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Bouncing a laser beam off a mirror rotating at any angle above 0 degrees will create the illusion of a circle to the human eye. Combine two rotating mirrors, and complex shapes begin to emerge. With every additional mirror, the perceived image becomes more complex and intricate, with the ability to create some very beautiful and bizarre flowing patterns of light.
Most laser spirographs consist of only two mirrors, limiting the complexity of their shapes for the sake of easy construction and bulky size. I have seen various guides on the net about three mirror spirographs, and after creating one figured I would up-the-ante: a four-motor spirograph in a compact box which is portable. This design will accept the use of any pen-style laser pointer, and through the use of potentiometers (variable resistors) to adjust the rotation speed of the mirrors, new shapes can be created. The benefit of using a laser beam allows the image to be projected to any size, on an indoor wall, an outdoor tree, through a lake/pool, snow, or the side of a building.
I hope you enjoy creating and sharing this display of light, which myself, friends, family, and strangers alike have been drawn to the limitless shapes created through exploiting human persistence-of-vision.
This is a rather complex mod. I'm already assuming you know how to solder, and have some basic understanding of wiring. Though you definitely could complete this mod as a first project, it will be rather confusing and challenging.
This violet projector made by user JoeMonkey from following this instructable -- Awesome job Joe!
***WARNING - SERIOUSLY, I MEAN IT, READ THIS ONE***
Laser light while very enjoyable can be extremely dangerous, dangerous to the point that most people don't understand the numbers of how powerful 10 mW (milliwatts) is, much less 100 or 500. While many projects have unnecessary warning labels, the concentrated energy from a laser beam really can blind the eyes of those who look into it's beam. Realistically, any laser with a power over 10mW (3.84mW is the power at which human eyes begin to be damaged) shone directly into a persons eye will de-nature (boil/cook) the rods on the back of their retina. This becomes a big problem if a person looks directly at the beam, as their center of vision will be damaged, inhibiting reading and other fine viewing permanently. The damage comes because the lens of the eye focuses light so precisely, what was 10 mW ends up becoming 80mW since it's focused on such a small area of the retina. It sucks to have your vision ruined for life for a toy. That being said, the cheap crappy red laser pointers for $2 tend to output about 0.5mW, and won't ever hurt you.
Second, don't shine a laser at anyone who doesn't want one pointed at them. In multiple states pointing a laser beam at a person is equivalent to assault with a knife. Many people have an irrational fear (thanks to being portrayed inaccurately in movies and television) that a laser beam is associated with a firearm, as such ignorant people fearing for their life can earn you a trip to jail. This includes pointing laser beams through people's windows, their car, or even simply near them, people are fearful.
Third, never point a laser beam at any aircraft or helicopter. These vehicles often use polycarbonate for their window "glass", and a laser beam anywhere on the window will scatter through the entire surface making it impossible to see out. Pilots take laser beams very seriously, and the government crackdown in the United States is especially strong. I personally know a friend who has been given a $1,000+ ticket and criminal record for pointing a 5mW laser at a police helicopter. Though the real life danger for pilots is minimal and over-hyped, government over-reaction to laser beams is not.
Fourth, eye damage from lasers usually happens without a victim immediately recognizing anything ever happened. A single flash from a 100mW might make you flinch and say, "Wow, that was lucky". In reality, you just toasted a line across your retina, but other parts of your eyes will compensate your vision to the point you don't notice. With multiple exposures (though really, a single 200mW+ exposure will truly screw you up), eventually the damage will accumulate, things become blurry, and you can't read.
Now with all the scary stuff out of the way, let's get to building!
Most laser spirographs consist of only two mirrors, limiting the complexity of their shapes for the sake of easy construction and bulky size. I have seen various guides on the net about three mirror spirographs, and after creating one figured I would up-the-ante: a four-motor spirograph in a compact box which is portable. This design will accept the use of any pen-style laser pointer, and through the use of potentiometers (variable resistors) to adjust the rotation speed of the mirrors, new shapes can be created. The benefit of using a laser beam allows the image to be projected to any size, on an indoor wall, an outdoor tree, through a lake/pool, snow, or the side of a building.
I hope you enjoy creating and sharing this display of light, which myself, friends, family, and strangers alike have been drawn to the limitless shapes created through exploiting human persistence-of-vision.
This is a rather complex mod. I'm already assuming you know how to solder, and have some basic understanding of wiring. Though you definitely could complete this mod as a first project, it will be rather confusing and challenging.
This violet projector made by user JoeMonkey from following this instructable -- Awesome job Joe!
***WARNING - SERIOUSLY, I MEAN IT, READ THIS ONE***
Laser light while very enjoyable can be extremely dangerous, dangerous to the point that most people don't understand the numbers of how powerful 10 mW (milliwatts) is, much less 100 or 500. While many projects have unnecessary warning labels, the concentrated energy from a laser beam really can blind the eyes of those who look into it's beam. Realistically, any laser with a power over 10mW (3.84mW is the power at which human eyes begin to be damaged) shone directly into a persons eye will de-nature (boil/cook) the rods on the back of their retina. This becomes a big problem if a person looks directly at the beam, as their center of vision will be damaged, inhibiting reading and other fine viewing permanently. The damage comes because the lens of the eye focuses light so precisely, what was 10 mW ends up becoming 80mW since it's focused on such a small area of the retina. It sucks to have your vision ruined for life for a toy. That being said, the cheap crappy red laser pointers for $2 tend to output about 0.5mW, and won't ever hurt you.
Second, don't shine a laser at anyone who doesn't want one pointed at them. In multiple states pointing a laser beam at a person is equivalent to assault with a knife. Many people have an irrational fear (thanks to being portrayed inaccurately in movies and television) that a laser beam is associated with a firearm, as such ignorant people fearing for their life can earn you a trip to jail. This includes pointing laser beams through people's windows, their car, or even simply near them, people are fearful.
Third, never point a laser beam at any aircraft or helicopter. These vehicles often use polycarbonate for their window "glass", and a laser beam anywhere on the window will scatter through the entire surface making it impossible to see out. Pilots take laser beams very seriously, and the government crackdown in the United States is especially strong. I personally know a friend who has been given a $1,000+ ticket and criminal record for pointing a 5mW laser at a police helicopter. Though the real life danger for pilots is minimal and over-hyped, government over-reaction to laser beams is not.
Fourth, eye damage from lasers usually happens without a victim immediately recognizing anything ever happened. A single flash from a 100mW might make you flinch and say, "Wow, that was lucky". In reality, you just toasted a line across your retina, but other parts of your eyes will compensate your vision to the point you don't notice. With multiple exposures (though really, a single 200mW+ exposure will truly screw you up), eventually the damage will accumulate, things become blurry, and you can't read.
Now with all the scary stuff out of the way, let's get to building!
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Signing UpStep 1Parts Listing
Power Drill (~$80 )- Any power drill will do, we are only going through plastic.
Drill Bits (Set of 20 bits: $20) - 1/16", 1/4", 1/8", 3/8", 1/2" drill bits were used in this mod.
Electrical Conduit Box (~$3, Lowes) - Gray box measuring 6" Width x 6" Length x 4" Height. Most are intended as a junction box for pipes that carry electric wires, the one I purchased doesn't have any holes for pipes.
Electrical Conduit Fitting (Pipe Adapter) (~$1, Lowes) - My laser is exactly 3/4" at its front, as such I purchased a 3/4" -> 1/2" fitting. This allows the laser to be inserted into the box without wobbling around, but prevents the laser from falling into the box. Get whatever size fits your laser, only the beam needs to pass through.
Rotary Rasp ($5) - The proper method for drilling a hole for the conduit fitting would be either a hole-saw, or an omni-bit. As an omni-bit costs $50, and I couldn't be sure of the proper hole-saw size to use (each hole saw costs about $10), this cheaper method will do.
On / Off Toggle Switches 4x ($8) - $2 each at Radioshack. A ripoff sure, but they are convenient.
Red Safety On/Off Switch 1x ($4) - The red knob that you see on fighter-pilot joysticks and nuclear briefcases in movies. Complete overkill for this mod, but it just looks so cool!
1.5v-3.0v Hobby DC Motors 4x ($8) - $2 each at Radioshack. You could purchase mini-motors (cell-phone vibrators usually), which have the benefit of higher rpms at a smaller size (but they are usually to long to fit inside a box this small), but less torque and a whole lot of noise.
100 Ohm Linear Potentiometers 1/2 Watt 4x ($6) - These restrict the amount of electricity that can go into the motors, making them go faster or slower. Purchase them online, which automatically adds $4 of shipping. They are impossible to find at any brick and mortar store for low ohm ratings. Most stores sell very high ohmage ratings, such as 1k, 5k, 50k, 100k, 1M, while we want 100. The 1/2 watt rating is strongly suggested, but the motors would likely run anyways with 1/4 watt max. In this guide I initially used 500 Ohm resistors, which turned out to be far too stiff, then I dropped down to 120ohm, and now I suggest 100ohm. By being too resistive, I mean that while the knob in turning from full on to full off may be about 240 degrees of rotation, only about a 30 degree window will adjust the speed, making it really "touchy". I purchased mine from Parts-Express.com
Potentiometer Knobs 4x ($6) - I purchased these knobs from Radioshack. They are decorative knobs, compared to the black and white-lined knobs. Either style works the same. They stick on the turning post of a potentiometer, and a tiny screw in the side tightens down onto the post.
1 Laser Pointer (~$10-$infinity) - For this guide I am using a 150mW Rayfoss laser, which cost $100. Most people can't justify spending so much cash on a light, here are your options.
Laser Companies
Rayfoss.com- A respectable Chinese company, the first I recommend for newcomers. Rayfoss sells medium quality lasers for excellent prices. If you have any questions or concerns, e-mail them and expect amazing customer service. They bend over backwards to meet your order needs, and often throw in free goodies if you are friendly.
LEDShoppe.com- A non-respectable Chinese company, but they sell low quality lasers for rock-bottom prices. The quality is still far higher than what you would find at a normal store like Target or Sharper Image. Only purchase the 5mW from here, as their 20mw and up lasers all look the same brightness (they are all the same laser, but they do a POT mod on them to boost the power, resulting in higher amounts of infrared light which helps fake the numbers, green light stays the same).
Novalasers.com - A very respectable American company. Expect high quality for matching prices. They sell unusual lenses and diffractors.
Optotronics.com - Laboratory and military level equipment, ultra-high quality, very high prices. They are excessively overpriced on the low-end (below 100mW), but if you want very high-powered lasers, they are tough to beat.
Dragonlasers.com - Medium quality company. The main product to purchase from them is their laser safety goggles, which are top quality for low price. They have an excellent list of lenses and optics to purchase as well. As any respectable laser enthusiast would say, you should buy goggles since $25 is a small price to save your vision. I personally don't use them unless I'm working with something high powered (over 300mW), and am very careful and aware of what I am reflecting off of, that being said, I'm still only a 1/100th of a second reflection off my eye to go blind.
Wickedlasers.com - Stay away from this company. With good marketing they take advantage of unknowledgable newbies by selling them low quality lasers and gear for insane prices. Don't be sucked in by their flashy videos and photos (which are very misrepresented by playing with photoshop), they also boost their public image by paying people to write extremely favorable reviews of their company. To put it simply, they're a ripoff.
Soldering Iron 15 Watt ($15) - Radioshack, it heats up to about 260 C (500 F) to melt solder.
.022" Silver Rosin Core Solder ($3) - I prefer rosin core as it helps make cleaner welds with minimal effort. Again, available at Radioshack.
Needle-nose Pliers ($5) - Your second most important tool, next to the soldering iron.
18-22 AWG (Gauge) Wire ($3) - The raw wire used to conduct electricity between different parts of the spirograph. Any wire will work, but I find 18 AWG is the easiest to handle. Get a few different colors if you can, I use red, yellow, and black in this mod.
Electrical Tape ($2) - Used to wrap up exposed connections to prevent short-circuits.
Hot Glue Gun ($8) or BIC Lighter ($2) - To melt hot glue. After leaving my hot glue gun on for four hours straight, it exploded and blew the breaker. Now I use a BIC lighter.
Hot Glue Sticks ($4) - This glue will fix the motors in alignment for the laser beam, as well as hold on the external plastic laser mount and window.
Knife ($4) or Wire Strippers ($8) - To remove plastic sheathing from wires. I personally prefer the knife due to being able to remove sheathing which the strippers can't reach in tight spaces.
K'nex / Lego Lifters ($Peanuts) - Use anything 1cm (1/4") tall. These are just hard blocks that lift the mirrors up a bit to not scrape against the case.
2 AA Battery Pack & 9 volt Connector ($5) - Radioshack again, if you can, purchase the battery pack with the pre-attached 9 volt snap on connector. They were sold out so I had to use bare wires to attach my own 9-volt connector
Plexiglass/Acrylic Glass (Optional) ($10/ 2'x4' sheet") - A window for where the laser exits. It's not necessary in any way, and to some extent causes your laser to scatter upon passing through it. I just put on the window to help minimize dust on the mirrors.
1" Diameter Acrylic Mirrors ($5 / 24 mirrors) - I purchased these at the craft store Michaels. I personally chemical treated these mirrors to transform them into "front surface mirrors", meaning there is no protective acrylic layer over the reflective aluminum, but rather the metal is exposed (and extremely easy to scratch) for a perfect reflection.
Sidenote on chemical treating: Purchasing an equivalent front surface mirror would cost $7-20 per 1" mirror. I went to my local automotive store, purchased Aircraft Stripper (chemically designed to not attack aluminum, but requires you to use chemical resistant gloves and be careful when breathing around the spray [brain damage]), to remove the protective gray backing from the mirrors and expose the aluminum. Even with chemical resistant gloves, it would burn through them every 10 minutes or so. This is a rather advanced step that is not necessary, but is highly encouraged to prevent laser scatter and is beyond the scope of this instructable. Google is your friend if you are interested. Process went: Spray stripper on gray adhesive, wait 10mins, wash in hot tap water, rinse with de-ionized water, dry with soft paper towel via pressing (no scrubbing); spray stripper on brown adhesive residue, wait 4 minutes, wash/rinse/dry; spray stripper on remaining residue, wait 2 minutes, wash/rinse/dry, done.
Drill Bits (Set of 20 bits: $20) - 1/16", 1/4", 1/8", 3/8", 1/2" drill bits were used in this mod.
Electrical Conduit Box (~$3, Lowes) - Gray box measuring 6" Width x 6" Length x 4" Height. Most are intended as a junction box for pipes that carry electric wires, the one I purchased doesn't have any holes for pipes.
Electrical Conduit Fitting (Pipe Adapter) (~$1, Lowes) - My laser is exactly 3/4" at its front, as such I purchased a 3/4" -> 1/2" fitting. This allows the laser to be inserted into the box without wobbling around, but prevents the laser from falling into the box. Get whatever size fits your laser, only the beam needs to pass through.
Rotary Rasp ($5) - The proper method for drilling a hole for the conduit fitting would be either a hole-saw, or an omni-bit. As an omni-bit costs $50, and I couldn't be sure of the proper hole-saw size to use (each hole saw costs about $10), this cheaper method will do.
On / Off Toggle Switches 4x ($8) - $2 each at Radioshack. A ripoff sure, but they are convenient.
Red Safety On/Off Switch 1x ($4) - The red knob that you see on fighter-pilot joysticks and nuclear briefcases in movies. Complete overkill for this mod, but it just looks so cool!
1.5v-3.0v Hobby DC Motors 4x ($8) - $2 each at Radioshack. You could purchase mini-motors (cell-phone vibrators usually), which have the benefit of higher rpms at a smaller size (but they are usually to long to fit inside a box this small), but less torque and a whole lot of noise.
100 Ohm Linear Potentiometers 1/2 Watt 4x ($6) - These restrict the amount of electricity that can go into the motors, making them go faster or slower. Purchase them online, which automatically adds $4 of shipping. They are impossible to find at any brick and mortar store for low ohm ratings. Most stores sell very high ohmage ratings, such as 1k, 5k, 50k, 100k, 1M, while we want 100. The 1/2 watt rating is strongly suggested, but the motors would likely run anyways with 1/4 watt max. In this guide I initially used 500 Ohm resistors, which turned out to be far too stiff, then I dropped down to 120ohm, and now I suggest 100ohm. By being too resistive, I mean that while the knob in turning from full on to full off may be about 240 degrees of rotation, only about a 30 degree window will adjust the speed, making it really "touchy". I purchased mine from Parts-Express.com
Potentiometer Knobs 4x ($6) - I purchased these knobs from Radioshack. They are decorative knobs, compared to the black and white-lined knobs. Either style works the same. They stick on the turning post of a potentiometer, and a tiny screw in the side tightens down onto the post.
1 Laser Pointer (~$10-$infinity) - For this guide I am using a 150mW Rayfoss laser, which cost $100. Most people can't justify spending so much cash on a light, here are your options.
Laser Companies
Rayfoss.com- A respectable Chinese company, the first I recommend for newcomers. Rayfoss sells medium quality lasers for excellent prices. If you have any questions or concerns, e-mail them and expect amazing customer service. They bend over backwards to meet your order needs, and often throw in free goodies if you are friendly.
LEDShoppe.com- A non-respectable Chinese company, but they sell low quality lasers for rock-bottom prices. The quality is still far higher than what you would find at a normal store like Target or Sharper Image. Only purchase the 5mW from here, as their 20mw and up lasers all look the same brightness (they are all the same laser, but they do a POT mod on them to boost the power, resulting in higher amounts of infrared light which helps fake the numbers, green light stays the same).
Novalasers.com - A very respectable American company. Expect high quality for matching prices. They sell unusual lenses and diffractors.
Optotronics.com - Laboratory and military level equipment, ultra-high quality, very high prices. They are excessively overpriced on the low-end (below 100mW), but if you want very high-powered lasers, they are tough to beat.
Dragonlasers.com - Medium quality company. The main product to purchase from them is their laser safety goggles, which are top quality for low price. They have an excellent list of lenses and optics to purchase as well. As any respectable laser enthusiast would say, you should buy goggles since $25 is a small price to save your vision. I personally don't use them unless I'm working with something high powered (over 300mW), and am very careful and aware of what I am reflecting off of, that being said, I'm still only a 1/100th of a second reflection off my eye to go blind.
Wickedlasers.com - Stay away from this company. With good marketing they take advantage of unknowledgable newbies by selling them low quality lasers and gear for insane prices. Don't be sucked in by their flashy videos and photos (which are very misrepresented by playing with photoshop), they also boost their public image by paying people to write extremely favorable reviews of their company. To put it simply, they're a ripoff.
Soldering Iron 15 Watt ($15) - Radioshack, it heats up to about 260 C (500 F) to melt solder.
.022" Silver Rosin Core Solder ($3) - I prefer rosin core as it helps make cleaner welds with minimal effort. Again, available at Radioshack.
Needle-nose Pliers ($5) - Your second most important tool, next to the soldering iron.
18-22 AWG (Gauge) Wire ($3) - The raw wire used to conduct electricity between different parts of the spirograph. Any wire will work, but I find 18 AWG is the easiest to handle. Get a few different colors if you can, I use red, yellow, and black in this mod.
Electrical Tape ($2) - Used to wrap up exposed connections to prevent short-circuits.
Hot Glue Gun ($8) or BIC Lighter ($2) - To melt hot glue. After leaving my hot glue gun on for four hours straight, it exploded and blew the breaker. Now I use a BIC lighter.
Hot Glue Sticks ($4) - This glue will fix the motors in alignment for the laser beam, as well as hold on the external plastic laser mount and window.
Knife ($4) or Wire Strippers ($8) - To remove plastic sheathing from wires. I personally prefer the knife due to being able to remove sheathing which the strippers can't reach in tight spaces.
K'nex / Lego Lifters ($Peanuts) - Use anything 1cm (1/4") tall. These are just hard blocks that lift the mirrors up a bit to not scrape against the case.
2 AA Battery Pack & 9 volt Connector ($5) - Radioshack again, if you can, purchase the battery pack with the pre-attached 9 volt snap on connector. They were sold out so I had to use bare wires to attach my own 9-volt connector
Plexiglass/Acrylic Glass (Optional) ($10/ 2'x4' sheet") - A window for where the laser exits. It's not necessary in any way, and to some extent causes your laser to scatter upon passing through it. I just put on the window to help minimize dust on the mirrors.
1" Diameter Acrylic Mirrors ($5 / 24 mirrors) - I purchased these at the craft store Michaels. I personally chemical treated these mirrors to transform them into "front surface mirrors", meaning there is no protective acrylic layer over the reflective aluminum, but rather the metal is exposed (and extremely easy to scratch) for a perfect reflection.
Sidenote on chemical treating: Purchasing an equivalent front surface mirror would cost $7-20 per 1" mirror. I went to my local automotive store, purchased Aircraft Stripper (chemically designed to not attack aluminum, but requires you to use chemical resistant gloves and be careful when breathing around the spray [brain damage]), to remove the protective gray backing from the mirrors and expose the aluminum. Even with chemical resistant gloves, it would burn through them every 10 minutes or so. This is a rather advanced step that is not necessary, but is highly encouraged to prevent laser scatter and is beyond the scope of this instructable. Google is your friend if you are interested. Process went: Spray stripper on gray adhesive, wait 10mins, wash in hot tap water, rinse with de-ionized water, dry with soft paper towel via pressing (no scrubbing); spray stripper on brown adhesive residue, wait 4 minutes, wash/rinse/dry; spray stripper on remaining residue, wait 2 minutes, wash/rinse/dry, done.
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Anyhow, my only stumbling block has been in placing the motor-mounted mirrors. Could there be an easier way to place them in the box other than hot glue? I find the need to adjust them as I work down the line and pulling them out gets messy and risks knocking off a mirror each time. My professor suggested that I use air dry clay (which helped with the slight z-axis angle from the cone shaped projection) but when it dried and I went to glue it permanently down... it moved out of the desired position.
I really knew nothing about any part of this kind of thing when I chose to do this. I had a drill, hot glue gun, and pliers when I started out, lol. :) This has been a fun and rewarding experience so far... I just want to play with it now! Do you have any suggestions for me? Should I trace around the bottoms of the motors in the box to help line them up? Maybe there is a defined angle arrangement that always works? Will they automatically line up if I'm playing "Dark side of the moon"? (wouldn't that be cool?) I usually miss the most obvious things... thank you so much for any kind of input you have!
If you want to adjust a mirror because you glued the motor in the wrong spot. Throw the box in the freezer for a good 20-30 minutes. Then with wide-grip pliers, grab and do a rapid twisting motion. You'll very easily and cleanly snap off the hot glue =].
For mounts, there is an absurd amount of RC Airplane mounts for 3v hobby motors, they're semi expensive though, like $5-8 per motor, but, they're solid. I'd definitely mark where you want to put them with a sharpie.
I made a picture detailing the *ideal* layout if you have enough space. I hope it helps.
I hadn't thought to put the box in the freezer either, so thank you for that tip. I have quite a bit of glue residue that I can now eliminate. :) I look forward to trying your 108 degree ring out too. I think my conduit box is larger than the one you used, so I might have the room to have it work. It will be way more easy to mark the fan placement than it was ompared to my lumps of air dried clay.
I'm really glad that I asked here about this... you've made my day! Thanks again for your help.
I didn't have time for the case fans to come in from China before I needed to turn in my project, so I had to improvise. I took some wick tabs from the bottom of cheap votive candles and soldered them to the tip of the motor. That gave me a solid surface to glue the mirrors on to. Also, the tabs are somewhat flexible and I could adjust the tilt after putting them on. That enabled me to use Lego's as the motor stands, since my tilt wasn't so large.
I'm really excited about this working, it is the most intricate project I've ever made and EVERYBODY loves playing with it! I have to let my teacher keep this one and I've already started my second one (for me to keep). I'm trying your 108 degree model and it really seems to be working great. You have made the the envy of my pre-engineering classmates, lol. I'm already enrolled in the fall electronics engineering program, after enjoying this project so much. Thanks for the help and the inspiration, man! :)
If you really want to have fun with it, use it outside on a foggy night, or throw up some dust or make smoke and fire the beam into it. We've had a few campfires were people have fun pointing the beam up into the rising smoke, and it's pretty mesmerizing.
If you make anything that's cool or a video or have pics, please show them to me. It's always neat to see the work of others, often you guys tend to improve upon my designs in ways I never would have thought of. Keep up the great work!
I made this one, and it works perfectly!
It makes some really nice pictures, like rotating 3D shapes :)
The only problem is that the hot glue doesn't hold the mirrors when they're rotating really fast.
Great project!
Thanks
It seems to work really great now! the glue isn't a problem anymore ;)
Thanks for the instructable!
Excellent work! I love hearing that my guides have helped other users, and it's especially exciting when you guys modify my designs! Thanks for the video too, your projector turned out very nice. I hope you get to share your creation with many friends and onlookers, and maybe enlist a few more modders into the laser-building ranks. Keep up the good work, if you make anything else cool, send me a PM, I'd like to see it.
What do you mean with "laser building ranks"?
And I'll let youknow when I make something new ;)
Greetings,
Electorials
http://www.instructables.com/id/4-Motor-100mw-532nm-Laser-Spirograph-Budget-Build-/
Thanks for sharing your's with us!!!!! It was the push I needed to get one built.
Thank you and look forward to being a part of this forum.
As far as getting the angle of the mirror adjustable, I don't think there is any product you can purchase for this. Maybe CNC mill some insanely difficult gearing with a servo attached, but it just doesn't seem practical. If you want precision, you can use a computer fan, with a mirror mounted onto the center of the fan-disc, and use shims to raise the angle to the desired height.
Keep the free thought flowing! I hope that helps. If you ever do figure it out, please let me know, I would be interested to see it.
ALL PERSONS DEALING WITH LASERS IN THIS OR ANY OTHER INSTRUCTABLE SHOULD TAKE THIS WARNING WITH THE UTMOST SERIOUSNESS!!!
If you want sound reactivity, the easiest method would be gluing a mirror directly to a speaker. It wouldn't make a clean expand/contract image, but it would shake it's vibration according to how strong the bass is.
Just an idea =]
Thanks in advance, :)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Spirograph-Using-arduino/
If it's on a black wall, then most of the light is asborbed, on a white wall, it's mostly reflected, on a road sign (retroreflector) it's effectively 1/2 coming directly back at you.
It's really hard to name a precise number. A laser shone directly into an eye gets damaging past 3.84mW (granted, it may take a few minutes of exposure at this power to cause perceivable damage). For indoors, I'm assuming you mean within 30 feet. Looking directly at a laser being held in hand, over ~100mW will cause minimal damage if you stare directly at the dot for more than a few seconds (15+?). For a laser projector, like the one used in this project, I'm *guessing* you could go up to 250mW without damage occurring, as long as the dot is moving.
A super-powerful laser isn't necessary to look good, just get what you need. 150mW is FAR more powerful than most users need. If you're scared of eye damage, I would suggest getting a highly-magnifying concave lens to diverge the beam a little. Believe it or not, blurrier laser projections often look better than super-crisp. A lot of the damage comes from the beam being concentrated into such a small area.
If it feels too bright, it's far too bright.