A movie projector is a device that displays movies onto a screen. It accomplishes this by continuously moving film through the projector so that each of the frames is passed in front of a light source. The image on the frame is then passed through a lens and displayed on the screen for an audience. To understand the basics on how a projector works it is important to have knowledge of the projector parts and how they work.

8 mm projector parts can be divided into four main categories: the spool assembly, the lamp assembly, the lens assembly, and the audio assembly. Lets take a detailed look at each.

Spool Assembly Parts
The spool assembly of projector parts consists of cambers, sprockets, a claw, a motor, and a platter. These are the best projector parts and are responsible for spooling and feeding the film from the reels through the machine. The process is relatively simple. The film is loaded onto a platter and then is threaded through the top of the projector. Sprockets are the gear wheels that fit into the holes that run along side of the film to help thread it through the machine. These sprockets are driven by the motor. And tension is kept in the film by cambers, which are rollers that keep the film moving.

Lamp Assembly Parts
The parts that make up the lamp of a movie projector are similar to the lamp parts of an overhead projector. They are a bulb, condenser, fan, and mirror. Generally a high intensity bulb is mounted in the center or a parabolic mirror. The mirror reflects the light through a condenser, which is responsible for focusing the light. Much like the overhead projector’s parts, the fan is used to keep the projector from overheating.

Lens Assembly Parts
The parts that make up the lens assembly are the lens, the aperture gate, and the shutter. These are considered cheap projector parts. If you are building your own projector these are often purchased as wholesale projector parts. After the condenser intensifies the light, it leaves the lamp and passes through the shutter. The shutter is a rotating blade that blocks the light to avoid flickering. Next, the light will pass through an aperture gate. This gate blocks the light from projecting the sides of the film that contain the sprocket holes and often extra writing. After the light passes through this gate, it passes directly through the film and then through a lens. From the lens the light will be cast on a screen as a viewable image

Audio Assembly Parts
The parts that make up the audio assembly are the optical and digital readers and an infrared LED. Optical readers are placed on the projector and the film is threaded through the reader before it enters the projector. The LED or light emitting diode creates pulses that are interpreted by the readers.