HOW   TO  MAKE  YOUR  OWN  PROJECTOR  WHEELS

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Step 1    

Right-Click on the image below and select "Save Target As..."  this will download our Microsoft Word '97 Projector Wheel Template, save the template to the "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates"  folder or the folder where you keep your template files (.dot files)

Step 2

Open Microsoft Word '97 and select File - New, if Step 1 was completed successfully you should be able to see the file "Projector Wheel Template.dot" on the General tab, once found double-click it.

Step 3

A Document like the one below should be visible.  Now we are ready to import clip art and create our masterpiece.

Step 4

To start importing clip-art, click Insert - Picture - Clip Art

A window like the one below will appear.  Scroll through the different images until you find an image that you would like to use.

Double-click the chosen image and it will appear in your document as below.

Click on a blank area of the page and Repeat Step 4 to add more Clip Art.

Step 5

Now that we have imported all the images that we want we can start arranging them.  First move the mouse over an image and click and drag to a blank area of the screen but not in the large circle, repeat this for all the images.

Some of the images may be too large or too small, you can resize them if necessary, to do this click on the image and 9 boxes will appear around it's perimeter if you click on one of the corner boxes you can click and drag to change the size of the image as below. 

Once all images have been resized to fit the wheel click and drag to move them to their rough places.

Ok, for the wheel to work in a Solar 250 or K1 projector we need to rotate some of the images so that the bottom of the image is on the inside of the wheel.  To do this we need some tools, to view the Drawing tools click on the icon on the toolbar shown below.

A toolbar like the one below will appear at the bottom of the screen.

To rotate an image select the image by clicking on it, then click Draw - Ungroup and then Draw - Group this unlocks the image for editing.

Now if we click on the rotate icon Green circles appear around the selected image and we can start rotating.  Click and Drag on one of the Green circles to rotate the image to the correct position as shown below.

  Next re-position any images that need it and save your file.  Which should look something like this.

It is possible to add a fill colour or background to the wheel as an added effect.  This is achieved by clicking on the wheel to select it and then clicking the Fill icon.

Click on a colour to change the colour or click on Fill Effects to add an effect.

I clicked on the Texture tab and selected a bubbles texture to go with the water theme.  You could select a Gradient Fill, Pattern Fill or Picture.  Click Ok once you have made your choice.   Your wheel will be updated with your chosen fill.

Step 6   -    Printing

NOTE:  Projector wheels need to be printed onto acetates, make sure that you use an acetate recommended for use by your printer manufacturer using incorrect or inferior acetates can make print quality suffer and void your printer warranty.

When printing projector wheels we print 3 sheets allowing them to dry for several hours.  We then overlay them using 4 drops of super-glue in the centre of each sheet to hold them together.  This ensures that we get a good depth of colour, using only one sheet creates a "washed out" image.  To print on acetate select the correct setting in your printer software, if in doubt consult the manual that came with your printer.

When the wheels have been cut-out insert them into blank wheels, these can be obtained from many multi-sensory equipment retailers.

Finally,attach the wheel to a 1/2 rpm rotator insert into a projector and enjoy your new wheel.