16mm
/
mcopy
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues 14 Pull Requests Projects 2 Releases 13 Wiki Activity
Small-gauge film optical printer platform
995 Commits 1 Branch 17 Tags 52 MiB
OpenSCAD 28.7%
JavaScript 18.6%
TypeScript 18.5%
C++ 17.5%
CSS 12.3%
Other 4.4%
Go to file
Matt McWilliams 9e7990851e Case design work 2023-04-10 21:04:01 -04:00
app Update commands 2023-03-18 17:00:13 -04:00
data Update commands 2023-03-18 17:00:13 -04:00
docs Upload screenshots of app 2018-10-05 18:05:16 -04:00
hardware Save work on the JK99 shield. 2022-11-13 17:35:18 -05:00
ino Start adding LEDs 2023-03-26 16:06:08 -04:00
notes Notes about 4pin_connectors 2022-05-31 17:43:03 -04:00
processing Update commands 2023-03-18 17:00:13 -04:00
scad Case design work 2023-04-10 21:04:01 -04:00
scripts Export mcopy serial to it's own repo 2023-03-24 13:50:38 -04:00
src Refactored GUI into TypeScript and class-based format 2023-03-18 16:59:26 -04:00
stl Compile all Arri-S parts 2023-03-04 20:20:16 -05:00
.gitignore Ignore all .svd files 2023-03-01 13:38:48 -05:00
.gitmodules Add common SCAD lib. Add a script that compiles all scad files to stl (make is getting excessive). Canonicalize STL files after they're compiled. 2023-03-04 19:44:20 -05:00
LICENSE Update license as work has been ongoing since 2018 2021-02-22 13:26:21 -05:00
Readme.md Update links to latest release 2021-03-18 11:35:55 -04:00
package-lock.json Resolves #4 (4 years ago!). Adds delay (stops scripts for X seconds), alert (displays an alert that stops script execution) and pause (displays a pre-populated alert). 2023-02-28 12:49:11 -05:00
package.json Refactored GUI into TypeScript and class-based format 2023-03-18 16:59:26 -04:00
tsconfig.json Refactor mscript GUI code into Typescript 2022-08-07 22:10:53 -04:00

Readme.md

mcopy

An open platform for controlling small-gauge film optical printers (16mm, Super8, 8mm).

  1. Introduction
  2. Downloads
  3. Usage
  4. Software
  5. Firmware
  6. Hardware
  7. Why?

Introduction

The mcopy project is comprised of software and hardware for optical printers, built with re-purposed broken projectors.

Components

  • Sequencer desktop app
  • Scripting language, called mscript, for orchestrating complex sequences
  • Arduino firmware for projectors, cameras, lights and existing printers
  • 3D models of parts used for modifying projectors and printers
  • Schematics for simple Arduino-based electronics
  • Filmout feature for digitally transferring video and images to analog film
  • Interoperability with the intval3 intervalometer

Downloads

Latest Installers

  • 1.6.9 for macOS, Linux (.deb) and Windows (.msi)

Older Versions

  • 1.6.7 for macOS and Linux (.deb)
  • 1.6.4 for macOS, Linux (.deb) and Windows (.msi)
  • 1.6.2 for macOS
  • 1.6.1 for macOS
  • 1.5.2 for macOS
  • 1.4.9 for macOS and Linux (.deb)
  • 1.2.0 for macOS and Linux (.deb)
  • 1.0.3 for macOS and Linux (.deb)

For Windows, you can install from source for now.

Usage

The software requires your hardware to be in place before the mcopy control app is useful.

mcopy app

Software

The mcopy desktop app is an Electron-based project which can be built for Linux, Windows and macOS. Pre-built packages will be made available for macOS, initially, with the other two target platforms to follow. To build the desktop app from source, see the installation and running instructions. The desktop software also interoperates with two related projects; the Bluetooth + Wifi capable, Raspberry Pi-based INTVAL3 and the Arduino-based intval2.

Firmware

This project contains Arduino formware for controlling:

  • a projector
  • a camera (see intval2 for more info)
  • a light
  • a projector + a camera
  • a projector + a light
  • a camera + a light
  • a camera + a projector + a light

Using a simple serial interface, this modular platform can be used to control DIY components, modified existing optical printers or a mixture of components. The desktop app can connect to multiple serial devices, so your mcopy optical printer can be built from various designs that suit your hardware tastes/needs/available parts.

Hardware

All non-electronic hardware for this project is available as plaintext OpenSCAD files and 3D print-able .STL files. The hardware component of this project is aimed at modifying broken Bell & Howell projectors into USB serial-controlled projectors to be used in optical printing.

As a secondary capability, this desktop software and firmware package can be used to replace the sequencers for early-model JK optical printers, with some modification.

Why?

I'm interested in expanding the viability and access of the 16mm film format and to repurpose thre rising tide of discarded film technology.