Vialux DMD

Pieces for interacting with Vialux Digital Micromirror Devices (DMDs) using ALP4lib and the puzzlepiece framework.

Example usage (see Getting started for more details on using Pieces in general):

import puzzlepiece as pzp
from pzp_hardware.vialux import dmd

app = pzp.QApp()
puzzle = pzp.Puzzle(debug=False)
puzzle.add_piece("dmd", dmd.Piece, row=0, column=0)
puzzle.show()
app.exec()

Installation

Install the Vialux software from http://www.vialux.de/en/ or a USB key that came with your hardware.
Locate the ALP DLLs in the Vialux software’s installation directory – this will depend on your ALP version, look for a folder similar to C:\Program Files\ALP-4.4\ALP-4.4 API\x64.
Install ALP4lib in your Python environment with pip install ALP4lib, or wait to be prompted to install it at runtime. See https://github.com/wavefrontshaping/ALP4lib for more.
Provide the path to ALP DLLs when prompted at runtime.

Requirements

This Piece has additional requirements. You will be asked to install them at runtime, or you may choose to install them ahead of time.

ALP4 – pip install ALP4lib – Instructions

Available Pieces

class pzp_hardware.vialux.dmd.Piece(puzzle, *args, **kwargs)[source]

Bases: ImagePreview, Piece

Basic Piece for controlling a Vialux DMD. Allows setting any image array to the DMD, and quickly making it fully black or white. Have a look at pzp_hardware.generic.patterning.patterns for a quick way to display test patterns.

Note that by default this image will run at 30fps, with very short periods of the DMD resetting between the frames.

../_images/pzp_hardware.vialux.dmd.Piece.png

class pzp_hardware.vialux.dmd.AdvancedPiece(puzzle, *args, **kwargs)[source]

Bases: Piece

An advanced Piece for controlling a Vialux DMD. Just as pzp_hardware.vialux.dmd.Piece, it allows setting any image array to the DMD, and quickly making it fully black or white. In addition, the frame timing and slave mode can be controlled, enabling externally triggered operation.

The image sequence feature allows loading a set of images onto the DMD, which it will run through in sequence (with internal or external triggering). For example:

# Stop the DMD before dealing with image sequences
puzzle["dmd"].actions["Halt"]()
# Prepare the DMD to receive a sequence of 10 images
puzzle["dmd:n_images"].set_value(10)
# Set the illumination time to 10ms (param units are us, matching the API)
puzzle["dmd:illumination_time"].set_value(10*1000)
# Set the image sequence
puzzle["dmd:image_sequence"].set_value(np.zeros((10, puzzle["dmd"].size_y, puzzle["dmd"].size_x), np.uint8))
# Run the sequence in a loop (by default the sequence only runs once)
puzzle["dmd"].actions["Run Sequence"](loop=True)

../_images/pzp_hardware.vialux.dmd.AdvancedPiece.png