simple dmd control board design

Arian Aghababaie

Hi,

New to the forum. I'm writing to ask for some general advice - and my knowledge of DMDs is very much as a beginner.

I'm looking to utilise a DMD in binary mode which can be controlled via a computer VGA cable i.e. as a projector would, utilising a bright white LED as the light source. Is it possible to design a simple and compact control board to take computer video input and relay this to the DMD for simple mirror on/off utilisation?

I've already been in touch with pretty much all of the design houses recommended by TI but they're only offering off the shelf modules, whilst I would quite like to minimise cost in the design of what should be a relatively simple system (by my low level understanding of the technology)

I welcome any help you can offer

over 13 years ago

0 Sanjeev over 13 years ago

TI__Mastermind 30875 points

Hi Arian,

Welcome to DLP&MEMS forum.

My suggestion to you would be first try playing or do the proof-of-concept with evaluation kits we offer and the proceed with hardware optimization to bring down the cost. Unfortunately the DLP Evaluations kits we offer doesn't come with Analog VGA signal processing. The commerical off-the-shelf projector which takes in VGA analog signal are suitable for video projection kind of application. I presume you don't have any resons for opting a DVI digital output from the PC. In this regard, I suggest you to have a look at DLP LightCrafter(TM) platform, it is simple yet complete module itself where it allows you to program to the binary image level. Here is the link you can get the more details on the kit http://www.ti.com/analog/docs/analogsplash.tsp?contentId=143194&DCMP=dlplightcrafter-en&HQS=dlplightcrafter.

If you have fixed number of binary patterns and know frame rate then you don't even need a PC to generate the realtime video instead you can program images via USB and store them on the non-volatile memory. It helps later on to reload the binary images and play them back without even worrying about sending the video data via VGA or DVI interface of the PC graphics card.

Please feel free to revert us back if anything not clear.

Regards,

Sanjeev

0 Arian Aghababaie over 13 years ago in reply to Sanjeev

Prodigy 70 points

Hi Sanjeev,

Thanks for your reply. The LightCrafter seems pretty good. However, is it relatively simple to change the light source to an external LED?

Kind Regards,

Arian

0 Sanjeev over 13 years ago in reply to Arian Aghababaie

TI__Mastermind 30875 points

Hi Arian,

Do you want to remove entire light engine i.e., RGB LEDs and then shine light from a external LED? If so, yes, I think so, you should be able to do the modification. Refer to the online material (user guide) about the kit to understand how to incident light. On www.ti.com/mems you can find TI recongnised design house who could be able to assit you in custom light source / optics design. Also note that while doing modification any damage to the kit is at your own risk.

Regards,

Sanjeev

0 Arian Aghababaie over 13 years ago in reply to Sanjeev

Prodigy 70 points

Thanks Sanjeev,

We're actually interested in replacing one or more of the LEDs within the light engine and using the light engine itself as the optical arrangement is ideal. But we're unsure of the dimensions of the LED and substrate that it's on i.e the whole space used by each LED. Could you possibly find that out for us? Also, whether the optics have any UV coating? We've attempted to contact Youngs but without any response.

Thanks,

Arian

0 Divya Reddy over 13 years ago in reply to Arian Aghababaie

TI__Expert 4500 points

Hi Arian,

Below are the part number for Lightcrafter LEDs,

Red OSRAM OSTAR Compact LED - LE A Q9WN
Green OSRAM OSTAR Compact LED - L CG H9RN
Blue OSRAM OSTAR Compact LED - LE B Q9WN

You might have to contact OSRAM for data sheets.

The following E2E posts might be helpful,

A look inside the Young Optics' Light Engine in LightCrafter

Changing optics on DLP LightCrafter

Regards,

Divya

0 Arian Aghababaie over 13 years ago in reply to Divya Reddy

Prodigy 70 points

HI Divya/Sanjeev,

Do you have a detailed schematic of the Young Optics light engine? So we can see clearly the size of lenses and LEDs for space when it comes to changing things around?

Kind Regards,

Arian

0 Divya Reddy over 13 years ago in reply to Arian Aghababaie

TI__Expert 4500 points

Hi Arian,

Sorry, we do not have the schematics available from YOI.

Regards,

Divya

0 Arian Aghababaie over 13 years ago in reply to Divya Reddy

Prodigy 70 points

Hi Divya,

Thanks for your speedy reply.

Any chance you could ask Young for a schematic? It would be incredibly useful.

Kind Regards,

Arian

0 Divya Reddy over 13 years ago in reply to Arian Aghababaie

TI__Expert 4500 points

Hi Arian,

We understand your needs but unfortunately we do not have access to this information as well.

Regards,

Divya

DLP®︎ products

DLP products forum

simple dmd control board design

A look inside the Young Optics' Light Engine in LightCrafter

Changing optics on DLP LightCrafter