Intromission: Optical maser Spirograph

Break out your Pink Floyd albums, because information technology is time for you to have your own personal laser show. In point of fact, it cannot be emphatic enough just how much "awesome" you are acquiring outer of such an easy to build twist. Watching the patterns spiral out of this pocket-size boxful onto a large wall up is such Thomas More mesmerizing than IT really has whatsoever right to make up. Most people of the people forg whom I demonstrated this for have agreed that they could probably lookout man the laser patterns dance all day without acquiring board. I can only when imagine how your cat might respond. There is only unitary way for you to find! You're going to have to build one.

Step 1: Go Get Stuff

You leave need:

- (x4) Paint storage cups
- (x3) 1" globose mirrors
- Labor Envelopment (7x5x3")
- (x3) 1.5-3VDC Motorial
- (x3) 25-Ohm 3-Watt Rheostat
- Write out-Style Laser Pointer
- DPDT Toggle
- 2 "AA" Barrage fire Holder
- 2 "AAA" Battery Holder
- (x3) Control Knobs
- "AA" Alkaline Batteries (4-Multitude)
- "Abdominal aortic aneurysm" Alkaline Batteries (4-Pack)
- Motley zip ties


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Step 2: Mark

Lay a motive flat on top of one of the paint storage loving cup lide. Make two Simon Marks along each side of the motor.

Repeat for the remaining cardinal pairs of motors and cups.

Step 3: Drill

Drill through with complete of the marks that you have just made with a 1/8" drilling bit.

Step 4: Vigour Tie

Using the holes that you consume but trained, steadfastly zip tie the motors to the rouge cup lids such that the gears stick out over the adjoin of the cup.

Step 5: Attach Mirrors

Red-hot glue the mirrors to the center of each of the motor's gear. Try to center the mirror, but father't worry about acquiring it completely errorless. It is these modest imperfections that will later help mold the spirograph's unique expose.

Step 6: Attach Wires

Solder a redness wire to the last of the causative labeled "+" and black wire to the terminal labeled "-".

Footprint 7: Insert

Hot glue the motors into the center of the eccentric so much that two are adjacent and one is opposite and centered between them. Basically, the laser will late need to ricoche between them in a zig-zag. That aforesaid, it helps to give birth this entire arrangement turned at a thin tilt within the case.

Ill-use 8: Take Obscure

Using two duo of pliers, gently twist and wobble the silver optical maser rectifying tube head (and dining table) self-governing from the optical maser penitentiary's black casing.

Step 9: Wires

Cut 6" of reddened conducting wire. Expose 1" of this wire and roll IT round the gold ring on the optical maser diode assembly's body and solder the ring closed to make contact

Carefully solder a 6" black electrify to the true terminal of a small shallow mount part (assuming the two surface jump on transistors are pointing up) along the lateral of the board opposite the switch to bypass having to squeeze the switch to activate the optical maser.

Step 10: Pots

Solder 6" red wires the true terminus lug of the 25 Ohm rheostat potentiometers.

Solder the red motor wires to the center terminals of from each one potentiometer, such that IT is 1 motor to united pot.

Whole step 11: Switch

Solder a violent wire from either of the battery holders to one of the center pins on the switch. Solder the other red wire from the other battery holder to the side by side pin.

Next, solder the three free red wires from the potentiometers to one of the outside pins adjacent to the red wire from the AA battery holder.

Finally, solder the red wire from the optical maser connected to the red wires from the potentiometers.

Step 12: Ground Wires

Solder the pitch-dark wire from the laser to the undiluted electrify from the AAA battery holder.

Solder the black wires from the motors to the black wire from the AA battery holder.

Step 13: Cut

Saw absent a 2" - 3" section of the event where you are expecting the Red River laser to move through after IT bounces off the closing mirror.

Step 14: Recitation

On 1 side of the lid, make three equally space marks at 1.25", 2.5" and 3.75".

Drill through these marks with a 3/8" drill bit.

Consider fashioning secondary 1/8" holes for the pot mounting pill roughly 3/16" to the left of each hole. These will allow the pot to set up unconditional and keep IT from spinning erst mounted in the case.

Step 15: Mount

Slip in your potentiometers into the case and securely secure them in place with their mounting nut.

Step 16: Batteries

Insert batteries into the battery holder. You should forthwith be able to turn everything on and sour using the switch.

Step 17: Switch

Drill a 1/4" hole on the side of the case where you expect your potentiometers to live (ideally opposite from where you sawed away a section of the guinea pig).

Mount the power switch into this hole.

Maltreat 18: Position and Gum

Hot glue the laser the top of the remaining paint computer memory cup.

Position it inside the case such that is will ricoche off all threesome mirrors then offer through the section of the casing that you have punctured inaccurate.

Once you are content with its put across, glue the loving cup in place inside the shell.

Step 19: Fine Tune

Stick your hand or a objet d'art of composition in front of the hole in the side of the case. Swivel the motors and the optical maser until the envision appears centralized.

If it is hitting the side walls of the grammatical case, you may want to consider widening the hole.

Step 20: Make clean It Up

Zip ties all of the wires neatly together so that when you close the case they won't make up going every last over the place and can't interfere with the motors spinning or the laser beam sunshiny.

Warranted the battery holders inside of the case.

Step 21: Casing Closed

Put out the palpebra onto the case and fortified it in place with the mounting screws.

Step 22: Finishing Reach into

Affix your pointer knobs to the potentiometers.

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