My project is to build a FTIR surface that is at roughly waist height (800mm high), and can be easily dismantled for transportation.
The construction of the table took place with great donations of time and material from a family friend.
Step 1 - Cutting the materials
I decided to use a mix of chipboard and MDF for the construction of the table. Chipboard because it is light, and MDF because there was a lot lying around.
Next I needed to measure up the acrylic onto the MDF. I’m using 500x400x6mm acrylic from RS-MEDIA. It’s not as thick as I’d like, but its the thickest available from RS, and the thickest I could find in the UK online stores.
I also purchased some aluminum edging, to hold the acrylic inside the MDF, and to act as a baffle for the IR light.
Next up, I needed to cut the MDF to hold the acrylic, and my LED array. By using a router, it was possible to use only 1 sheet of MDF to construct the acrylic holder.
On the reverse of the top-piece, four edges were glued and screwed on, giving a lip for the top-piece to rest against the edges on.
With the top completed, the bottom of the table needed to be cut. I’d already measured (roughly) with my projector, and knew that there was no way I could fit the projector I own inside the table itself, so an extra shelf needed to be cut to support the projector.
Step 2. Putting it all together
Next up was the construction of a plinth, to hold the bottom of the table off the floor. This adds to the height of the table, uses less wood, and also gives a lip that you can get your toes under if you want to stand really close to the table.
Now it was necessary to add a lip to the top of the bottom-piece. This was to give the sides of the table something to rest against, to prevent them from collapsing inward.
With the top and bottom completed, the sides could now be added in, and bolted together. These bolts are removeable, and allow the sides to come apart. The sides simply sit on the bottom, and the top sits on the sides.
Add the other two sides
Bolt it all together
Step 3. Projecting an image
With everything set up, its time to put on a temporary diffusion surface, and test out the projector.
A quick test with Ryan Vs Dorkman 2
A temporary mirror and magazine setup
Current build time
To get this far, its taken 5 days of evening builds, about 4hrs per night. 1 day was spent planning the construction, and another day planning the optical angles for the projector.
Problems
The projected image is currently keystoning. My projector offers no correction for this, and there doesnt appear to be any software for OSX that does either.
