DIY laser projection system for layup assistance

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#1

Hello guys,

I have started thinking about the necessary equipment for a project that I am about to tackle. One of the critical aspects is being able to accurately position the plies over the complex geometry so I am seriously considering using a laser projection system to speed up and ease the hand layup process.

I have asked some of the manufacturers of this type of systems but the prices are out of my budget so I have decided to take the DIY route using a laser projector originally conceived for spectacles. This projector should have an ILDA interface to be able to connect it to a PC and project whatever you want (cheaper projectors without this interface only allow to show some predefined animations). The cheapest ones cost about 500€.

The procedure that I have in mind is setting in the CAD program the perspective view and the viewpoint in the position of the projector and export the plane view of the 3D outline of each ply from this point in dwg format. Then I import this dwg in the ILDA file generator and I load it in the laser.

What do you think of this approach? Anybody with experience in a similar project?

#2

It would work. You’d have to test to make sure your part size accurately loads into the laser projector, AND outputs the correct size. However, how would you know, from one layer to another, everything is spot on location? I think ply projectors also account for the shape of the mold it’s projecting on. ie: A circle on a flat surface will have a different shape than a circle projected onto a stepped sidewall.

#3

Yes, I may need to scale things a bit or tune the perspective angle in the CAD view to get the right dimensions. About the correct placement, I am not projecting the flat pattern. I am going to project the outline of the 3D surface that forms each ply when laid on the mold.

Things are moving forward. I have found some cheap (200€) ILDA-compatible lasers with SD card reader so it will be able to operate in a standalone configuration. I have also found a freeware program that allows me to convert .dxf files from the CAD program to ILDA files for projection.