Project: Syncronous Triangulation
This machine acts as the "source mirror" for our Syncronous Triangulations experiment, which means it is the mirror through which the initial laser beam is shown. The robot arms can position the mirrors in relation to one another to create (relatively) perfect triangles, but one additional axis is needed to aim the laser beam at a precise and changing angle to create a continuously bouncing beam of light.
The machine consists of one 16" x 16" front-face mirror with a small slit lasercut from its center, an acrylic track, a high-power laser pointer, a 3D-printed carriage with 6 ABEC bearings, a 3-to-1 ratio gear (for higher resolution angle changes), a stepper motor, a stepper-motor driver, a microcontroller (Arduino) and a NIMh battery.