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HomeBuiltLaserProjector
October1,2004
Updated:August16,2006

Photo1.XYScanHead
IthinkeverybodysawLaserEffectsthatshowsupstages,discosorfestivals.Therearetwocategories
onthelasereffect.OneisBeamEffect,itshowsthelaserbeamsthatflyingintheairtotheaudience.
TheotherisScreenEffect,itshowsthelasergraphicsthatdrawnonthescreenbyamovinglaserspot.
Thefirstoneispreferredbetterthansecond.Thebeameffectisveryexciting,sothatmanyLaser
LightShowsarealsobeinggiven.Thelaserequipmentsworkinginthelaserlightshowarecalled
LaserProjector.
Thisisachallengingprojecttobuildthelaserprojectorwithprofessionalgrade:).Themost
importantcomponentusedforlaserprojectorsisthelaserunit.HeNelaserhadbeenusedinearly
days,multicoloredmixedgaslaseriscurrentlyusedforhighendlaserprojectorandsolidstatelaser
isoneofthebrandnewlaserdevicethathasbeenrecentlyused.Howeverthelaserunitwasvery
expensiveandjunkHeNegaslasercannotbemodulateddirectly,sothatIcouldnotresolveto
purchasethelaserunitandmodulator.Atthefirstquarterof2004,areasonablesolidstatelaser
modulewassoldfromKyoritsuDenshi,andIdeterminedtostartthisprojectthatthinkingforalong
time.

InsideoftheLaserProjector
Figure1.OpticalTableofTypicalLaserProjector

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Basically,thelaserprojectorsareusedforentertainmentindustry.Mosthighendlaserprojectorsare
custombuiltandsomefunctionsareincorporatedaccordancewithwhichtypeofeffectisrequired.
Figure1showstheopticalfunctiondiagramoftypicallaserprojector.Itseemsreadymadelaser
projectorshaveonlyXYscannerwhichcanbeusedforthemostgenericeffects.Inthisproject,I
choseonlyanXYscannerandaimedtoprojectexactlasergraphicsandanimationsasagoal.
Laser
Inolddays,redHeNelaserhadbeenusedforthelaserart,andthenwhitemixedgaslaserwhichcan
generateseveralnumberofcolorsimultaneouslyhasbeingused.Thegaslaserisverylowefficiency
anddifficulttouse.Recently,compact,highefficiencyandeasytousesolidstatelasers,suchas
semiconductorlaserandDPSSlaser,increaseitsperformanceandhaveappearedonthemarketof
laserartequipment.Mostcolorofsolidstatelaseriscurrentlyredandgreen.Whenblueoneimproves
itsperformance,outofdategaslaserswillbereplacedwiththesolidstatelasers.
Blanking/Modulator
Theblankingmechanisminterruptsanyunnecessarylaserbeam.Mostgaslasersrequirethis
mechanisminfrontoflaseroutputwindowbecausethegaslasercannotbemodulatedtheoutput
powerquickly.Agalvanometerisusedfortheblankingmechanismasitsactuatortomovethe
interrupter.Formulticoloredsystem,suchasmixedgaslaser,anopticalmodulator,calledPCAOM,
isusedtocontroleachcolorline.Themechanicalblankingotherthansafetyshutterisoftenomitted
onthelaserprojectorusingPCAOMorsolidstatelaserswhichcanbemodulateddirectly.
Beamswitcher/Effector
Thebeamswitcherisamechanismthatfeedsalaserbeamtotheselectedeffector,andtheeffector
interruptsalaserbeamwithanyopticalfilter.Becauseswitchingspeedandaccuracyarenot
particularlyrequired,openloopgalvos,steppingmotorsandsolenoidsareusedtomovetheoptics.
Theopticalfilterusedfortheeffectoristospreadordiffusethelaserbeam.Somegratingdisksare
oftenusedforsucheffect.Thelaserbeampassedthroughtheeffectorcreatessplashedbeamsasbeam
effect,andanabstractpatternasscreeneffect.
XYscanner
Figure2.XYScanner

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TheXYscanneristhemostgenericcomponentwhichcancontrolthebeamvectoratwill.Figure2
showstheprincipleoftheXYscanner.Twogalvosaremountedinorthogonal,incominglaserbeam
isbouncedbyXaxisgalvomirrorandbouncedagainYaxisgalvomirrorandthebeamgoesinto
renderingspace.Thebeamdirectioncanbedeterminedbycombinationofdeflectionangleoftwo
mirrors.Thescannedlaserbeamcreateslasersheetsortunnelasbeameffect,ordrawslasergraphics
onthescreen.Forthescreeneffect,scanningspeedisparticularlyrequiredofXYscannerbecauseit
mustscanfastandexactlyaspossibleforgoodqualityofthepicture.Onlyclosedloopgalvois
currentlyusedforscreeneffect,andforsimpleabstractgraphics,openloopgalvosandresonant
galvosaresometimesused.
OtherComponents
Thecomponentsotherthanopticsexplainedabovearescannerdriver,laserpowersupply,laser
coolingsystem,showcontroller/consoleandothers.Laserprojectorconsistsofthesecomponents.

BuildingaLaserUnit
Photo2.TemperatureControlledLaserUnit

Iboughtagreenlasermodulefor6,720YenatKyoritsuDenshi.ThisisaDPSSlasermodulerated
532nm/5mW(min).Itcanrisetheoutputpoweruptoseveraltimesstrongerthanratedpower,of
courseitisoutofwarranty.Theresultofmeasuredpoweris15mWwithoutanyadjustment,and
20mWwhenadjusteditstrimmerpot.Thismeansthelasermoduleshouldnotbehandledwithoutany
knowledgeonbasiclasersafety.Itseemsthislasermoduleisforpentypelaserpointerinferfromits
shape,Ithinkitwillbeverydangerouslaserpointer:).
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However,therearenotthatonlygoodfeatures.Whenthelasermoduleoperatesforatime,theoutput
powerdipsduetoheatrise.MostgeneralpurposeDPSSlasermoduleswillbetemperaturecontrolled
tostableoperation.Thislasermoduleisforcheaplaserpointer,itdoesnothavesuchfunction,andso
Ibuiltalaserunitwithtemperaturecontrolandexternalmodulation.Photo2showsthebuiltgreen
laserunit.
Becauseaccuracyofthetemperaturecontrolisnotsorequired,simplePIcontrolisused.MCUreads
theresistanceofthermistercoupledwithlasermodule,convertittotemperatureanddrivepeltier
modulewitherrorbetweenmoduletemperatureandsettingtemperature.Thelaseroutputcanbe
modulatedbyexternalmodulationinputviaMCUanditisshutofftoprotectlasermodulewhenthe
moduletemperatureisoutofsetting.

BuildingGalvanometerScanners
Ihadlookedforexistingprojectonbuildingclosedloopgalvos,howeverIcouldnotfindsuchproject
ontheweb.Mosthomebuiltscannerswaremadeofspeakerwithoutanyfeedback.Itseemsnobody
hastriedtobuildtheclosedloopgalvoyet.Iwascompelledtostarttheprojectfromzero,andIcould
buildtheclosedloopgalvoswithsufficientperformanceonsometrial.Ibelievethatthisreporthelps
laseristswhohavesimilarproject.
WhatisGalvanometer?
Thegalvanometerisoneoftheelectricalinstrumentsusedtodetectsmallcurrent,itsschematic
symbolis(G).Whendetectverysmallcurrent,thegalvanometerhadbeingusedwithattachedmirror
andlightsourceinsteadofneedletoenlargethedeflection,andcurrentexistinggalvosalsoinherits
thisprinciple.Thegalvoshaveverythinrotortominimizetherotorinertiaforfastmovement.The
movingcoilisreplacedwithhighrigidlysolidrotor,suchasmovingmagnetandmovingiron,andthe
armaturecoilismovedtostatortoincreaseheatradiation.Thisstructurecanbesaid"ServoMotor"
ratherthangalvanometer.
ClosedloopControl
Figure3.StepResponseofGalvos

Theopenloopgalvo'sshaftisheldwithatorsionrodspring,therotormovestoapositionwhere
balancingbetweengeneratedtorqueoftherotorandrestoringtorqueofthetorsionrodspring.Thisis
sameprincipleastraditionalgalvanometer.Itcanbecontrolledoneway,rotormovestoaposition
thatproportionaltothecoilcurrent.Howeverthecontrolbandwidthofopenloopgalvosislimited
becauseithasaresonantfrequencydeterminedbyrotorinertiaandspringconstant.
Inclosedloopcontrol,rotorpositionisdetectedwithapositiondetector,itiscomparedto
commandedpositionandtherotorpositioniscontrolledtotrackthecommandedposition.Thisisalso
calledfeedbackcontorlorservocontorl.Itcanimprovescanningspeedandaccuracycomparedto
openloopcontrol(Figure3).Powerefficiencyisalsoimprovedbecausethereisnopowerlossdueto
atorsionrodspring.Howevertheclosedloopcontrolrequirescostofpositiondetector,servo
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amplifierandrelated.Thisprojectbuildstheclosedloopcontrolledgalvos.
PositionDetector
Figure4.CapacitivePositionDetector

Thepositiondetectoristhemostsignificantpartforclosedloopcontrol,therearevariouskindof
sensingmethod,suchasoptical(positionsensitivedevice),magnetical(resolver)andconductive
(potentiometer).IchoseasimplecapacitivemethodwhichutilizesaprinciplethatwhenanAC
voltageisappliedtoacapacitor,currentflowthroughthecapacitorproportionaltothecapacitance
value.Itsstructureissimilartotuningcapacitorusedinradio.Inpracticaldesign,oneelectrodeis
groundedbecauseitisconvenientconsideringthestructure,butaconsiderationisneededtocircuit
designwhenmeasurethecapacitorcurrentinsuchstructure.
TheschematicshowninFigure4a,aDCcomponentindicatedwitharrowsisgenerated,andopenthe
DCcurrentpathasshowninFigure4b,therectifiedDCcomponentwillabletobedetectedbythe
galvanometer(G).Infactthecapacitancechangeisverysmallanditwillnotabletobedetectedstably
duetoparasiticcapacitanceandanyinterference.Figure4cshowstheschematicusedforpractical
design,twodifferentialelectrodesanddiodesarejoinedinoppositepolarityeachother.Sumofthe
rectifiedcurrentsbecomesdifferencebetweenthem,anyfactoraffectsaccuracycanbecanceledandit
canbedetectedstably.Inthisfigure,whenthemovingelectrodemovestoleft,positivevoltagewill
appearattheVo,andviceversa.Thepositiondetectorbuiltinthisprojectchangesthedifference
capacitanceonlyseveralpFinfullscale(90mechanicaldeflection),andasufficientoutputvoltage
changecouldbegot.
MakingPartsandBuild
Photo3.GalvoParts

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Photo3showsthemainpartsofthegalvostobebuilt.Explanationforeachpartisasfollows:
1. BaseFrame.Glassepoxyprotoboardscutinpropersize,twobaseboardsaresettoendblocks
anditmakesthegalvo'sbody.
2. StatorWindings.WindaUEW(urethaneenameledwire)indiameterof0.3mm60turnstoa
bobbinandsettheformwithvanishandthenexitractitfromthebobbin.
3. BallBearings.ThesearefromoptionalpartsofMINI4WDmodelkit(OD=5,ID=2,L=2.5)
4. MovingMagnetRotor.Thesolidrotorisrigiderthancoiledone,anyharmfulresonancedoes
notoccur.Thecarbonsteelshaftisgotfromajunkmotor(D=2,L=45),andneodymium
magnetsaregotfromscrapedharddisks.Themagnetsarecutandbondedtotheshaftandthen
shapedwithawatercoolinggrinder.Theshaftshouldbethinandlightaspossibletominmize
therotorinertia.
5. MovingElectrodeforPD.AbutterflyshapedelectrodeisformedonthethinglassepoxyPCB
(D=8,t=0.2).Theworkinganglerangeis90atbutterflyshapedelectrodeand180athalf
moonshapedone.90issufficientforgalvanometerscanner.
6. StatorElectrodeforPD.Thisissamematerialasmovingelectrodeanddividedinfour
quadrants.
Photo4.CloseupViews

Photo4showscloseupviewsofthebuiltgalvanometer,theschematicisavailableintechnotes.
1. Agalvobeingbuilt.Twostatorcoilsareplacedandfixedassurroundingtherotormagnet.I
couldnotmakeaccuratestatorcoresothatIadoptedcompletecorelessstructuretoavoid
unnecessaryreluctancetorque.Itresultsthatthetorqueconstantisprettysmall,2.5mNm/A.
2. PDstatorside.Asharpspringwire(phosphorbronze,0.4mmdia)pressingtheshaftgivesa
groundpotentialtothemovingelectrodeandapplyaprepressuretothebearingstoeliminate
vibrationsimultaneously.Thecontactpointmustbeonthecenteroftheshaftinorderto
minimizefriction,oritwillcauseahysteresiserror.Alittleelectriccontactoilincreases
conductionandstability.
3. PDrotorside.ThePDrotorisbondatbehinditandtheelectrodesaretiedtotheshaftwith
conductivepaint.Thegapbetweenrotorandstatorshouldbecloseandparallelaspossible,or
sensibilityandlinearitywillbeworse.
4. Mirrormount.Cutafirstsurfacemirrorandbonditontothemirrormountmadeofaluminium
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rod(D=5).

BuildingServoAmplifiers
HowServoWorks
Figure5.ServoOperationDiagram(Simplified)

Figure5showstheblockdiagramoftheservoamplifierforthisproject.Inpositionservosystem,
delayorderatthecontrolledobjectbecomeshighanditcannotbecontrolledstablyunlessanyphase
compensationsuitablefortheservosystem.ThecontrolmethodfortheclosedloopgalvoisPD
control,asforDcontrol,compensationofcurrentvelocitydelayandvelocitypositiondelayeachare
doneseparately.Icontrolisomittedbecauseitcanaffectservostability.Inthissystem,thereishardly
anyfrictionnorstatictorquesothatitseemsthereisnoproblemforpositioningaccuracyevenif
withouttheIcontrol.
CharacteristicsofPositionDetector
Figure6.PDOutputandRotorPosition

Thestatorelectrodeofthepositiondetectorisdividedinfourquadrantsandtheworkinganglerange
becomes45likeshowninFigure6.Theservosystemlocksinthepaintedareathatpolarityofrotor
torqueandPDoutputmatchesforproperservooperation.Itcanlockatgrayareathatisincorrect
position,butwhenapplyscannerpowerwithpositioncommandofcenter,rotorreturnstothecenter
whereveritis.Normaloperatingrangeissetto20(40opticaldeflection)thatsufficientfor
galvanometerscanners.
BuildingCircuitBoards
Thisisthebuiltservoamplifierandcircuitdiagram.Thisisasimpleandordinaryopampcircuit,
thereisnothingdifficult.Howeverithaspoweramplifierandsmallsignalamplifierontheboard
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together.Youhavetopayattentiontounintentionalcouplingonboarddesignotherwiseyouwillbe
afflictedwithoscillation,distortionorinstability,andtheservogainwillbelimited.CurrentlythePD
circuitisalittleaffectedbypoweramplifier,itmaybebettertomoveitonthegalvolikeexisting
galvos.
Theservoamplifierrequiresadualoutputpowersupplyof20volts.Itisgeneratedwithasimple
DCDCconverterpoweredfromasingle+12voltsDCsupply.Itisnotthatmustberegulated,a
traditionaltransformerbridgecapacitortypepowersupplywillalsoworkwell.
Thisisawaveformwhichisastepresponseoftheservoamplifier.Itmustbecurrentcontrolled
howevertheoutputvoltageissaturatingduetocoilinductance.Thesupplyvoltageshouldbehighas
possibletominimizethiseffect.Thevoltagedipathighoutputcurrentalsobefound.Itisduetoa
currentlimitingoftheLM675,ahighpoweropamp,suchasLM12,mightbebetterthanLM675.
Howeversuchthestrongopampcanburnthegalvocoilwithoverloadoroscillationsothatany
thermalprotectionwillbeneededtothegalvo.

BuildingaController
Figure7.ControllerBlockDiagram

Thelasercontrollermustgeneratetwovectorsignals(1Vanalog)forgalvosandablankingsignal
(TTL)tomodulatelaseroutput,alleast.Thesesignalswillabletobegeneratedbyany
microcontrollerboardfoundinjunkboxorasimpleD/AadapterattachedtoPC'sparallelport.Inthis
project,Idesignedandbuiltanewcontrollerboardtominimizetheboardsize.Figure7showsthe
blockdiagramforthecontrollerboard,andthecircuitdiagramisavailableintechnotes.The
controlleronlygeneratesvectordatawithstoredframeandthereisnomorecontrol.Itwillnotneeded
toexplaineachfunctionofthecontrollerboardanditsfirmwarebecauseyoumusthaveaskillto
designalaserdisplaycontrollerifyouaregoingtobuildgalvos.

FrameCreationTools

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Becausethegraphicdatausedinlaserprojectorisvectorbased,notrastarbased,genericgraphictools
cannotbeusedtocreateframedata.Anyvectorbasedgraphictoolisneededtocreatevectorframes.
Therearesomelasercreationtoolsspecifiedforvectorgraphics,buttheyaretooexpensiveforhobby
useortemporaryproject,soIdevelopedasimplevectortracingtool.Ithandlestheframefilesin
genericcsvformatbecauseIalsowishtouseitforanyotherpurpose:).Thisisafreewareandis
availableintechnotes.Ascripttoconvertildframefileintocsvfileisincludedtoo.

Results

Builtlaserprojector
Eachcomponentsaremountedonthebaseboardof2401505mmaluminium.

Batteryoperation
ThelaserprojectorincludingabatteryandaPSUcanbeheldinanattachecase.
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Adjustment

WhenapplyasquarewaveforYaxisandasawwaveforXaxis,thestepresponseofYaxiswillbe
projected.Thismeanslessphasecompensation.Whenitistoomuch,pulseedgeswillbedulled.

MinimizetheringingswithLFDtrimmerpotforlowfrequency(1stpoll)compensation.Leftsmall
ringingscanberemovedwithHFDtrimmerpotforhighfrequency(2ndpoll)compensation.

Yaxisisadjustedperfectly.Now,youwillabletofindanasymmetrybetweenrisingedgeandfalling
edge.ThisisduetoasymmetrybetweensourceandsinkcapabilityoftheLM675.

AdjustXaxisinsameway.Thepulsetestcanexpressthestepresponsebetterthansquaretest.The
pulsewidthis8msforthesetests.

ILDA12K@20
Thisisamagiccircle...,ratheranILDAtestpattern.Formoreinformationaboutthis,refertothelink
intechnotes.
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ILDA30K@8
MyscannercouldnotachieveILDA30Kstandard.Whowillreachthisgoalfirst?:)

ILDA18K@8
ItseemsthelimitofmyscannerisILDA18K,stillitissufficientperformanceforhobbyuse.
Variouslasergraphics

Aletterinthesquare(51fps)

Appi(28fps)

Gikocatprojectedonthewallfromdistanceof60m(38fps)
Itcanalsoprojectonthecloud!
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YukiKotonomiya(12fps)

Forindoorlightshow,oilmistgeneratorscalledHazerareusedtoimprovebeamvisibilityandto
minimizethelaserpower.Mosquitocoilsalsoworkwell:)

SampleframesetfromInternationalLaserProduction.(frasamp.avi)
Generated3Dframe.(crown.avi)

TechnicalNotesandRelatedLinks
Specs(ver.2)
MCU:ATmega64(Atmel)
Controller
DataMemory:MMC/SD
LCD,XYoutputs,Modulationoutput
Speed:ILDA18K@8,ILDA12K@20
XYScanner
WorkingDeflection:80(optical)
MirrorSize:58[mm]
WaveLength:532nm(Green)
LaserUnit
OutputPower:20mW
ModulationInput:TTL
Controller/Laser:5V/1.5A
PowerRequirement
XYScanner:20V/1A
Idle:7W
PowerConsumption
Working:22W(ILDA18K@8)
Dimensions
240(W),150(D),40(H)[mm]
Weight
1.0kg
UpdatesFeb12,2006
Controllerboard(ver.1),CircuitdiagramandFirmware.
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Controllerboard(ver.2),CircuitdiagramandFirmware.Feb12,2006
Servoamplifierboard(ver.1),Circuitdiagram,Stepresponse(P3.1:P3.2:TP4,@8),Step
response(TP4,@30),120Hzsqarewaveresponse(TP2:TP4,@8),400Hzsinwave
response(TP2:TP4,@8)
Servoamplifierboard(ver.2),CircuitdiagramFeb12,2006
Circuitdiagramforscannerpowersupply
GalvanometeranditsCircuitdiagram
ControlcircuitofGreenlaserunit
FrameEditorforWin32[mkv2.zip]Aug16,2006
SourcefilesforFrameEditor[mkvsrc.zip]Sep2,2011
DevelopmentDiary[ja]
BasicInformation
BasicLaserSafety(LaserFX)
AboutILDATestPattern(LaserFX)
SimilarProjects
Norm'sHomeMadeLaserShow

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