- Joined
- Nov 27, 2008
- Messages
- 863
- Points
- 18
So after a bunch of messing around, I finally built my "Spiro/Lumia" projector ... I call it that because even though it has no spinning mirrors as a spiro does, the glass optic I used for the Lumia Wheel has layered pebbling that projects a spiro-like pattern, so the overall effect is that of a 3-D spiro rotating on all planes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73SduBIacI
Sorry about the low quality video, as well as my not being able to figure out how to "embed" it - I was planning on shooting a nice one outside against the house last night but it rained like crazy (still is, as a matter of fact).
The build itself is based on 3 major components, an American DJ "Groove Wheel" fixture, an Aixiz 118mW green Labbie, and a "Water-Wheel" projection optic as used in the old design ADJ Topaz fixtures. The fixture is gutted, and after drilling out a few rivets and drilling some new mounting holes, the 3RPM motor is reversed in the fixture along with its' mounting plate. A few threaded nylon bushings and some easy light machining later, the glass "Water Wheel" is mounted on the motor (slightly offset and at about a 3-4deg angle from perpendicular to give it a bit of wobble and offset rotation) andthe laser module is installed. (In this build I mounted it high on a set of machined spacers to allow the addition of a couple of LPC reds in a custom heatsink to be mounted below it in the future):
The slick part of the setup is the "Water Wheel" - unlike normal pebbled glass, the pebbles are actually layered, which projects a simple "Spiro" image. As the beam tracks across the pebbling, it gives a twisting effect which gives the illusion of the spiro patterns rotating on many different axis - VERY cool.
The final build projects a roughly 12ft X 12ft image at 10ft, and is highly visible in darkness to about 30ft X 30ft, so it is more than adequate to cover a large portion of a dance floor, etc.
The build is a simple one, and almost any enclosure/module combination can be used, as well as a motor speed of 1-6RPM (after 6RPM it gets a bit squirrelly, and the patterns are nowhere near as defined). To order the
Water Wheel", contact the parts department at American DJ (or your local ADJ distributor) and purchase part # Z-CW/REF (around $16 shipped direct, or $22 through most ADJ retailers).
The next portion of the project is to reinstall the sound activation board that controls the motors' rotation (should be pretty simple, actually) and a simple 120VAC wireless control so I can turn it on and off without having to have it located near a DMX relay pack - but that's really no big deal...
Anyone that wants to contribute ideas or recommandations to make the project better, please feel free, and if you need any pointers on how to DIY, I'm just a PM away!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73SduBIacI
Sorry about the low quality video, as well as my not being able to figure out how to "embed" it - I was planning on shooting a nice one outside against the house last night but it rained like crazy (still is, as a matter of fact).
The build itself is based on 3 major components, an American DJ "Groove Wheel" fixture, an Aixiz 118mW green Labbie, and a "Water-Wheel" projection optic as used in the old design ADJ Topaz fixtures. The fixture is gutted, and after drilling out a few rivets and drilling some new mounting holes, the 3RPM motor is reversed in the fixture along with its' mounting plate. A few threaded nylon bushings and some easy light machining later, the glass "Water Wheel" is mounted on the motor (slightly offset and at about a 3-4deg angle from perpendicular to give it a bit of wobble and offset rotation) andthe laser module is installed. (In this build I mounted it high on a set of machined spacers to allow the addition of a couple of LPC reds in a custom heatsink to be mounted below it in the future):
The slick part of the setup is the "Water Wheel" - unlike normal pebbled glass, the pebbles are actually layered, which projects a simple "Spiro" image. As the beam tracks across the pebbling, it gives a twisting effect which gives the illusion of the spiro patterns rotating on many different axis - VERY cool.
The final build projects a roughly 12ft X 12ft image at 10ft, and is highly visible in darkness to about 30ft X 30ft, so it is more than adequate to cover a large portion of a dance floor, etc.
The build is a simple one, and almost any enclosure/module combination can be used, as well as a motor speed of 1-6RPM (after 6RPM it gets a bit squirrelly, and the patterns are nowhere near as defined). To order the
Water Wheel", contact the parts department at American DJ (or your local ADJ distributor) and purchase part # Z-CW/REF (around $16 shipped direct, or $22 through most ADJ retailers).
The next portion of the project is to reinstall the sound activation board that controls the motors' rotation (should be pretty simple, actually) and a simple 120VAC wireless control so I can turn it on and off without having to have it located near a DMX relay pack - but that's really no big deal...
Anyone that wants to contribute ideas or recommandations to make the project better, please feel free, and if you need any pointers on how to DIY, I'm just a PM away!
Last edited:
) ..... part of those lights are always reflected back, cause the glass isn't AR coated (and send it for have AR coating, at least here, it's a prohibitive cost) ..... so, just place a piece of that metalized plexiglass (those "plastic safety mirrors"), rear the wheel, with little holes for left pass only the beams, in this way, also the light that become reflexed back, become reflexed another time in front (see the attached draw) ..... more crazy effect (in my tests, anyway, it work better when the wheel is not too much, how i can say, "rugged" ? ..... too hard patterns ..... when it's partially transparent, sorry don't know how to explain better)
