Project PRISM Film Scanner

Precise RGB Image Scanning Module

This project aims to develop an open-source high-resolution film scanner. The subsystems may also be used for other purposes.

Warning

Project under active development. Use at your own risk.

Progress Milestones

• Finished - Linear CCD sensor proof of concept (Mar 7, 2026)

  *Forgive the poor soldering

• Finished - E-mount apapter (Mar 14, 2026)

• Finished - Synchronized RGB light source (Apr 4, 2026)

• Finished - Film holder & feeding system proof of concept (Apr 11, 2026)

• Finished - Auto focus system (Apr 17, 2026)

• Finished - Initial system test run (Apr 24, 2026)

• In progress - Control software

• Planned - Film feeding system optimization

• Planned - Sensor circuit optimization

Getting Started

At the current stage, the repository is best treated as a prototype bring-up package instead of a finished end-user product. It documents the current electrical prototype and the firmware/software needed to exercise it, but it is not yet a full scanner replication guide with finalized optics, mechanics, autofocus, or film transport.

To reproduce the current milestone, you need the scanner hardware package in 100_Scanner_Hardware/, the RP2040 timing-generator firmware and CY7C68013A USB FIFO firmware in 100_Scanner_Firmware/, and the Windows host utility in Host Software/.

1. Review the hardware package in 100_Scanner_Hardware/ and prepare a board that matches the committed schematic and Gerber files.
2. Flash or build firmware for both RP2040 and CY7C68013A.
   • Flash precompiled firmware
     • See Firmware Readme
   • or build the firmware yourself
     • Build and flash the RP2040 firmware in 100_Scanner_Firmware/Project_PRISM_RP2040/.
       • The documented workflow is Windows + VSCode + the Raspberry Pi Pico extension.
       • See 100_Scanner_Firmware/Project_PRISM_RP2040/README.md for the timing-design notes and build entry point.
     • Build and flash the CY7C68013A firmware in 100_Scanner_Firmware/Project_PRISM_CY7C68013A/.
       • This firmware depends on vendor files from the Infineon FX2LP SDK and is not fully self-contained in this repository.
       • See 100_Scanner_Firmware/Project_PRISM_CY7C68013A/README.md for the required SDK files and EEPROM flashing steps.
3. Initialize the host software submodule if needed and build the desktop utility in Host Software/.
   • If you cloned without submodules, run git submodule update --init --recursive.
   • See Host Software/README.md for Windows, .NET, and Visual Studio requirements.
4. Connect the assembled scanner electronics to the host PC over USB and verify that both USB functions enumerate.
   • Project PRISM Control Interface (RP2040): VID 0x1D50, PID 0x619D
   • Project PRISM FIFO Buffer (CY7C68013A): VID 0x1D50, PID 0x619C
5. Use the host utility or your own tooling against the RP2040 control interface to configure scan parameters and start bring-up.
   • Command and frame definitions are documented in 100_Scanner_Firmware/Project_PRISM_RP2040/CONTROL_INTERFACE.md.

Project Structure

• 100_Scanner_Hardware/ - scanner mainboard PCB design package, schematic export, Gerber archive, and hardware bring-up notes for the current prototype.
• 100_Scanner_Firmware/ - prebuilt firmware images plus source trees for the scanner electronics.
  • Project_PRISM_RP2040/ - RP2040 firmware that generates CCD/ADC timing, exposes the USB control interface, and stores persistent scan parameters.
  • Project_PRISM_CY7C68013A/ - CY7C68013A/FX2LP firmware used as the synchronous USB FIFO buffer for ADC data.
• 101_BackLight_Hardware/ - backlight hardware work area for the illumination subsystem.
• 102_PeriControl_Hardware/ - hardware work area for peripheral-control electronics.
• 102_PeriControl_Firmware/ - firmware work area for the peripheral-control subsystem.
• Host Software/ - Windows host utility for USB debugging, scan debugging, and early-stage control of supported scanner hardware.
• Documents/ - datasheets and reference PDFs for the main electrical components.
• Lens Adapter/ - mechanical adapter assets for the current optical setup.
• Resources/ - timing diagrams and reference images used by the firmware design notes.

If You're Curious

• Hardware Requirements and Bring-up
• Firmware Overview
• Host Software README
• Timing Sequence Design of Imaging Subsystem - Readme of RP2040 Firmware
• RP2040 Control Interface

Credits

• jackw01/scanlight for inspiring light source design.

Tips on Using Coding Agents

This project contains both firmware and hardware designs, and sometimes coding agents may need to lookup the boards. It is recommanded to prompt the agents ro read netlist files instead of schematic PDFs, in order to save token usages.

License

See files in LICENSES/.

This repository contains hardware design files and firmware/software source code released under different licenses. Unless a file states otherwise via SPDX-License-Identifier, the following defaults apply:

1. 100_Scanner_Hardware/, 101_BackLight_Hardware/, 102_PeriControl_Hardware/, and Lens Adapter/

   • License: CERN Open Hardware Licence v2 - Weakly Reciprocal
   • SPDX: CERN-OHL-W-2.0

2. 100_Scanner_Firmware/ and 102_PeriControl_Firmware/

   • License: MIT License
   • SPDX: MIT

3. Host Software/

   • This folder is tracked as a git submodule and has its own license file.
   • SPDX: MIT

Copyright (c) 2026 mr258876