RGB Custom Build for laser mapping and graphics - Advice please

[Galvonaut]

Well, having asked advice on software and DACs and decided to hold back on my decision until I've tried some of the options out, I thought I would be brave and ask advice on building a projector.

The result I would like to achieve is a relatively light weight (I have a bad back) laser, or one which can be winched and rigged easily, with good graphics capabilities. I plan to do some laser highlighting of projection mapped images [edit] and lots of funky abstracts as well as beam shows (I guess if the galvos are good for graphics they will be good for beams?). <edit> Now decided on separate PJ for graphics & beams</edit>

I'm not sure about power. Maybe 3-4 watts for now? <edit> decided on lower power</edit> I would like a nice balanced white, good beam characteristics (without having to sell any of my limbs). I have no idea what the preferred diode wavelengths are, so advice on this would be great.
Also dichroic and optics setup. What is the best arrangement?

Safety features and electronics - What is needed for safety in the UK and what are the best propriety products on the market? I'd like to support people like Mr Stanwax over here.

I have noticed that some of the beam tables I have seen are built upon a laser cut or drilled optical bed. I imagine this is expensive, although makes it a little lighter weight and highly upgradeable. Do you think this is a good way to go and are there any drawbacks?

What is the best way of going around the design, manufacture and set-up of a projector?

Budget - £1.5k but if this is not enough I'll have to save a little more. <edit> expecting this to cost a lot more than £1.5k now - if it costs to do what I want it to do, then so be it</edit>

Are there any other questions I should be asking?

Many thanks,
Keith

[kecked]

to buy what you want will be at least 5k To build it will be 3k

1w 638nm 500mw 532nm 1w 445nm this is achievable without breaking your back too much The pain is enough red.

[Galvonaut]

to buy what you want will be at least 5k To build it will be 3k

1w 638nm 500mw 532nm 1w 445nm this is achievable without breaking your back too much The pain is enough red.

Thanks kecked, well, it that's what I need to spend, so be it. I imagine it will take me enough time to build to save enough too!

[steviobee]

Hiya Keith, lets hook up next week, you can have a play with the 3w from Goldenstar with laserwave lasers, see if you like 'em, it is by no means the quality of Kvant but they may satisfy your needs for now and are certainly a lot cheaper.

[Galvonaut]

Hiya Keith, lets hook up next week, you can have a play with the 3w from Goldenstar with laserwave lasers, see if you like 'em, it is by no means the quality of Kvant but they may satisfy your needs for now and are certainly a lot cheaper.

Sure thing Steve. That'd be great, thank you. Off to London tomorrow for a few days, so will get in touch when I'm back.

[kecked]

justify why 1W would not be enough. Look if you get a pair of 170mw 642nm diodes for red, a 250mw green, and a single 445nm laser you can have a real nice bright setup. This is soooo bright in my living room I use black paper for a screen or it lights up the room and kills contrast. This is about 3/4W of balanced white but even more important is the beam quality. Use a 2x or 3x beam expander on the blue and let it clip the beam. This cleans the beam and lets you match the size to the other lasers. Sure you loose 1/2 your blue but you don't need it anyways. This avois all the fancy cylinder lens corre3ction or the prisms. Add some scanners and your done.

Red with driver and all is about 500.00
Green is about 500.00
Blue is about 150.00
color section=1200.00
6210=2500

total=about 4k with the case supplies and all.

[Galvonaut]

justify why 1W would not be enough. Look if you get a pair of 170mw 642nm diodes for red, a 250mw green, and a single 445nm laser you can have a real nice bright setup. This is soooo bright in my living room I use black paper for a screen or it lights up the room and kills contrast. This is about 3/4W of balanced white but even more important is the beam quality. Use a 2x or 3x beam expander on the blue and let it clip the beam. This cleans the beam and lets you match the size to the other lasers. Sure you loose 1/2 your blue but you don't need it anyways. This avois all the fancy cylinder lens corre3ction or the prisms. Add some scanners and your done.

Red with driver and all is about 500.00
Green is about 500.00
Blue is about 150.00
color section=1200.00
6210=2500

total=about 4k with the case supplies and all.

1 Watt would be enough at first but I plan on doing outdoor beam shows too and when my friend upgrades his projectors I may need to upgrade lasers to make the highlighting for effective or, if using a combination of projection mapping and beams, even 3 watts may struggle.
The idea of 3 watts wasn't based on hard science (I don't know enough about lasers) it was based on watching others videos on youtube and seeing the effectiveness of lasers against other light sources or used in an outdoor setting.
As you say Kecked, it's about beam quality. This is pretty important to me and not sure if I will achieve this as an amateur self build! When it comes to colour matching I have an A1 eye, having hand printed colour photography in the forces, setting up and understanding complicated optics and their effect on beam characteristics probably takes a lifetime of experience though!

Keith

[edison]

The beamquality depends on the modules that you are using. When you build your own that can be reached too. Reaching the same quallity as bought module is difficult unless you are willing to spend a fair amount of money on it. With quallity i mean not the beamquality but the stabbilty in allignment from the reds and also the stabbility in power output, modulation etc. Red is the most difficult one and still the blue,s can be tricky but more easy. It depends also on the time frame and spare time that you have. Most people underestimate the time it takes to do things right and when you buy a case, and drop in the modules you can have it up and running in a week or so. Doing things yourself is great up to a certain level. You save money and with some help and advice to build it its great fun. Your close at Stanwax so that is perfect too for getting parts

[kecked]

there are only three ways to get power and quality in this order of preference and also decreasing cost
opsl 50k
gas 10k+ water cooling plus electric bills out the butt
really careful pro built diode units

I suggest lower power for the graphics with great beams and higher power with crapper beams for beams ie two separate units. They can share the scanners.

Edison has a quad that is stacked. IF you get two of those and use a waveplate pluse pbs cube you could get 3-4 watts of red for a beam machine p73 diodes I think.
They are not cheap but they are really stable. There are some other quads out there that stack two and pbs them but they have less stability in my experience and you can't them combine two for an oct build.

I hate to do this but it MY experience and other may have better experience. All the dpss lasers I'll had from laserwave (sorry bridge) and axis lasers have had really poor modulation. I have only found the dhom 500mw to be particularly good. Kvant and cni are good by hersea but I have not tried them myself. Frankly, if I did it again I'd use an aom on any dpss.

There is a box that samples the beams and then fixes the modulation by feedback made by the guys who make eyemagic scanners. I have opne but never tried it. IF it works as it is stated and I have no reason to say it doesn't, you might be able to get away with nearly any dpss laser and have the device fix the modulation. They should build these right into the damn lasers! Come on 1W diode green!

[edison]

Edison has a quad that is stacked.

Yes and no. I have a quad but this is a single mode setup. I can do quad P73 and dual aswell but this is all custom made.

IF you get two of those and use a waveplate pluse pbs cube you could get 3-4 watts of red for a beam machine p73 diodes I think.

2 single mode quads won,t get you 3 watt of red but 1.4 watt as absolute max but with good beamspecs. A quad red P73 can be very thight but it depends on the optics being used to correct the fast axis.

Single mode will get you the best beamspecs and it depends wich brand you go. Stabbility in allignment is very important when it comes to stacking beams.

They are not cheap but they are really stable.

Yes and no. My modules are very stable and not expencive compared to other brands in the market. Its just allot of money and that requires some saving for most of us.
Being patient is the key to get what you want.

There are some other quads out there that stack two and pbs them but they have less stability in my experience and you can't them combine two for an oct build.

The stabillity of a setup depends on how a module is being build. If you do things right even a 2+2 red p73 in a PBS can be very stable.

Most multimode setups that i build are custom made and compared to the price what Red cost these days its very competitive. The problem is that people don,t save money for it and buy things like a toy to play with. The most common fraise i hear is : I,m just doing things for a hobby but i am planning to do lasershows later in time for money. If this is the case then you should save and see it as an investment over time. Second, people are obsessed with having RGB right from the start. Its better to invest in a good quallity green only and then later upgrade to RGB. You could also start with G/B and then do the red later when money is being made.

But kecked is right, up till 3 watt RGB you can have very good beamspecs. In the higherpower the beamquality goes down eventually especcially in the 15 watt + RGB range.

I can do Multimode setups with 1 mrd divergence and a beam of 4x4.5 but in the end its just wich route you want to go.