Omg, the newcomers bargained all your tricks already
@Roland Meanwhile Iām continuing my journey of fucking up the whole system with my crazy ideas. This time itās the gate revision and tension arm. Iāve been able to acquire 16mm gate from Cintel telecine machine that has C-mount tube milled and also has optics to collimate lights into the flat field of the gate.
Iām looking to reengineer the transport system slightly to provide more output for my light mixing box. Also Iāve noticed that freshly announced Silbersaltz Lumiere scanner has relatively simple tension arm that measures the pressure on the film and gives ability to regulate the tension so I decided to give it a try. Now the machine is off the service for quite some time until I confirm that my ideas were legit.
The reason? Iāve noticed that with some stocks that are bent along center axis Iām not able to fine tune the focus plane to have 100% sharpness both in the center of the frame and in the corners. Which started new adventure to find out if your frame can handle alternative gate system. Iām on my way - hopefully Iāll report with success in couple of weeks.
P.S. Thank you for the āRolandās Wet Gateā .stl files. I was tempting to ask but was shy enough. Iām already printing em.
I have never encountered this problem of lack of sharpness and inability to achieve focus with film gauges between 4.75 and 16 mm. I always make sure to work with a well-stopped-down aperture in order to increase depth of field. However, this requires a very high light intensity (4 Ć 10 W). It is also important to pay attention to the lateral clamping force, which accentuates the ābowingā effect.
With 35 mm film, however, this problem can arise. I therefore made a small pressure plate whose simple weight was enough to flatten the film.
In summary, for those who may not clearly visualize the process: the film is guided by the MGM5 rails along the entire length of the pressure plate. Before the gate, a metal shaft applies pressure by its own weight to the top of the image and flattens it. When I designed this part, I had thought I would need one shaft before the image and another after it. In my case, a single shaft was enough.
@roland Such a clever design trick, Iāll probably design similar assembly to test the difference. I do have enough light to stop down the aperture on my BW gate (white light, 40W equivalent) but with new narrowband ECN gate itās becomes harder and Iām operating with slightly less powerful output.
Anyways Iām just curious person and testing things myself to get to the point where Iām confident in result and repeatability. Also Iām adding color touchscreen display just to make it look fancier)
Roland I would like to know the type for some of the components that are not in the drawings. 1) the potentiometers in the control box. 2) the switches in the control box. 3) the type of the LED lighting 4) the heatsink for the LED. 5) the type of the mosfet flash (led driver). 6) the type of the BAUMER laser, especially if it is NPN or PNP. 7) the type of Linear Rail Carriage at the Potence eclatee.
Also if you can find the file for 3D-printed bracket to connect parts 2 and 3 movement of the camera will be usefull.
I have started printing the parts with ASA printing material which gives an excellent result. Iāve also ordered most of the stuff and Iām also looking into whether to use the same one lens that Rolland uses or the Schneider-kreuznach app-component hm mc 4.0/45mm, or try the TTArtisan APS-C 40mm F2.8 MACRO. As a camera, I want to get the same one as Rollandās for compatibility without conversions in the capture program. I am waiting for some clarifications from Rolland about some components as well as the program for the full operation of the scanner. Also after the completion of construction I am thinking about some minor improvements. I am in the process of construction.
Heat sink 58 Ć 58 Ć 30 mm. I couldnāt find any more on AliExpress, so I think weāll have to go with a 60 Ć 60 Ć 20 instead; the size shouldnāt be a problem. Mine always stays cold, even after intensive use. However, the diodes should not be left on continuously, as in that case the heating on the plastic side becomes too significant. I left gaps between the heat sink and the plastic to allow air to circulate.
Laser: PNP or NPN doesnāt make much difference, but choose PNP.
No, sorry, itās gone. But if youāre having trouble drawing such a simple part yourself, I have to wonder. Itās a cube with 4 holes on 2 faces and a chamfer thatās only there to save material and, incidentally, for aesthetics. And once youāve drawn it, make it available to the other users :-).
You wonāt be able to put TTArtisan as itās designed for APSC sensor and has different mount. Most of the industrial cameras have C-mount so the lens should be appropriate. Schneider lenses arenāt cheap, but you can get any enlarger lens and use it. Nikkor EL series are affordable and wonāt make such a difference with APOs. Iāve used cheap 50mm lens on M39 mount successfully here.
Yes I know. And I agree with your thoughts. But TTArtiscan m43 MFT mount with adapter to c mount may be it is a cheap but reliable solution for 1-1.1 " sensor with some interesting features e.x macro. Just as a thought because I know exist many difficulties with mount distance. Also i have test nikkor 50 m39 with good results. But first i will use the Schneider Lens.
What about paying a little amount to @Roland so he can be motivated to share for once and for all the steps to build this scanner?
The information is here I know but it is all over and only the creator can guide us well to build it appropriately. Please Roland, think about it. So you will only have to sit down once, write down everything, post it once and thatās it.
I donāt think putting the articles back in the right order is an insurmountable difficulty; it just takes the willingness to do it. If someone wants to take on creating an assembly manual, with the parts list, a step-by-step description with drawings or photos, an explanation of the wiring diagram, the settings, usage, etc., Iād be happy to correct it or complete it if needed.
But I donāt currently have the availability to do it from start to finish. Maybe one day Iāll have more time to devote to this user manual, but not for now. Once again, the information is there.
Although having a build guide would be a great convenience, but can someone sort things out with the already published material. I proceed with the construction. The scanner parts are coming, albeit a little late. Iām waiting for the camera and the lens. Since they wonāt be long and Iām begging you please upload Rolland the PC program that controls the scanner (camera and film drive). Once I finish the build, I might have time to help with the build guide.
@eldi : I prepared it this morning with your request in mind.
Youāll find 2 documents in the ScanFilm directory:
one detailing the communication protocol between the scanner and the application ā āprotocolā is a bit of a grand term; itās really just an exchange of acknowledgements to make sure both are online and understand each other
one that is a brief user guide on how to use the software, which you may āperhapsā be able to improve if you have time
Thank you for ScanFilm. I have loaded the program 140625_Sketch_pour_prod_Kp_Ki.ino onto the Teensy using the Arduino IDE and everything looks fine. I canāt check it because it is not connected to the circuits; the only connection is with the PC via USB to serial port 3. I am trying to open Scanfilm.exe but it shows the logo and then nothing. I donāt know if it can open and communicate with the Teensy via the USB connection or if something else is happening. In the ScanFilm folder there are the files ScanFilm.exe, ScanFilm.dll.config, the subfolder 00_Docs with the file Scanner_Application_Protocol.txt I would like some help if it is possile at that time to see the UI of ScanFilm. May be I need something more to work with it the file Teensy_Firmware_ScanFilms.ino (v1.00 - 30.09.2025)
You are probably missing a library required for the application to work, perhaps the Basler SDK or a Windows .NET component.
I have modified the application (see the updated download link). It now includes an installer that checks what is missing on your computer and offers to install it.
This is a rather limited testing method, since I havenāt tried this installation on a clean computer. But letās give it a try this way ā please let me know how it goes.
For those who are concerned about the presence of malware ā quite rightly ā I recommend testing the file on an online site such as VirusTotal. The file is scanned by around 60 antivirus engines.
With the new version of the software, I installed it and it created the program icon on the desktop. It did not show me any notification that other programs like .NET or Basler programs are needed. Still, it does not open beyond the logo. I installed it on another notebook where I didnāt have the Basler programs or the .NET 9 desktop runtime. It asked me for them, I installed them, the program installed, but beyond the logo it does not proceed. Something is still missing. It will be fixed, thatās how it is. I will wait. If possible, the installation program should be in English.
I think the problem will disappear once you have all the components in place with a camera connected. But I also think we need to be sure, so:
Here is version 1.2.5.
First uninstall old version : Control Panel ā Programs ā ScanFilm ā Uninstall.
Then run ScanFilmSetup-1.2.5.exe. At the beginning, you can choose English from the dropdown. I donāt speak English, but I manage anyway, I make the effortā¦
If the app is still stuck on the splash screen, open File Explorer, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\ScanFilms in the address bar, and send me the startup.log file, and crash.log if it exists. That will tell me exactly at which step it crashes.
PS: Bravo pour ta construction du pupitre de commande
