Curved line projection

[lasergeek]

I built my own laser projector recently, thanks largely to posts I've read on this forum. When I project a basic 2 point line that is either horizontal, vertical or at a 45 degree angle, it is perfectly straight. If I project a line of any other angle it exhibits a certain amount of curvature to it. It is more noticeable the greater the line length. This makes sense as the galvo controlling the shorter axis component of the line is able to get to it's location faster.

My question is, is there any way to deal with this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cyparagon]

They're either inherently poor quality, or require tuning. Perhaps some of both. Tuning is not easy or quick, especially if it is your first time.

Here is a tutorial

 

[lasergeek]

Thanks for the reply Cyparagon. I'm using PT-20K's from spacelas.com. I was assured they would come factory tuned and are supposed to be stable for "years" of service so this is a bit disappointing if it is in fact the case. I'll go through the tuning procedure and see if that helps.

 

[Cyparagon]

Would you mind posting an image of your ILDA test pattern?

 

[lasergeek]

So I projected the ILDA pattern and it actually looked good. My problem was only when drawing my own custom lines. After reading a little more on optimization I found that breaking the line up into pieces gets rid of the problem.