Grix/helios_dac132Helios Laser DAC
Helios is an open-source printed circuit board by Grix, from the Grix/helios_dac repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 75.2 × 61.1 mm with 102 parts on 56 nets, routed with 865 tracks and 93 vias.
It is built around the DAC084S085CIMM, LM358 and AN431BN-TP, with the IP4220CZ6 among its other parts. Its parts include 48 resistors, 31 capacitors, 9 ICs, 3 inductors and 2 diodes. It belongs with the audio and music boards and the SAM D and SAM boards of this library.
Digital to Analog Converter for laser projectors.
Open source, low cost USB DAC for the ISP-DB25 (ILDA) laser protocol. Allows you to control an ILDA laser projector via computer over USB. Supports lots of third party software (see link above). This repository consists of:
Navigate to the folder "sdk" to find the relevant code for interfacing with the Helios DAC in your software, and a readme with more detailed usage instructions.
NEW: The C++ sdk has been updated to include IDN network support. This means that if you implement/update the Helios library in your application, it will also seamlessly enable support for any other network DAC using the IDN protocol, including the Helios OpenIDN adapter, StageMate ISP, and upcoming Helios products. Other libraries than the C++ one has not yet been updated with IDN support.
The reference SDK is written in C++, in the subfolder "cpp". But libraries with exported functions that you can call from many languages such as python or C# are available, documented in HeliosDacAPI.h. You can also find examples of usage in the examples folder.
The C++ code depends on libusb. You can use the included libusb binary libraries for Win32, Mac or Linux, or you can build your own. You can find the libusb source on libusb.info, or binaries on https://sourceforge.net/projects/libusb/files/libusb-1.0/
If you wish to use the shared library, there are ready-made builds for Win32 (.dll) and 64-bit linux (.so) in the sdk folder. NB: Only the Windows binary is guaranteed to be up to date. For Mac and Linux it is recommended to build your own or use the C++ classes.
New: There is a native .NET library with example code in sdk/dotnet. HOWEVER, the C# library is not yet updated with IDN (network) support, so it is not recommended for general use yet.
If you are adding support for the Helios in your program, let me know and I can link it on the Helios' website.
Steps to compiling shared library (.so) for Linux based systems yourself is below. For macOS, try replacing ".so" with ".dylib". For Windows, there is a Visual Studio project in the source directory.
g++ -Wall -std=c++14 -fPIC -O2 -c HeliosDacAPI.cpp
g++ -Wall -std=c++14 -fPIC -O2 -c HeliosDac.cpp
g++ -shared -o libHeliosDacAPI.so HeliosDacAPI.o HeliosDac.o libusb-1.0.soTo use the device on Linux you either need root privileges or need to set up udev rules (see https://bitlasers.com/helios-laser-dac/). On Windows and Mac it should be plug and play.
A more detailed guide for compiling for Raspberry Pi (Linux ARM) is also available in the docs folder.
The PCB is drawn in Kicad. The firmware is written and built with Atmel Studio for the ATSAM4S2B microcontroller. NB: The license for the hardware and firmware, unlike the software, does not permit the sale of manufactured units. New firmware can be uploaded to the device over USB. To do this, you must reset the "GPNVM1" bit in the flash memory, which will make the microcontroller boot to the SAM-BA bootloader. You can do this by sending a special interrupt packet to the DAC. You can then access the flash using Atmel's SAM-BA software or BOSSA. There is an automatic tool for firmware updating:
| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 100nF | Capacitors_SMD:C_0402 | C2, C10, C13, C14, C15, C16, C17, C18, C19, C20, C21, C22, C25, C26, C27, C28 +2 |
| 18 | 10k | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R14, R15, R18, R19, R20, R21, R23, R26, R27, R28, R29, R31, R37, R38, R39, R40 +2 |
| 11 | 150 | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, R12, R13 |
| 9 | 1.65k | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R22, R33, R34, R35, R36, R45, R46, R47, R48 |
| 9 | 4.7uF | Capacitors_SMD:c_elec_4x5.3 | C1, C4, C6, C8, C9, C11, C23, C24, C30 |
| 8 | 5.11k | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R16, R17, R24, R25, R30, R32, R41, R42 |
| 4 | 13pF | Capacitors_SMD:C_0402 | C12, C29, C31, C32 |
| 4 | MountingHole | MountingHole:MountingHole_2.7mm_M2.5 | H1, H2, H3, H4 |
| 3 | FILTER | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | L1, L2, L3 |
| 2 | 27 | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R1, R2 |
| 2 | Led_Small | LEDs:LED_0603 | D1, D2 |
| 2 | TL084_v | personal:TSSOP-14_4.4x5mm_Pitch0.65mm | U6, U8 |
| 1 | 16MHz 18pF | Crystals:Crystal_HC49-SD_SMD | Y1 |
| 1 | AN431B | TO_SOT_Packages_SMD:SOT-23 | U3 |
| 1 | AP2114 | TO_SOT_Packages_SMD:SOT-223 | U2 |
| 1 | ATSAM4S | personal:LQFP-64_10x10mm_Pitch0.5mm | U9 |
| 1 | CONN_01X02 | Connect:PINHEAD1-2 | ERASE |
| 1 | CONN_01X25-SHIELD | personal:DB25 | P2 |
| 1 | DAC084S085C | personal:MSOP-10_3x3mm_Pitch0.5mm | U5 |
| 1 | F_Small | Resistors_SMD:R_1206 | F1 |
| 1 | IP4220CZ6 | personal:SOT457 | U1 |
| 1 | LM358 | personal:SOIC-8_3.9x4.9mm_Pitch1.27mm | U7 |
| 1 | USB_B | Connect:USB_B | P1 |
| 1 | ~ | personal:CRV1DxxxxSC | U4 |
It measures 75.2 × 61.1 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
102 parts, built around the DAC084S085CIMM, LM358, AN431BN-TP and IP4220CZ6. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
From the Grix/helios_dac repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is hardware/Kicad_PCB_helios/Helios.kicad_pcb and its schematic hardware/Kicad_PCB_helios/Amplifiers.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask Grix before reusing the design.
Fer040848/Helios
Open source, low cost USB DAC for the ISP-DB25 (ILDA) laser protocol. Allows you to control an ILDA laser projector via computer over USB. Supports lots of third party software (see link above).
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