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Thread: first lumia build: plastic wheels

  1. #1
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    Default first lumia build: plastic wheels

    I've had a bit of time for lasers over the years but I'm still a newb and scientifically challenged.
    I started putting together parts to build a lumia projector based on my experience with other light types.

    Here's my number one question so far:
    If I am using plastic lumia wheels do i need to or should hit something like a bounce mirror before the laser hits the plastic or is there some sort of object that should be placed in between the wheels and the lasers to act as a filter
    ?
    I don't really want to melt the wheels and I would like to continue using plastic because I have a fair amount of it because I use it for other types of projection. Since this is a first build I'm not expecting to use it outside my apartment but I'd like to be able to safely run it for half an hour.

    Thanks,
    Tommy

  2. #2
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    Laserium used plastic wheels almost exclusively, but we also used less than a watt. Sure you can put stuff between the beam and the wheel. Diffraction gratings, liquid crystal cell, etc., and you can put stuff after too. A lot of wheels would look better with some focusing. Just a positive lens at the right distance (experiment!). If you're using multiple colors with different beam sizes/profiles you might want to address the size diffrence. If your beams are superimposed - split the beams up using a prism, this really (REALLY!) makes the Lumia more interesting.
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

  3. #3
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    Thanks for answering, I could ask for a better source. I had thought that I had heard that there was some lore about Duco model cement and lasarium.
    Tommy

    Quote Originally Posted by laserist View Post
    Laserium used plastic wheels almost exclusively, but we also used less than a watt. Sure you can put stuff between the beam and the wheel. Diffraction gratings, liquid crystal cell, etc., and you can put stuff after too. A lot of wheels would look better with some focusing. Just a positive lens at the right distance (experiment!). If you're using multiple colors with different beam sizes/profiles you might want to address the size diffrence. If your beams are superimposed - split the beams up using a prism, this really (REALLY!) makes the Lumia more interesting.

  4. #4
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    Elsa Garmire was the original inspiration for Laserium and an early partner of Ivan Dryer. There was a disk used originally for The Blue Danube that was made with clear epoxy - the best part are the bubbles- you can do nice stuff with Duco, but it's pretty soft...
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

  5. #5
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    Myths are meant to be broken
    I use Optikinetics Solar 250's and make a lot of acrylic wheels which range from hand painted abstracts to epoxy "filtering" wheels. When I was younger I couldn't get the hang of Epoxy but now 99% of the time I love the results.

    Tommy


    Quote Originally Posted by laserist View Post
    Elsa Garmire was the original inspiration for Laserium and an early partner of Ivan Dryer. There was a disk used originally for The Blue Danube that was made with clear epoxy - the best part are the bubbles- you can do nice stuff with Duco, but it's pretty soft...

  6. #6
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    Sorry, not a myth Dr. Garmire did her early work with Duco...
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

  7. #7
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    apologies I miss read that.

    Quote Originally Posted by laserist View Post
    Sorry, not a myth Dr. Garmire did her early work with Duco...

  8. #8
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    I have mostly used epoxy on plexi. As said, Duco looks nice but doesn’t hold up. Neither does epoxy, long term - I have discs I made in the 70’s that are yellowed. Modern epoxy may last longer.

    Use 5 min. Epoxy and stir it while it dries for best results. YMMV.

    These days I mostly use textured glass in various combinations. Often pairing up a heavy texture with a lightly patterned disc.

    The secret is getting the motors as slow as possible, and run them at different speeds, one for each disc.

    The Wobbulator uses mostly glass discs, magnetically mounted, with a center hole.

    HTH... Mike
    Runs with Lasers

  9. #9
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    I’m trying 3d printing in sla. Clear resin. Polymer can’t take the blue light and yelllows.

    why is yellow so easy in plastic and hard in laser!

    i had the idea to print pattens with designed optical qualities. Not enough resolution and I don’t mean diffraction patterns just fresnel and such.

  10. #10
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    I'd thought about machining Graphite and molding glass, but never went anywhere with the idea. Richard molded any number of acrylic wheels back in the day. Making a soft mold from a one of a kind piece and casting replicants in resin. I was there, but not remotely involved. Some of them looked like he added a plexiglas disk after poring the resin - I'm guessing to get a better optical quality "back surface", but I really don't know the reason. Another very cool effect was a lacquer wheel - a thin metal disk with a hex hole pattern about 1/8 inch diameter dipped in lacquer and spun slowly until the lacquer setup - essentially each hole became a small negative lens. It was used as a 2nd effect fed by a nice diffraction effect. Very pretty.
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

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