers and scanners.

As far as your own RGB projector, there are several different layouts you can use. Here's a link to a drawing of one layout design that I seriously considered at one point, and may yet use for a future projector. It's a little busy, but the dimensions were such that it would still fit in my current projector housing. Play around with different designs until you find one that works for you.

One thing to remember is that you'll want the galvos to be fairly close to one edge of your projector, so that after the beam bounces off both mirrors (basically two 90 degree turns), the beam can exit the projector immediately. You don't want the beams to have to traverse a long distance inside your projector once they leave the scanners. (This will force you to have a larger aperture window, and may limit your scan angle, because at some point the beams will be hitting the baseplate.)

Adam

[Banthai]

Buffo said

Here's a link to a drawing of one layout design that I seriously considered at one point,

Hi Adam ... that layout is the same as mine, except the red comes from the left instead of the right

The inclusion of those 2 mirrors takes away all the mechanical adjustment of the laser heads ( shims and platforms and hours of frustration ) and it just takes seconds to get perfect alignment

i tried all methods prior to going this way on my layout and after using this i would never go back. Guys just try it and tell me im wrong

all the best ... Karl

[keeperx]

bleh.. i relay sorry bout the lack of pics... i promise i have the pics of each step just not up yet....

i needs a few mirror mounts, anyone got some to sell or know the best place to buy..