This video documents the repair and creative application of a large-format industrial X-ray sensor. The creator uses the repaired device to produce unique time-lapse and stop-motion animations, visualizing a plant absorbing potassium iodide, the inner workings of a quartz clock, and the mechanical motion of a camera zoom lens. The video details the experimental setup, involving a 50kV X-ray tube, a custom control system using a Teensy microcontroller for sequencing, and automation scripts to operate the buggy proprietary software. A teardown of the sensor reveals its high-end construction, with an Altera Cyclone III FPGA and robust interconnects. The repair involved diagnosing and replacing a MOSFET on the power board that was physically dislodged by an internal light guide during an impact.
Inside an Industrial X-ray Sensor: Repair, Automation, and Animation
00:00:02 Time-Lapse X-Ray Animations: The video showcases time-lapse animations created with a large industrial X-ray sensor, including a plant absorbing potassium iodide and the mechanics of a quartz clock and a camera lens.
00:02:22 The Sensor: The core component is a massive 40x40 cm, 4-megapixel amorphous silicon sensor. Its large pixel size provides high sensitivity by directly bonding a phosphor screen to the sensor array. As far as I can tell, this is much larger than typical consumer camera sensors, which explains its high cost and sensitivity.
00:03:25 Experimental Setup: The animation setup consists of a 50kV, 1mA X-ray tube, the object, and the sensor. A computer sequences the process: turning on X-rays, acquiring a ~5-second image, and then waiting for the next frame.
00:03:51 Safety Considerations: X-ray safety is managed by stopping the primary beam with steel and using the workshop as an enclosure against backscatter. The creator estimates the total exposure dose during setup is significantly less than that from a cross-country airplane flight, which seems like a reasonable comparison.
00:06:33 X-Ray Control System: The X-ray tube is powered by a high-voltage supply and a separate servo-controlled filament supply that regulates emission current. The system is controlled remotely via a Teensy microcontroller for precise and safe timing.
00:09:03 Software Automation: The proprietary software for the sensor is buggy and inflexible. Image acquisition had to be automated using a mouse movement recording program, which was unreliable and took weeks to debug. It's typical "enterprise grade" garbage.
00:10:47 Data Processing: Images are saved in a proprietary raw format. A custom Octave script was written to find these files, rename them, and convert them to 16-bit TIFFs, preserving the sensor's 14-bit dynamic range.
00:12:21 Power Supply Hack: The panel requires communication with a battery to boot. For long run times, a dead battery's communication board was used while power was supplied externally, tricking the panel into running indefinitely.
00:13:30 Teardown and Internals: A teardown reveals a 'no expense spared' construction, including an Altera Cyclone III FPGA, multiple Ethernet interfaces (one undocumented), and robust shock mounting within a carbon fiber case.
00:20:04 The Repair: The sensor's failure was traced to physical damage. An impact caused an internal acrylic light guide to act as a ramrod, pushing a MOSFET off the power board. Replacing this component fixed the unit.