Set Up and Add Projectors

By dragging and dropping laser projectors into your 3D assembly layout, you can perform simulations on the laser data. These simulations tell you:

• Laser data and targets in the range for each laser projector
• If the current angle and position of the projector relative to the tool allows the projector to reach the correct parts of the tool
• If anything is in between the projector and the tool
• The best path for the projector to minimize flicker

Projector Fundamentals

The following are some basic concepts to keep in mind as you work with projectors:

• A projector moves small mirrors to change the angle of the laser beam.
• Each projector sends only one beam at a time.
• It can only move the beam in straight lines so curves must be approximated using points.
• It follows a list of points to move the beam to the correct locations. When it gets to the last point, it starts again repeating the process.
• When the human eye sees the laser beam moving from point to point over and over multiple times a second, it perceives the single beam to be a complete shape formed by the connection of each point.
• The more points the projector must travel, the greater the tendency for the image to flicker. The projector cannot redraw the shape as many times per second as an image containing fewer points.
• Adding more points to replicate a curve more accurately reflects the actual shape of the original curve and increases the accuracy of the laser projection.