My 3 mirror RC  spiral graph

daguin said:

I'm about 60-70% done with mine.  I am using 25 Ohm pots and just discovered that they will NOT stop the motors (12V).  I'm going to have to put in a couple of switches tomorrow.  Then about the only things left will be the laser/heat sink and the fan.  Oh yeah, I've yet to figure out how I'm going to get the power into the box.

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

Dave, how are you guys attaching the pot to these motors? Are you just wiring the wiper of the pot to the motor or do you go through a transistor? An ideal method would be to attach the wiper of a 1 or 10K pot to the base of a darlington transistor. Then run the motor off the emitter of the transistor. You can also run the emitter through a relay so you can reverse the direction of the motor. It would also help to add something around a 1uF cap to the emitter of the transistor to common as well. This should give a very smooth/linear control throughout the run of the pot.

I really like the photo above of the 405nm abstract, very pretty stuff!

docjohn said:

Hi Ace:

    Does your laser beam hit the square mirror first or last? I wasn't sure.

Click to expand...

It actually works both ways, but since the mirrors are horizontal, I used the square mirror to shine the shapes on the ceiling.  

joebone said:

how do yall connect your mirrors to the tiny motor shaft... so far all my attempts leave the mirror vibrating really really bad!

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Well, I use a mixture of hot glue, and super glue to adhere the mirror to the shaft, but the glue is supposed to grab at the small gear at teh end of the shaft. I used hot glue at first, then carefully found the center mark by being very slick.   Then I remove it, and it has formed into the shape of the shaft and the gear, then I apply a little more hot glue mixed with a little super glue and it bonds where it needs to be.  Or maybe I'm just lucky.  

*Patients is a virtue.  

Sean Harrison said:

Now do it with 51 mirrors on motors

Nice Work [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

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Who says I wont stop at 4?  [smiley=evil.gif]

Haven't got around to the 4th tonight, spent 3 hours with Daguin The Great.  

DJZ said:

[quote author=daguin link=1220502809/0#5 date=1220508559]I'm about 60-70% done with mine.  I am using 25 Ohm pots and just discovered that they will NOT stop the motors (12V).  I'm going to have to put in a couple of switches tomorrow.  Then about the only things left will be the laser/heat sink and the fan.  Oh yeah, I've yet to figure out how I'm going to get the power into the box.

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

Dave, how are you guys attaching the pot to these motors? Are you just wiring the wiper of the pot to the motor or do you go through a transistor? An ideal method would be to attach the wiper of a 1 or 10K pot to the base of a darlington transistor. Then run the motor off the emitter of the transistor. You can also run the emitter through a relay so you can reverse the direction of the motor. It would also help to add something around a 1uF cap to the emitter of the transistor to common as well. This should give a very smooth/linear control throughout the run of the pot.

I really like the photo above of the 405nm abstract, very pretty stuff![/quote]


I semi understand where your coming from, but you should post a vivid picture so I could build the circuitry from purchased parts from Radio Shack! ;D

DJZ said:

[quote author=daguin link=1220502809/0#5 date=1220508559]I'm about 60-70% done with mine.  I am using 25 Ohm pots and just discovered that they will NOT stop the motors (12V).  I'm going to have to put in a couple of switches tomorrow.  Then about the only things left will be the laser/heat sink and the fan.  Oh yeah, I've yet to figure out how I'm going to get the power into the box.
Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

Dave, how are you guys attaching the pot to these motors? Are you just wiring the wiper of the pot to the motor or do you go through a transistor? An ideal method would be to attach the wiper of a 1 or 10K pot to the base of a darlington transistor. Then run the motor off the emitter of the transistor. You can also run the emitter through a relay so you can reverse the direction of the motor. It would also help to add something around a 1uF cap to the emitter of the transistor to common as well. This should give a very smooth/linear control throughout the run of the pot.
I really like the photo above of the 405nm abstract, very pretty stuff![/quote]

You DO know that I'm a speech teacher, right?  

I'm wiring everything "straight."  (25ohm rheostats, micro lever switches to turn off 2 of the motors, a double throw rocker switch for the reversing motor, and a rocker for the power switch)  I still have to wire the fan and laser in.  I was figuring out how to bring power into the box, when Ace challenged me with the idea of battery power.  After I get the fan and laser/heat sink in, I'll look to see what I can still fit into the box.  It's going to start getting pretty tight in there  Battery power for the laser won't be much of a problem (although it adds another switch), but I don't know how much battery I'm going to need for all three motors and the fan (12V)

Peace,
dave

wow thats a nice set of speed controls you have there

I'll try to draw up a schematic tonight or this weekend and post it. It is very simple to build with radio shack parts and will give a much more linear control over the speed of the motors.

Ace82 said:

[quote author=DJZ link=1220502809/0#16 date=1220577217][quote author=daguin link=1220502809/0#5 date=1220508559]I'm about 60-70% done with mine.  I am using 25 Ohm pots and just discovered that they will NOT stop the motors (12V).  I'm going to have to put in a couple of switches tomorrow.  Then about the only things left will be the laser/heat sink and the fan.  Oh yeah, I've yet to figure out how I'm going to get the power into the box.

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

Dave, how are you guys attaching the pot to these motors? Are you just wiring the wiper of the pot to the motor or do you go through a transistor? An ideal method would be to attach the wiper of a 1 or 10K pot to the base of a darlington transistor. Then run the motor off the emitter of the transistor. You can also run the emitter through a relay so you can reverse the direction of the motor. It would also help to add something around a 1uF cap to the emitter of the transistor to common as well. This should give a very smooth/linear control throughout the run of the pot.

I really like the photo above of the 405nm abstract, very pretty stuff![/quote]


I semi understand where your coming from, but you should post a vivid picture so I could build the circuitry from purchased parts from Radio Shack!  ;D[/quote]

Ok, I threw together a rather crude schematic. Most, if not all, of these parts are available at radio shack. This will just give you a very nice, linear, control over the motor. I threw in the DPDT relay just as a way to reverse the direction of the motor, it can also just be a DPDT switch. If the TIP31 transistor isn't available, radio shack usually has the TIP122, either way it needs to be an NPN transistor. Hope this helps!