This is topic New Product: The Align-O-Tron in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 03-05-2001, 09:22 AM:
Just in time for ShoWest! A new product to make techs' lives easier. It's a laser alingment tool for installing lamphouses in their proper postion. Scott Hicks at American Cinema Equipment, will have them at ShoWest. You can read all about it at... http://www.muellersatomics.com/alignotron.htm 
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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-05-2001, 09:55 AM:
Good idea Greg! I have a similar device to do critical alignment of my photo enlarger. Its made by some company in Denver....can't remember who off the top of my head but it works very well.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 03-05-2001, 10:33 AM:
Clever. Any ideas on making a similar product for precisely focusing lamp mirrors and bulbs while the lamps are cold? I could see a lens spreading the laser beam, so that the reflector would put a bright dot on the tip of the anode.
Posted by John Eickhof (Member # 323) on 03-05-2001, 12:17 PM:
Looks good Greg! Does it fit into the lensholder? It looks a lot simpler than the one ORC made years ago! I'll check it out!------------------
John Eickhof President, Chief Slave
Northwest Theatre Equipment Co., Inc.
P.O.Box 258
Wendell, ID. 83355-0258
208-536-5489
email: jeickhof@nteequip.com
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-05-2001, 01:09 PM:
Greg,
I forgot to ask, Whats the list price and do we order from you or form ACE?
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 03-05-2001, 02:47 PM:
I've arranged for Scott Hicks to distribute these gizmos. It was a down to the wire rush to get these out in time for them to get to ShoWest, so I'm not sure what the retail will be, but I'm sure he knows 
It was a bit nuts around here for the last week or so.
I thought about having the laser pivot so it could hit the reflector to aid in aiming it, but the workings started getting a bit complex (and therefore expensive) and my aim was to make a device that was simple and relatively inexpensive. It doesn't do much good to make a tool that no one can/will afford.
Yes it does fit in the lens holder.
You can also shoot it at the screen to get a rough idea of where the picture will fall.
------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-06-2001, 02:37 AM:
Greg,
I was talking with GOrd tonight and he told me about the alignment setup stuff that IMAX uses. And while I believe that your alignment gizmo is on the right track it fails to take into account the center position of either the rear or the front of the mirror. Apparently that was the only absolute way to get the lamphouse into perfect alignment. Just curious if you had thought about the mirror aspect of the whole thing. What he said was that you may get the front and rear of the lamp into alignment, but if the mirror is still off then you've only got part of it right. While I certainly intend to latch onto one of these I may go further and make plastic plugs with pinholes in them for the more common mirrors that I work with.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 03-06-2001, 08:57 AM:
Yes, to do the job right the bulb must be removed and the lamphouse adjusted so that the mirror is centered as well as the axis of the bulb. I didn't put in a picture of the lamphouse with the bulb out. Guess I should have. This idea of using the laser is also used in astronomy, where a laser is used to align the mirrors of you telescope. It's very helpfull to use a 3X5 card or a business card to see where the laser is in relation to the center of the mirror. Just hold a card over the hole in the mirror and see how close to center the laser strikes. To find the center of the mirror in a telescope. strings are used, stretched tight over the mirror at 90° to each other, forming an "+". You could do this as well with a reflector in a lamphouse. Since the reflector is so deep it would be a good indicator of where the front is, again using the 3X5 card to see where the laser strikes.
So to get good "aim", line up the front of the bulb, the hole in the reflector and the front of the reflector where the strings cross.------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-06-2001, 10:40 AM:
So I was talking to Scott Hicks in his booth at ShoWest and I had been there about twenty minutes. Suddenly I looked up and started to wonder, "What is that laser doing in your booth, Scott?""I,m glad you asked." and he gave me the full talk. It looks like a great tool.
Posted by Stefan Scholz (Member # 147) on 03-06-2001, 11:46 AM:
Looks great, and much better than the one I made a few years ago, when laser pointers came up.
Theese things are really neccessairy to correctly align a lamp, and don't forget to complement with a PSA 200 tool.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-06-2001, 09:00 PM:
I got one from Scott today at Showest. He thought I was kidding till I wipped out my VISA card. Looks great,nice fit and finish too. The string idea is also good, but it wouldn't be too hard to machine acrylic plugs for the rear of some of the more common mirrors used.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-07-2001, 08:25 PM:
So what are one of these guys listing for???
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-08-2001, 01:59 PM:
And what kind of eye protection are you talking about?------------------
Better Projection Pays!
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-08-2001, 02:19 PM:
I don't know the exact list price, you'd have to ask Scott about that. Its well under $200.00 though. Its very well made, and the time it will save will offset its cost the first time you use it. You don't have to wear welding goggles, but as with any laser, be very careful with it. Don't look into it under any circumstance and be careful of reflections off of chromed or highly polished parts. Carrying a can of spray smoke will also aid in using it quicker. We stock smoke in a can if anyone needs some.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-01-2001, 05:35 PM:
Well I have been doing a lot of playing with mine and I have to say this is a winner. The only thing I would like to see is a smaller beam.
Aslo the picture on the website shows putting a flat mirror across the hole of the mirror and focusing it back on the laser. It works better if you leave the plug in the mirror vortex and put the flat mirror on the back of it so when you make adjustments you keep the back focal point in line
I typically got between 5-10% more light afterwards
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 08-01-2001, 06:55 PM:
You're a lot better (unaided)aligner than I am Gordon. My improvement was about a million percent with the Align-O-Tron. 
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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/
Posted by Freddie Dobbs (Member # 915) on 08-01-2001, 08:35 PM:
Did any one figure out the cost of the laser, A theif in Atlanta has mine and I need to purchase a new one..
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-01-2001, 10:59 PM:
I've been playing with one of these lately too and I must say I am quite impressed with the ease and accuracy of this tool. This beats the "string" hands down...no, in fact the string is a joke compared to the Align-O-Tron! I haven't done any light meter comparisons, but can state that the improvement in light output on screen does not need a meter to see the difference. Use it to align the lens holder/turret with the aperture, reflector and anode support and the difference will astonish. 
Highly recommended!
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 08-02-2001, 07:04 AM:
There is no doubt that proper alignment will yield greatly improved light on the screen. Another benefit is improved contrast and less optical flare. In simple terms, if the lamphouse is not perfectly aligned, the light may enter the lens at a slight angle and "bounce around" inside the lens, increasing optical flare and reducing contrast. An analogy is trying to spray a stream of water through a drainpipe --- if the spray is perfectly aligned with the pipe, the water goes straight through, full-force. But if the water enters the pipe at a slight angle, much of the force of the water is lost, and some dribbles out the other end of the drainpipe.
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 08-02-2001, 01:01 PM:
Why not fit a small optical flat mirror in the target tool?This is what the Strong kit does, we've found it to be very effective.
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-02-2001, 01:18 PM:
I ended up doing that as well as makeing my own plugs for the 4K orcon and the cinemecanica zenith 2000H that insert from the front since there isn't any space behind the reflector that allows easy access for the plug I also machined a smaller apperture for the laser to reduce the spot
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 08-02-2001, 02:05 PM:
I thought of putting the mirror in the pyramid part, but I was worried about people having to look at the pyramid during the lamphouse alignment phase and potentially catching an eye full of reflected laser. So I kept the two processes seperate. First you align the lamphouse, then you align the reflector.------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-02-2001, 04:25 PM:
The only problem in doing it in two phases is that you can end up moveing the back of the mirror off axis while moving the front to fire the beam back. Most lamphouses do not have the springs like the newer superlumexs but the mirror is fixed inside the box. So you need to be able to maintain the focus on the centre of the vortex of the mirros and shoot it back to the lazer in one step