| Description | The SmartShutter is designed to complement our growing line of optical products and sets a new standard for shutter performance and reliability. In the traditional shutter design there are two or more “leaves” that rub against each other. Given time, the blades will wear down, bind, and the shutter The SmartShutter is designed to complement our growing line of optical products and sets a new standard for shutter performance and reliability. In the traditional shutter design there are two or more “leaves” that rub against each other. Given time, the blades will wear down, bind, and the shutter will fail to open. The SmartShutter is designed with only one moving part, which virtually eliminates the effects of wear and markedly improves performance. In the traditional shutter design there is an additional issue of the leaves binding in extreme temperature conditions. Our improved design uses heat resistant material that performs well under very high temperature conditions, extending the life of the shutter.
The SmartShutter incorporates a new high-performance motor drive and precision stepper-motor to provide added control and durability. Traditional shutters use a solenoid actuator requiring a high initial opening voltage for rapid opening of the shutter. This can overheat or burn out the coil of the shutter if the shutter is opened too frequently. With our microprocessor controlled motor/wiper design, we can control the trajectory of each move and optimize the motion of the blade for speed or for smoothness.
The SmartShutter, in either the 25mm or 35mm version, operates with open/close times of 8msec from the command (3msec from the start of motion). Since our robust design does not rely on over-driving the windings, we can achieve continuous operation at frequencies up to 40 Hz for the 25mm version, and 20 Hz for the 35mm model. While the 25mm SmartShutter can run at frequencies up to 40 Hz, at some frequencies between 30 and 40 Hz, resonances may be excited which will prevent stable operation. Because the shutter blade is stopped by the action of the motor rather than mechanical stops, SmartShutter units tested for over 10 million cycles show no sign of failure.
The microprocessor-based controller provides exceptional versatility and is adaptable to various modes of operation and function. The SmartShutter can be programmed for a variety of movement profiles or to produce a variable aperture by determining the degree of shutter opening. When used in our Lambda LS xenon light source and coupled with a liquid light guide, the shutter acts as a programmable neutral density filter. In addition, while the impulse of our shutter is minimal, a “soft” action mode can be selected to decrease vibration.
The Lambda 10-B/IQ controller for the SmartShutter is capable of driving up to two shutters. To support this function a TTL input is supplied for remote triggering of the shutter, as well as a TTL output to support remote triggering of external devices such as a camera. The controller can also be operated locally (manually) from the controller keypad or remotely from a computer through either the USB or serial port.
A dedicated single shutter controller, the Lambda SC, is also available. This unit is offered with a USB port, serial port, TTL in and TTL out. The Lambda SC allows programmable control over the exposure time and the delay between trigger and shutter opening.
Originally designed to be integrated into our 25mm and 35mm filter wheels, housings are also available for stand-alone units and for use with our Lambda LS and Lambda DG-4/DG-5 optical products. The modularity of the SmartShutter assures that repairs, should they be necessary, are simple and economical. Features - Robust design
- Life tested to 100 million cycles
- Modular repairable design
- Open/close time 8msec from trigger (for 25mm and 35mm versions)
- Continuous operation frequencies as high as 30Hz
- Stand-alone or use with Sutter filter wheel
- Mountable in Lambda LS and Lambda DG-4/DG-5
- Microprocessor based controller
- “Soft” action mode provides minimum vibration
- Selectable partial opening function for neutral density
- Serial, USB and TTL interfaces
- Manual input via keypad (on LB10-B/IQ)
- Universal power supply
... Read More | The Lambda SC is a full-featured microprocessor controlled shutter driver for the SmartShutter. It supports the same shutter command set used for our other Lambda controllers and offers enhanced performance through additional of modes of operation. The additional operating modes allow programmable The Lambda SC is a full-featured microprocessor controlled shutter driver for the SmartShutter. It supports the same shutter command set used for our other Lambda controllers and offers enhanced performance through additional of modes of operation. The additional operating modes allow programmable control over the exposure time, and the delay between trigger and shutter opening.
In the Lambda 10 family of filter wheel controllers, shutter timing is controlled directly by the time of occurrence of commands or TTL input. In most cases, the system software used with these controllers has provisions for controlling the timing of the shutter. The Lambda SC shutter controller may be used in applications that would benefit from enhanced control options built into the controller. A convenient toggle switch on the front panel has three positions: Open (shutter will open regardless of other inputs), Closed (shutter will close regardless of other inputs) and Auto. In the Auto position, the controller can be operated remotely from a computer through the USB port, or opened and closed using a logic level input.
In the free running mode, the shutter will open and close repeatedly. The time between closing and reopening can either be directly timed, or set as an interval for the entire cycle. Delay and exposure intervals can be set by the user for up to 5 hours with millisecond resolution. This mode can be set to continuously run or loop for a specific number of cycles. The mode is initiated from power up, or a trigger pulse, and can be interrupted by using a stop command.
Because the SmartShutter incorporates a microprocessor controlled motor/wiper design, the trajectory of each move can be controlled and the motion of the blade optimized for speed or for smoothness. When speed is the most important condition, the user can select the fast mode. If the modest amount of vibration in the fast mode is objectionable and speed is not important, the “soft” mode can be selected, moving the blade slower through the overall travel.
The neutral density mode results in a partial opening of the SmartShutter. Any one of the 144 steps from a fully closed to fully open can be selected. Using this variable aperture opening along with a liquid light guide acts to spatially homogenize the light to produce a uniform spatial illumination that’s independent of the geometry of the input illumination.
Features: Lambda SC
- Microprocessor based controller
- Serial, USB and TTL interfaces
- User can produce a variable aperture by selecting the degree of shutter opening
- “Soft” action mode provides minimum vibration
- TTL activation of the shutter can be set to high, low, or Toggle on raising/falling edge
- Programmable delay and exposure intervals up to 5 hours with millisecond resolution
- Commands can run continuously or loop a specified number of times
- Programmable delayed sync out
- Universal power supply
Features: Smartshutter
- Robust design
- Life tested to 100 million cycles
- Modular repairable design
- Open/close time 8msec from trigger (for 25mm & 35mm versions)
- Continuous operation frequencies as high as 40Hz
- Stand-alone or use with Sutter filter wheel
- Mountable in Lambda LS and Lambda DG-4/DG-5
... Read More |