Thanks. I've done that same thing with a clear CD that you get when you buy a spindle of blank CDs. Didn't work that great. A glass tube would work much better (won't burn/turn black).
Another idea I tried was taking one of those clear CDs and mixing up some epoxy on it. Let it get tacky and then mix it some more so there's a random texture and maybe some bubbles in it.
actually greg uses a map gas tourch- hotter i think-
he is a great member & i am lucky to live about an hour away- greg is also one very busy dude- single parent to two children ( need i say more?) IIRC they are 17 and 20 something.
I will see if gerg can find time to make a dozen of his wonderful tubes and I can add them into my LUMIA bundles. I will not up the cost of these.
LUMIA is almost 100 years old- and at first, of course, it was not done with lasers. the ONLY limitation is ones imagination.
A simple one can be made with a 1rpm clock motor and a pointer (just watch the duty/rest cycle)- smooth moving and as slow as possible make IMO the best mophing. As the laser beam is extremely spread out there is very little danger to the eyes and this also makes a LIMIA pj 'legal' for public display.
some tips use green if you are goin with a single laser- more p[ower is more betta. if combining with other colors use a very low power green- The new 515nm 26mW module I now sell is ideal - Too much green spoils the other colors and as we most all know there is no such thing as too much red or 405 -- if you want to build a pro LUMIA you can't go wrong with the TTL mini labbies I sell for AixiZ- small footprint and easy to stack the drivers on their sides as they are NOT enclosed- for very little $$ you can make a LUMIA with four colors.
check these mini out at aixiZ.com they are all indentical and thus make for a very pro looking set up.
with active cooling you can run these for a very long time.
No murder testing has yet been done with the 515s in the module form factor- they come with a poorly fitted HS that IMO should not be used- find something that is a tight fit and bigger and you very likely will have a 3vdc 525 lab that can run non -stop (I hope) the driver is alreadt wired and inside the aixiz standard module- I get 75$ each for forum friends... those not forum members or not my friends can buy them while still in stock directly from aixiz.com at $85 -- I own a few of these mini labs and really like the 180mW 638 red mine may not be typical but it makes a steady 230mW of orange/red. If you want to use 405 get the most powerful that AixiZ offers & until AixiZ gets them you can buy a powerful one in the same size from good guy techood ebay.
if you have talents you can start a LUMIA at lunch and enjoy it after dark the same day`-
motors can be slowed down with gears= BUT as your wheel gets larger the outer part move faster( slower better/faster not so good)
DC motors can be slowed by pwm power- and they are also reversable -maybe nice to have but i personally dont see the point.
my motors are 1/3 rpm and AC powered I have left one run for a week and while hot it still works fine.
there is no limit to finding cool items to use for LUMIA glass-
I include with my delux kit a textured piece of flat glass(square or sometime I make round ones) and a very nice LUMIA glass light chandeleer bulb- it is faceted and big enough to run several lasers thru it found at LOWE's and home depot in a five pack IIRC for 7$
Take a green pointer and visit thrift shops look for anything that has texture and is clear glass- candle holders- small asucers and plates- if they have one look for an old timey glass door knob these make a LUMIA that pretty much goes everywhere. stop at glass n mirrors shops and l;oo at the samples they always have to use for choosing glass for windows etc- Show them the efx with your pointer- I tell them I need scrap pieces(even small) cheap and make LUMIA for my DJ friends to shine on the wall behind him-be nice and you may get free pieces =or a better deal on a big piece- get a fairly good quality glass cutter- practice first on other glass- make your scratch of the smoothest side dont press too hard and you will get the hang of it.
I have seen motors attached to the glass in many ways- Greg likes to drill a hole thru his flat glass while I tend to use JB Weld or iron washers and strong magnets. (btw always keep magnets AWAY from galvo scanners) -
I try to stay away from plastic for lumia- especially with higher powers-
Below I have two pics of my very early attempts to make good LUMIA- aside from bits of glass you can also glue small pieces of glass diffraction gratings onto wour wheels-- good use for failed attempts to cut these down in size, I was using JB weld for these and when the laser beam hits it the beam stops for a second. n/p
For a safer LUMIA enclose it -- keeping the projected image from going where you do not want it. Foggers dont enhance LUMIA very much. In aroind 10 15 minutes our eye adjust to total darkness and thus even low power LUMIA look bright- while you are at thrift shops ask if they have any old movie screen for sale CHEEP. On one of these lower powers stiil look quite bright. They often sell these for very little due to the lack of demand- I have HUGE(8X8) one mounted to my ceiling(pull down when needed) and four small ones that pretty much makes that entire wall projector screens.
IF you have some extra$$ you can get in on my GB for the LK-PD2.
These have two LUMIA modes -one static with the R G& B going on & off and a second one with the LUMIA wheels rotating however a tad too fast for me)
go to the GB forum and find my PJ GB-click on links to see pics.(LK-PD2)
PM for LUMIA kits and motors alone- Qs about any of my GBs-
OR for an invite to the private projector social group here at LPF ---R.O.G.
I truly wish I remember where I got a few of these pics=maybe another member will chin in here- butfor the record these LUMIA PJ either DIY or store bought are not mine- the commercailly made one could be from a link the Tim gave me(Laserwizard)
These show how a pro builds and they dont get much better than this.
The first pic , of course its a 'store-bought' LUMIA IIRC was $600 plus shipping.
and as I said i cannot take ANY credit for the others- they are truly professional especially the one mounted on an Aluminum Plate- combining can be done by several ways including Knife edging and dichro mirrors- precise alignment is not at all needed by just using bounce mirrors you can get two or more lasers to hit your rotating glass. actually I made one with one motor and one round glass and had six pointers going thru it- I fashioned it so I could 'play to the music' with my fingertips on the buttons of each pointer-R-G and 405s two each- to avoid scratching up the pointers I made a 'holder' from round leather coasters.
I will see if I can find the pics of it-- for the base and motor mount I used Leggos- (sprayed them flat black in hopes they would not be recognised lol)
