Building a simple shutter - beginner question

[david.eisenberg]

Hello,

I want to construct a simple shutter (leaf or diaphragm) for a 5cm lamp aperture, and to interface it to a computer so I can program the shutter behavior over time.

I have never done such things before, but I'm eager to learn. Can you please advise me on where I can find mechanical parts to construct the shutter - of course, such parts that can be connected to the computer (by USB?) and programmed by LabView.

Many thanks in advance,

David Eisenberg

Austin, Texas

[Joel-P]

Hello David,

The shutter will probably not need a lot of power, and I think that a servo motor would be your best bet for control. You can control a servo motor with a PWM signal which can be provided by a counter output on the NI USB-6009. For the mechanical side, I have had trouble finding a reasonably priced aperture which could be modified for this implementation.

Otherwise, if you can find any pre-packaged shutter which includes the drive motor you should be able to control it with either a PWM signal or using an analog voltage depending on the inputs to the device.

For raw materials I am a fan of McMaster-Carr for raw materials and components such as small gears, pins, sheets of plexi glass, etc.

I found a DIY on how to build a mechanical iris via instructables here: How to make a 12 leaves Mechanical Irirs

I hope that this information helps, and good luck on your project!

Cheers,

Joel

[david.eisenberg]

Thank you very much for the detailed answer!  I'll start digging into it...

David

[Buechsenschuetz]

Edmund Optics has a shutter with a 35mm opening which is PC controlled via RS232 interface. But this thing is not cheap, the shutter costs 1567.50 EUR (and a bit more in USD). 

They also have iris diaphragms with an extra blade so that they can be closed completely with apertures up to 75mm, but you have to build the actuation system for the diaphragm yourself. However, this setup will be rather slow, it depends on the total open time of the shutter whether the opening and closing speeds will be acceptable. 

[prxcuse]

Attach a suitably sized and shaped piece of sheet aluminum to a rotary solenoid. Use a wall wart (transformer) of appropiate voltage and current for the rotary solenoid. Choose a suitable transitor and switch it with a digital out from a DAQ. Simple and cheap. BTW it's usually best to install the solenoid so that gravity takes care of the beam blocked condition.

[david.eisenberg]

Thank you all!

I'm looking into the proposed solutions, plus getting help from our electronic shop.

I'll update the thread when the problem is solved.

David