Safety Guidelines for would-be builders of projectors

[ElektroFreak]

edited and merged..

[dsli_jon]

edited and merged..

nice.. thanks...
J

Uh, 'Edit':

If you are 'reading this', it's cause this (from post #56):

If you are reading this it means that this post used to contain some sort of helpful/educational information posted by me. I no longer have even the tiniest interest in contributing ANY knowledge or effort here on photonlexicon.com. Why should anyone here benefit from my hard work? It's not like there's even the tiniest bit of appreciation coming my way from those people whom I've tried to help since I've been here, both by plugging their products and by consolidating info.

I apologize for not being able to help here anymore. If you want someone to thank for turning me against the idea of lending my hand to this particular community, thank our member dsli_jon for demonstrating quite convincingly SEVERAL times just what a smug, superior and condescending bunch of douchebags some of the so-called "professional laserists" here can be to people who think or act differently than they do. You can gold plate a piece of shit by calling it "professional", but at the end of the day it's still just a piece of shit. It only takes one worthless individual to screw up the public image of a whole group, at least in my book. "Professional" my ass.

To any and all new members who might someday read this: NEVER let dsli_jon or any of the so-called "professionals" here talk to you in any way that you find to be rude, smug, snobbish, condescending or disrespectful because people like dsli_jon don't know how to speak any other way. The concept of "respecting others and their opinions/viewpoints" is entirely lost on him and people like him. All that matters is that they somehow have an opportunity to display their superiority complexes for all the world to see.

The really sad part of all this: Who knows how many worthwhile future contributors and quality individuals have been run out of here by some of the absolutely ridiculous, "high-school-esque" bad attitudes that many members here like Jon have given people who might ask n00bish questions or who might bring up topics that they feel shouldn't be discussed here. To me it's very sad that people as absolutely worthless as Jon and his supporters have any sort of influence here. If you're a new member who is not prepared to bend over and take whatever these people give you, you'd better just leave now because they have zero tolerance for "thinking outside their box".

...is all because Mr EF simply cannot seem to accept that just because someone does not accept as-gospel/fact, his ideas / opinions / perspectives / practices, etc, etc,
this does not prove, in any-way, shape or form, that, A) they are, indeed, 'condescending worthless scum' or other-such grade-school accusations, and B) that everyone, here, is somehow-not JUST as 'free' as he-is, to express their opinions - and 'counter-opinions' to his. Pat, I fully-respect your opinions as your-own, and your right to have/hold them, but that's where it ends. NO-one, including me, is obligated to accept your opinions about things in life/biz / findings with lasers, etc, as gospel/fact, however well-entitled you are to-them. And - 'for the record' - I DO NOT purport that ANY of my opinions / experiences are in any-way, somehow 'the best' / most-right / fact. Nope, just another 'opinion' / shared-experience, for whatever it's worth. Again, you need to be reminded: 'For every action (or post) there is a reaction (reply) - if you don't like the fires - - don't light the matches, it's that simple.

ciao

[Stoney3K]

...Or, if on a 'budget', how about a 'well-placed' / perfectly-mounted mercury-switch (like the type commonly-found in home-style thermostats), tied-into the interlock-loop - even if your system did-not incorporate a 'hard beam-shutter' (as many solid-state builders are 'countering' the need-for, these-days...) you could still tie it to an SSR, gating the 5V inputs, or however - point-is, cheap-way to get an 'inclinometer', yes?

And run the risk of the projector falling to its death, the switch breaking, and a lot of audience members having to visit the doctor because of mercury poisoning?

That's only moving the problem. Not to mention the impact on the environment, I mean, such a unit would never make it into the EU because of RoHS!

If I wanted to do this on the cheap and right, I'd get a single chip accelerometer (like the AD one found iin the Wiimote) and integrate it on my scanfail board. That way I can determine on site how paranoid I want it to be.

[dsli_jon]

Hey Stoney -

And run the risk of the projector falling to its death, the switch breaking, and a lot of audience members having to visit the doctor because of mercury poisoning?

Lol, that's some good 'TV-writing', there, m8!

That's only moving the problem. Not to mention the impact on the environment, I mean, such a unit would never make it into the EU because of RoHS!

So, you mean there isn't ONE mercury-switch in all the EU? It was only a 'for those that might-not have the bux for a dual-axis inclinometer' idea - But truly, a 'single chip accelerometer' would be a much better approach... a mercury-switch would be fairly 'course-angle', anyway... it was not intended / proposed as the 'ultimate solution', just an additional-idea...

cheers...
j

[DMills]

Plenty of mercury switches in the EU, hell half a dozen in my junkbox....

Besides it is nor really metallic mercury you need to worry about, it is some of the organomercury compounds (Dimethyl mercury springs to mind), really quite unpleasant.

I would tend to the view that accelerometers, tilt switches and the like are gross overkill, after all the major risk from a falling projector is unlikely to be the laser beam rather then the falling hardware (Q Switched monsters excepted). You should aim to be rigging such that having the kit come down is for all practical purposes impossible (Rated hardware, a suitable working load limit and solid supports).

Regards, Dan.

[ElektroFreak]

If you are reading this it means that this post used to contain some sort of helpful/educational information posted by me. I no longer have even the tiniest interest in contributing ANY knowledge or effort here on photonlexicon.com. Why should anyone here benefit from my hard work? It's not like there's even the tiniest bit of appreciation coming my way from those people whom I've tried to help since I've been here, both by plugging their products and by consolidating info.

I apologize for not being able to help here anymore. If you want someone to thank for turning me against the idea of lending my hand to this particular community, thank our member dsli_jon for demonstrating quite convincingly SEVERAL times just what a smug, superior and condescending bunch of douchebags some of the so-called "professional laserists" here can be to people who think or act differently than they do. You can gold plate a piece of shit by calling it "professional", but at the end of the day it's still just a piece of shit. It only takes one worthless individual to screw up the public image of a whole group, at least in my book. "Professional" my ass.

To any and all new members who might someday read this: NEVER let dsli_jon or any of the so-called "professionals" here talk to you in any way that you find to be rude, smug, snobbish, condescending or disrespectful because people like dsli_jon don't know how to speak any other way. The concept of "respecting others and their opinions/viewpoints" is entirely lost on him and people like him. All that matters is that they somehow have an opportunity to display their superiority complexes for all the world to see.

The really sad part of all this: Who knows how many worthwhile future contributors and quality individuals have been run out of here by some of the absolutely ridiculous, "high-school-esque" bad attitudes that many members here like Jon have given people who might ask n00bish questions or who might bring up topics that they feel shouldn't be discussed here. To me it's very sad that people as absolutely worthless as Jon and his supporters have any sort of influence here. If you're a new member who is not prepared to bend over and take whatever these people give you, you'd better just leave now because they have zero tolerance for "thinking outside their box".

[Doc]

That's only moving the problem. Not to mention the impact on the environment, I mean, such a unit would never make it into the EU because of RoHS!

http://www.russell-scientific.co.uk/...egory&path=122

[DanG]

I just recently asked in a different thread:


to which Marc replied:



So really ANY projector, no matter the source, can be certified as long as the safety requirements (which seem rather lax based on these systems) are met. I'll try to make a list of the most current requirements over the next few days and post it here so folks can go over them and let me know of any additions/omissions.

Seems like this info should be included in these guidelines.... if this project ever gets anywhere that is.

I would add that the projector is only half of the battle... as Adam pointed out in that other thread submitting a product report on a new projector from a "new" manufacturer (which you are when you certify something as compliant) has also quite a lot to do with setting up and maintaining a robust set of procedural controls, record keeping, quality assurance, external compliance policies all of which become required in one way or another as part of being able to "manufacture" no matter what kind of projector has rolled off the line first.

You can certify a tomato as compliant, but you have to have policies in place to make sure the tomato stays compliant, test results showing continual compliance under 'any reasonably forceable scenario' which might cause the tomato to become non-compliant, etc and then when you get inspected (which you will), it has to actually BE not only compliant but also compliant in the way you said it would be.

Which, in the case of a tomato, would then trigger a corrective action demand from CDRH where you could be compelled to recall all said tomatoes at huge expense and retrofit them with a laser projector.

Just saying...

[ElektroFreak]

Just saying...

Your statement above is precisely the kind of input this thread needs. Thanks for taking the time to "just say it".

[3ricj]

wow, this started quite the flame war. I still would love to see a unified safety document of some kind.