Pulsated LD

[Electro132]

Hi,

ok, here we go.

I want to build a pulsated LD with tone and volume adjustment logs (full circle motion) which will run on at least 3 V with an increase maximum current output through the use of Darlington pairs. Besides that, i'll need an IC chip that is capable of having data placed on the current just before it gets sent out through the pulsated LD.

Thanks

 

[davenn]

Electro

We have no idea what you are referring to ... what is a LD ?

Look, before we start on another 30+ posts and still don't know what you are wanting to achieve...
sit down, think about your idea, then write it out clearly step by step what you want to do

1) what is this signal, what is its source?
a) is it a voltage or current source?
b) is it a level DC, a varying DC, an AC or a pulsed signal?
c) is it from a sensor? what type of sensor?

2) what are you wanting to do with this signal ?
a) amplify it and record it to a chart recorder?
b) convert it to a digital signal and datalog it on a computer?
c) how do you want to get the signal from the sensor/amplifier to the recording system?

there's just some of the things off the top of my head that you need to consider in your plan that you put to us

We all want to help ya mate. BUT you have to do your part and tell us exactly what you are wanting to achieve
We have several awesome circuit design guys on this forum ( no I'm not one of them)
but they need an understandable plan from you so they can put some ideas together

OK ?

cheers
Dave

 

[(*steve*)]

LD = laser diode?

Pulstated with volume and tone?

Do you mean you want an amplifier with volume and tone controls, and the output is used to modulate a laser beam by (presumably) some form of PWM?

Full circle motion? You want controls that keep turning? What is supposed to happen after they go full circle? Is it like a pot, that it goes from min to max then abruptly back to min again, or more like a rotary encoder which keeps turning, but the volume stops going up after some point?

 

[davenn]

hey steve

well maybe laser diode .... he was asked that in the previous thread

D

 

[Electro132]

Electro

We have no idea what you are referring to ... what is a LD ?

Look, before we start on another 30+ posts and still don't know what you are wanting to achieve...
sit down, think about your idea, then write it out clearly step by step what you want to do

1) what is this signal, what is its source?
a) is it a voltage or current source?
b) is it a level DC, a varying DC, an AC or a pulsed signal?
c) is it from a sensor? what type of sensor?

2) what are you wanting to do with this signal ?
a) amplify it and record it to a chart recorder?
b) convert it to a digital signal and datalog it on a computer?
c) how do you want to get the signal from the sensor/amplifier to the recording system?

there's just some of the things off the top of my head that you need to consider in your plan that you put to us

We all want to help ya mate. BUT you have to do your part and tell us exactly what you are wanting to achieve
We have several awesome circuit design guys on this forum ( no I'm not one of them)
but they need an understandable plan from you so they can put some ideas together

OK ?

cheers
Dave

Ok. It is a voltage source that emits a pulsated signal from a Laser diode. I want to amplify it and be able to send the data through walls to the receiver.

 

[Electro132]

LD = laser diode?

Pulstated with volume and tone?

Do you mean you want an amplifier with volume and tone controls, and the output is used to modulate a laser beam by (presumably) some form of PWM?

Full circle motion? You want controls that keep turning? What is supposed to happen after they go full circle? Is it like a pot, that it goes from min to max then abruptly back to min again, or more like a rotary encoder which keeps turning, but the volume stops going up after some point?

Yes LD stands for Laser Diode. It should have volume and tone controls to modulate the output.

Yes like a rotary encoder where the volume goes from low to high and drops then as you continue turning it in the same direction the volume picks up again starting from low to high.

 

[(*steve*)]

Ok. It is a voltage source that emits a pulsated signal from a Laser diode. I want to amplify it and be able to send the data through walls to the receiver.

The signal comes FROM a laser diode? or the signal is to be emitted BY a laser diode?

Yes LD stands for Laser Diode. It should have volume and tone controls to modulate the output.

Volume and tone have almost nothing to do with modulation

Yes like a rotary encoder where the volume goes from low to high and drops then as you continue turning it in the same direction the volume picks up again starting from low to high.

That's NOT like a rotary encoder.

It almost sounds like you're trying to be obtuse.

I'm not going to post again on this topic until you can specify your signal source *EXACTLY* and what it is you're trying to do *EXACTLY*

 

[Electro132]

The signal comes FROM a laser diode? or the signal is to be emitted BY a laser diode?

The signal is to be emitted by a laser diode. What is the difference? A laser diode can only do one thing - Emit.

Volume and tone have almost nothing to do with modulation

That's NOT like a rotary encoder.
It almost sounds like you're trying to be obtuse.

I'm not going to post again on this topic until you can specify your signal source *EXACTLY* and what it is you're trying to do *EXACTLY*

[/QUOTE]

I suppose. Ok how about this - the LD uses 2 functions to drive it:

1) One is used to make the LD brighter or dimmer - this enables the data to be marked more larger or smaller into the surface of wood .
2) The other function makes the LD pulse slower or faster - This should make the data mark deeply onto the surface (e.g. wood) of the material or just faintly.

That is what i was trying to do. So the voltage source is about 3V and taht is fed into an IC which leads out to the LD connected with its 2 functions i mentioned above.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

That's a very poor description of your project.

Start from the basics. What is the overall aim of the project?

What is the nature of this "data"? How, and why, do you want to "mark" it into the surface of some wood?

What is the nature of the signal? Is it an audio signal? You mention volume and tone controls. Are you trying to record an audio signal onto a piece of wood?

Really, we have no idea what you're trying to do. You need to start from the beginning and explain the whole project.

And you need to answer ALL of these questions, at a MINIMUM.

 

[davenn]

electro

if you dont answer the questions I posed in the second post in this thread
and answer them clearly I will also lock this thread

its starting to get really frustrating trying to get anything from you that makes sense
Please answer those questions as fully as possible
anything other than a good response and the thread will be closed OK!!??

Dave

 

[BobK]

Electro,

Are you so embarrassed about the nature of your project that you do not wish to disclose it, or do you think you have invented earth shattering technology and want to keep it secret? In either case, we cannot help with the cryptic descriptions you keep giving.



Bob

 

[Electro132]

That's a very poor description of your project.

Start from the basics. What is the overall aim of the project?

The overall aim is to make a wireless image engraver with memory that can read and write.

What is the nature of this "data"? How, and why, do you want to "mark" it into the surface of some wood?

What is the nature of the signal? Is it an audio signal? You mention volume and tone controls. Are you trying to record an audio signal onto a piece of wood?

I don't know what the nature of the signal is, but i'm pretty sure it is used for images. The volume and tone is just what i call it because it is the easiest for me to remember them. But in truth volume makes the signal get wider, and the tone should either compress the signal or expand it.

Really, we have no idea what you're trying to do. You need to start from the beginning and explain the whole project.

And you need to answer ALL of these questions, at a MINIMUM.

Ok, The image from a computer should be saved into the memory of the wireless engraver which then is presented out using an LD using pulse per second waves. In addition, you can customize the image presented by making it large or small using the 'volume' controller.

Also if you want to customize the image further (such as engraving the image deeper into the surface so it won't get rubbed off easily) then using the other 'tone' controller should make the image darker / lighter.

I hope i answered it correctly. It's already hard as it is to explain and i don't want to have a bad rep on your forum man. Cheers

 

[(*steve*)]

You need to start by defining your printer.

Let's assume it is a laser cutter.

You can probably get a laser cutter with inbuilt storage for jobs.

Now you need to determine what interfaces it has. Let's assume that it accepts a serial input.

Now you need a way to do serial over a wireless interface. That's pretty easy, you can pick up stuff to do that (and for an ethernet connection I'd just use wifi.)

Then to that you interface a PC with the necessary software to turn an "image" into a print job for your laser cutter.

If this isn't what you want, then you need to tell me what specifically is wrong with this and we can try to converge on a solution.

Please don't use words with accepted meanings (like "volume" and "tone") to refer to things that do not refer to any accepted meaning of the terms.

 

[Electro132]

You need to start by defining your printer.

Let's assume it is a laser cutter.

You can probably get a laser cutter with inbuilt storage for jobs.

Now you need to determine what interfaces it has. Let's assume that it accepts a serial input.

Now you need a way to do serial over a wireless interface. That's pretty easy, you can pick up stuff to do that (and for an ethernet connection I'd just use wifi.)

Then to that you interface a PC with the necessary software to turn an "image" into a print job for your laser cutter.

If this isn't what you want, then you need to tell me what specifically is wrong with this and we can try to converge on a solution.

Please don't use words with accepted meanings (like "volume" and "tone") to refer to things that do not refer to any accepted meaning of the terms.

Ok, so which interfaces can i use that will only allow the device to receive the images and not be powered up as it is plugged into the computer? Because i need the image to be saved in order for the engraver to show the image, I can only think of usb's doing this plus they have the ability to transmit power at 5v to power up devices.

So i'm thinking if it is possible to cut out the 5v transmission and just keep the usb with its ability of transferring data then that would be great.

I drew up a draft plan just for further clarity. Any questions feel free to ask me.

 

[davenn]

what you are really after is a computer numerical control (CNC) system
the image doesn't need to go anywhere near the laser etcher
the computer controls the laser directly

Electro, considering the little skill you have shown thus far. This is a project that is way way out of your league ... hell, its a way out of my league
its nowhere near as simple as you envision

what you are really wanting to achieve is a VERY complex system, which is going to require serious programming as well as mechanical, electronics design and building skills none of which you possess

cheers
Dave

 

[(*steve*)]

Not so difficult.

My idea was based on a project I'm *very* peripherally associated with where an $11,000 laser cutter is being set up. Technically it can have its jobs sent via the internet (although for safety among other reasons) someone will need to be there to press the "go" button!

 

[Electro132]

Not so difficult.

My idea was based on a project I'm *very* peripherally associated with where an $11,000 laser cutter is being set up. Technically it can have its jobs sent via the internet (although for safety among other reasons) someone will need to be there to press the "go" button!

Yes, but this is not so complicated. I mean here's the questions i did my research on:

1) Can a LD have a driver controller attached which controls how how bright/ dim it will go? This is dependent on the current and voltage being allowed through the VR.

2) If so, Can it be possible to attach another controller which controls how fast the pulses/ blinks go? On normal LED's i think they use this for strobe lights as well but it is possible for LD's to use.

3) Can an LD pulse signal contain data? If so, what IC is there to use and where can i get one? I know that EEPROM somewhat stores commands which can run the image but i think there are some IC out there that can store images up to megabytes have the ability to keep them there even if the device is turned off.

I've really put some effort into building this. Please help me build it.

 

[Electro132]

what you are really after is a computer numerical control (CNC) system
the image doesn't need to go anywhere near the laser etcher
the computer controls the laser directly

I know which type of Laser etcher you are referring to. it is the one that you load an image or design into and it automatically draws it out with accurate precision. This project is not like that.

In this project, you load the image into the device and the full image then gets projected out using LD pulses. Completely different. In the first one, the laser etcher starts drawing from one point of the drawing. In this project, the LD starts etching the whole image, not from a point. It is alot quicker than the first.

 

[(*steve*)]

How is a laser diode going to engrave the image?

You realise that a laser diode doesn't form an image all by itself. You need all sorts of stuff to either vector or raster draw the image.

 

[davenn]

How is a laser diode going to engrave the image?

You realise that a laser diode doesn't form an image all by itself. You need all sorts of stuff to either vector or raster draw the image.

which is what Im trying to infer ... its not as straightforward and easy as electro thinks it is

Dave