The DLP®LightCrafter™ is a third party implementation of a next generation DLP 0.3-inch WVGA chipset
reference design to enable faster development cycles for applications requiring small form factor and
intelligent pattern display.
This guide is an introductory document for the DLP LightCrafter that provides an overview of the system
and its software. Other documents provide more in-depth information of the hardware and software
features of the components of the DLP LightCrafter.
Preface
DLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013
Read This First
Figure 1. DLP LightCrafter Evaluation Module
Related Documentation from Texas Instruments
•DLPC300 data sheet: DLP Digital Controller for DLP3000 DMD, TI literature number DLPS023
•DLP3000 data sheet: DLP 0.3 WVGA DDR Series 220 DMD, TI literature number DLPS022
•DLPC300 Software Programmer’s Guide, TI literature number DLPU004
•DLP®LightCrafter™ DM365 Command Interface Guide, TI literature number DLPU007
•DLP®LightCrafter™ FPGA Overview TI literature number DLPA042
•Using the DLP®LightCrafter™ to Trigger CCD Cameras from The Image Source® TI literature number
DLPA032
•Creating Multiple Bit Depth and Multiple Color Pattern Sequences for DLP®LightCrafter™ Kit TI
literature number DLPA035
If You Need Assistance
Refer to the DLP and MEMS TI E2E Community support forums.
LightCrafter is a trademark of Texas Instruments.
DLP is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments.
DLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013Read This First
This chapter introduces the DLP LightCrafter module.
1.1Welcome
Your new DLP LightCrafter module allows you to evaluate TI’s DLP 0.3-inch WVGA chipset platform along
with TI’s DaVinci Technology and the DM365 architecture.
This technology brings together a set of components providing an efficient and compelling system solution
for:
•Small display projector: embedded display, interactive display, information overlay
•Structured light applications: 3D modeling/design, biometric: fingerprint identification and face
recognition, machine vision and inspection
•Medical and life sciences: vascular imaging, dental impression scanner, intraoral dental scanners,
orthopaedics, prosthesis, CT/MRI/X-ray marking, retail cosmetics
1.2What is in the LightCrafter EVM?
The DLP LightCrafter module consists of three subsystems:
•Light engine – includes the optics, red, green, and blue LEDs, and the 608 x 684 diamond pixel 0.3inch WVGA DMD. Capable of 20 lumens out-of-the-box with support to 50 lumens with user’s addition
of active cooling.
•Driver board – includes the LED driver circuits, DLPC300 DMD Controller, power management circuits,
and MSP430.
•System board – includes TMS320DM365, FPGA, and several connectors for external inputs.
Figure 1-1 shows the major hardware components.
Chapter 1
DLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013
8
DLP®LightCrafter™ Module OverviewDLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013
Young Optics, Inc. developed the DLP LightCrafter’s light engine. The light engine consists of the
following components:
•0.3-inch WVGA DMD (DLP3000)
•OSRAM Red LED (LE A Q9WN)
•OSRAM Green LED (L CG H9RN)
•OSRAM Blue LED (LE B Q9WN)
•Murata NTC Thermistor (NCP15WF104F03RC)
•Optics with 1.66 Throw Ratio
The DLP3000 0.3-inch DMD contains 415872 mirrors arranged in a 608 by 684 with the diamond pattern
geometry shown in Figure 1-2
The DMD is vertically mounted at the end of the light engine. The light engine, including the LEDs and not
including the heat sinks, has a length of 39.3 mm, width of 41.6 mm, and height of 11 mm. Table 1-1 lists
the specifications of the light engine:
Figure 1-2. 0.3-inch DMD Pixel Geometry
DLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013DLP®LightCrafter™ Module Overview
The MSP430 monitors the light engine's thermistor to shutdown the EVM if excessive heat is measured on
the green LED. Passively cooled systems (no extra heat sinks or fans) have a thermal limit resulting in
LED currents under 633 mA. Actively cooled systems (extra heat sink and fan) have a thermal limit
resulting in LED currents under 1.5 A. Please see Table 2-1 for the corresponding LED current software
settings.
www.ti.com
MINTYPMAX UNIT
10 at 0.6 W LED
30 at 2.25 W LED
1.2.2 Driver Board
Figure 1-3 shows the DLP LightCrafter’s driver board block diagram.
10
DLP®LightCrafter™ Module OverviewDLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013
The major components of the DLP LightCrafter’s driver board are:
•DLP3000: 0.3-inch WVGA chipset DMD
•DLPC300: 0.3-inch WVGA chipset controller for DLP3000 with:
– 2MB SPI FLASH that contains DLPC300 firmware
– 32MB mDDR that buffers images for the DLP3000
•MSP430:
– Controls power supply sequencing and system initialization
– Shuts down system upon detection of low or high input voltage
– Shuts down system if LED anode voltages exceed maximum limit
– Measures thermistor and shuts down system when maximum temperature ratings are exceeded
•LED driver circuitry
•Power management:
– TPS63020: Buck-Boost Regulator for LED supplies
– TPS63020: Buck-Boost Regulator for 3.3 V supply
– TPS62260: Step Down Converter for DLPC300 2.5 V supply
– TPS62400: Step Down Converter for DLPC300 1.0 V and 1.8 V supply
– TPS65120: 4-CH Bias for DMD VRST and VBIAS supplies
– TPS71501: LDO for DMD VOFS supply
DLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013DLP®LightCrafter™ Module Overview
Figure 1-4 shows the DLP LightCrafter’s system board.
www.ti.com
Figure 1-4. DLP LightCrafter System Board Block Diagram
The major components of the system board are:
•Altera Cyclone IV FPGA:
– Controls video muxing (external miniHDMI or DM365)
– Controls LEDs enables
– Generates programmable camera triggers
– Manages four internal buffers for fast pattern display
•DM365: Embedded Linux main processor that controls camera interface, connectivity with PC, nonvolatile storage (Micro-SD and NAND Flash), FPGA control, video output, and video buffer in DDR2.
The DLP LightCrafter module software is based on TI’s DVSDK platform running on the Digital Media
System-on-Chip DM365. The DVSDK platform is a collection of royalty-free software components built
upon Linux operating system and pre-tested by TI. The software components include Linux kernel, Linux
filesystem, Linux product support package (PSP), application framework (APIs), codec libraries (MPEG4,
H.264, MPEG2, G.711, JPEG), example programs, DSP Codegen, and CodeSourcery tool chain with IDE
for cross-compiling and debugging target systems.
DLP LightCrafter Embedded Software Overview
Out of the box, the DLP LightCrafter boots from the on-board NAND FLASH. The DM365 acts as the main
processor of the system and boots as an embedded Linux device. The Linux file system resides on the
NAND or micro-SD card. Thus, the DLP LightCrafter does not require an NFS mount nor a TFTP server to
run. The embedded Linux system utilizes Remote Network Drivers Interface Specification (RNDIS) to send
packets through USB. DLP LightCrafter has a default IP address of 192.168.1.100.
1.3.1.1Serial Communication
DLP LightCrafter’s UART port serves as a console output of the embedded Linux device. The DM365
sends error messages through the UART and accepts root level commands. A 2.5-mm stereo plug to
female DB9 connector is needed to connect the DLP LightCrafter’s UART port to a PC. For PCs with only
USB ports, use a USB-to-serial RS232 adapter.
To view UART console messages, configure a terminal emulator with the following parameters:
•Baud: 115200
•Data Bits: 8
•Stop Bits: 1
•Parity: None
•Flow Control: None
1.3.2 FPGA Overview
The FPGA expands the functionality of the DLP 0.3-inch WVGA chipset to enable the features of DLP
LightCrafter. An important feature of DLP LightCrafter is the ability to display stored patterns at high frame
rates. The FPGA provides the timing and signal management to implement a four buffer rotation scheme,
which enables a stored pattern capability of 4x24=96 binary patterns. Additional capabilities include:
•An external trigger input, which allows an external device to trigger stored patterns; configurable for
polarity (positive or negative), delay, and duration (pulse width).
•An external trigger output, which provides the ability to synchronize an external camera with the
display of patterns; configurable for polarity (positive or negative), delay, and duration (pulse width).
Figure 1-5. DM365 DVSDK Software Platform
DLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013DLP®LightCrafter™ Module Overview
•A timing generator, which implements the internal auto trigger for continuously repeated pattern
display.
•Control for the illumination LEDs; generates LED strobe signals with configurable delay and duration to
set exposure; synchronized with the trigger.
•A video data source input selector (MUX); sends the video data to the DLPC300 parallel input. Inputs
are:
– Video from the TFP401A DVI receiver
– DM365 24-bit RGB (not bit identical with stored patterns)
– DM365 YUV4:2:2 video converted to RGB888 (bit identical with stored patterns).
•Timing and signal management for a "circular" frame buffer.
Please read the DLP LightCrafter FPGA Overview application note for more details. TI literature number
DLPA042 . Figure 1-6 shows the block diagram of the FPGA hardware.
www.ti.com
Figure 1-6. DLP LightCrafter FPGA Block Diagram
1.3.3 MSP430 Overview and Shutdown Protection Modes
The MSP430 controls the power sequencing, initializes the DLPC300, and provides safety shutdown
protection modes for DLP LightCrafter. The MSP430 has three shutdown protection modes. The shutdown
modes require that both the system power and USB cable be disconnected before a reboot is allowed.
Each mode is displayed by blinking the Red LED (D3) on the driver board at different rates. Table 1-2
describes the protection modes.
The DLP LightCrafter module is a flexible, ready to use EVM. However, DLP
LightCrafter EVM does not ship with any cables, power supply, or additional
hardware components. To use the EVM, you need:
•Power supply: center positive 5-V output with 2- to 3-A current rating and a
plug of 0.7 mm inner diameter x 2.35 mm outer diameter and 9.5-mm
female shaft.
•USB cable: A to mini-B
•RS232 cable with 2.5-mm stereo plug
1.5DLP LightCrafter Connections
DLP LightCrafter offers the following connectivity options:
•Power Connector: supplies 5-V to DLP LightCrafter module
– Output: 5-V with 2- to 3-A current rating
– Inner plug diameter: 0.7 mm
– Outer diameter: 2.35 mm
– Female shaft length: 9.5 mm
– Positive center
•Mini-HDMI: supports external video input with 608 × 684 resolution at 60 Hz
•Micro-SD: tested to support up to 4GB, class 10, high capacity cards for
DM365 software and local data storage
•Mini USB: interfaces to PC as a slave device. A program running on the PC
issues commands to the DLP LightCrafter module
•Camera Connector: 28-pin connector using ITU-R BT.656 compatible
camera interface. The camera interface supports up to 12-bit data.
•Trigger connector: supports external or internally generated triggers for
camera capture
•Serial FLASH programming connectors:
– Driver board: programs the MSP430 FLASH and the DLPC300 serial
FLASH
– System board: programs the FPGA serial FLASH
•UART mini-plug: allows serial messages with the following RS-232
compatible serial configuration:
10. On or Off Button – Do not turn off while the Linux system is
booting
11. Input Selection Button (DM365, Internal Test Pattern, or HDMI
input)
12. Ethernet PHY
13. Fan
14. Camera
15. Focus Control
16. Boot Mode Selection Switch
17. Micro-SD card
Figure 1-7. DLP LightCrafter Connector Locations
1.6DLP LightCrafter's Dimensions
The DLP LightCrafter optical engine is mounted on top of a thermal plate to
provide passive cooling to the module. The DLP3000, 0.3-inch DMD, is
vertically mounted at the end of the optical engine and attached with a
connector to the driver board. The system board is mounted on top of the
driver board. This module has dimensions of 116.5-mm long, 65-mm wide, and
16
DLP®LightCrafter™ Module OverviewDLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013
23-mm tall. Figure 1-8 illustrates the DLP LightCrafter dimensions.
This chapter describes installing the Graphical User Interface (GUI), controlling the DLP LightCrafter
Module using the GUI, and upgrading the firmware on the EVM. All instructions relating to the GUI in this
document refer to the latest DLP LightCrafter GUI v5.0.
2.1Installing the GUI
DLP LightCrafter includes a QT-based GUI to control the module through USB. QT is a Nokia crossplatform application and user interface framework with open source and commercial licenses. To install
the DLP LightCrafter GUI, follow these steps.
1. Download the most recent version of the DLP LightCrafter Software Bundle from
http://www.ti.com/tool/dlplightcrafter.
•Linux users will also need to install the latest QT version 5 library. Available from http://qt-
project.org/downloads. After the QT library has been installed, the user must create a file in the
"etc/ld.so.conf.d" directory so that the GUI coorrectly accesses the QT library. Create a file called
"Qt5.conf" in the "etc/ld.so.conf.d" directory and enter the location of the QT5 library directory. For
example, "<QtInstall_dir>/5.1.1/gcc/lib". Verify the actual directory path of the "lib" directory in the
installed QT5 library. After the file has been saved, run "ldconfig" in the terminal.
2. Extract the files from the downloaded zip file.
3. Run the DLP LightCrafter Software Bundle installer.
•Linux users may need to right click on the installer file and set a property to "Allow executing file as
program" so the installer executes correctly.
•Linux and Mac installers may attempt to install the software bundle to the root directoy, which for
some users may not be accessible. Choosing a different installation directory, such as the user's
home or documents folder should allow the installation to run properly.
4. From the GUI directory of the installed software, double click on the LightCrafterGUI application to run
the GUI. By default the GUI is installed in one of the following directories:
•Windows XP & 7: "C:\Texas Instruments-DLP\DLPLCRSoftwareBundle-3.0\LightCrafterGUI-v5.0-
The DLP LightCrafter utilizes Remote Network Drivers Interface Specification (RNDIS) to send packets
through USB. Please read Section 2.2.1 or Section 2.2.2 to install the RNDIS drivers on Windows
systems. The drivers are already installed for Linux and Mac computers. Some Linux systems need to
have USB networking enabled.
After the RNDIS driver has been installed on the PC, please follow these steps to connect the DLP
LightCrafter. By default DLP LightCrafter's default IP address is "192.168.1.100," but this can be changed
to allow for multiple DLP LightCrafter's to connect to one computer. Please read Section 2.2.6 for more
details. To connect DLP LightCrafter to a PC, follow these steps:
1. Connect the DLP LightCrafter to the PC using a mini-USB cable.
18
Operating the DLP LightCrafterDLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013
The first time DLP LightCrafter connects to Windows XP, a system pop-up window shows the new
"RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget" hardware device. Windows XP Service Pack 2 or greater includes the RNDIS
drivers, so these drivers should be found by the OS. Follow these steps to install the "RNDIS/Ethernet
Gadget" driver to enable USB communication with the EVM:
1. When the "Found New Hardware" dialog appears, as shown in Figure 2-3 and Figure 2-4, allow
Windows Update to search for the software.
2. Select “Install the software automatically (Recommended)” and click "Next." See Figure 2-4.
•The computer must have an active internet connection to download the driver.
Figure 2-3. Windows XP Found New Hardware Popup
www.ti.com
Figure 2-4. Windows XP Found New Hardware Wizard
2.2.2 Installing the RNDIS Driver on Windows 7
The first time DLP LightCrafter is connected on Windows 7 systems a pop-up window appears stating that
a new hardware device called a "RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget" was found. Follow these steps to install the
"RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget" driver to enable USB communication with the EVM:
1. The "Driver Software Installation" dialog should appear. Windows 7 will try to automatically download
the driver and fail. A message indicating that the “device driver software was not successfully installed"
is displayed. See Figure 2-5
20
Operating the DLP LightCrafterDLPU006C–January 2012–Revised December 2013