Thread: Camera slider

Hi Ken, I use to make slides for fridges,outboard motors, drawers etc. Made a kitchen unit for a trailer that had 190kg sitting on the end of it. What I used was similar to 50X25mm Lysaght channel with roller bearings inside on a frame that allowed the item to come out. Is that the type of thing you are after? Any chance of a pic or sketch?
Kryn

I'd be hesitant about using 12mm nylon allthread if it's two meters long, for two reasons - 1) If it's from Blackwoods, I can imagine what they'll want for it, and 2) A length of two meters might run into whipping problems, not to mention twisting and snapping under high torque.

I'd use metal all thread with a nylon female fitting (made from a convenient plastic chopping board), similar to the way some CNC routers use allthread and nylon.

You also might be able to use skateboard wheels inside the channel as you can get these (with bearings) pretty cheaply off ebay.

As for drive, a 12 volt motor with reduction gearbox and a PWM speed control can both be found fairly cheaply on ebay. Or see if it works with a cheap cordless drill...you could find a 12 volt one with a clapped out battery fairly cheaply and convert it to a cord that plugs into a car lighter socket or battery clips.

Hi Ken
Have made one of these for a pro photographer, the brief was similar to your but need much more control for the speed for 4m was from 2 days to 1 minute(manly to reset the trolley).
Used a stepper motor which had a winch drum on it that ran on a cord that was connected to each end of the rail. Could also put a stop on the cord mid way which stopped the motor by hitting a switch.
The tracks are usually round pipe about 1m long and have a step down pipe to connect them together, look like a railway track. The wheels have a hollow groove that runs on the pipe.
Your ideas sound good just need to see how much control you need and it can not vibrate or rattle.

Will watch with interest

Russell

You might want to checkout some v-slot extrusion and v-bearing carriages. You could use GT2 timing belt, stepper motor and drive it with an arduino/ramps board. This type of system can provide fast and smooth movement that I'm guessing would be appropriate for filming.

Examples of the extrusion can be found here.
http://openbuildspartstore.com/v-slot/?sort=bestselling

Steve

Thanks Magg, that product looks fantastic, what an elegant solution, but, where do you get the stuff from?

There doesn't appear to be an outlet listed, unless I'm going blind.

Ken

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Thanks Magg, that product looks fantastic, what an elegant solution, but, where do you get the stuff from?

There doesn't appear to be an outlet listed, unless I'm going blind.

Ken

You can buy direct from that on-line store but it's in the USA. Freight shouldn't be too bad for 2m lengths and there's not much weight. I don't know if it's available in Oz, probably not.
I haven't seen the product in the flesh but it sure looks the goods. I'm thinking of getting some for some projects in the future plus I just want to play with it. It allows you to build complex assemblies with just a saw and drill.

steve

maybe something from here?

http://www.smallparts.com.au/store/categories/


Search for "v rail" to start - there are lots of other categories that might be of use to you - bearings ,motors etc.

Good luck!

A good option for this sort of thing is Makerslide. It's available locally from this eBay seller. They don't sell all of the plates, bearings, wheels etc that you'll need but you can get these from Inventables in the US. Inventables also sell Makerslide but won't ship sections longer than 1000mm as USPS won't handle that length and couriers are too expensive.

Inventables are good to deal with, I've gotten lots of bits and pieces from them for 3D printer building.

Lots of information on Makerslide at the site of the inventor,

A search for camera mount and Makerslide will turn up a few example designs, both manual and automated.(https://www.inventables.com/projects...-camera-slider for example)
A belt drive (GT2 belt) would be the easiest to implement. Small stepper motor and a small computer such as an Arduino or Raspberry Pi

That inventables site has some great stuff on it including a camera slider.

Q1. What power motor would I need, nema 17 or larger?

Q2. What sort of speed controller would I need with forward and reverse and run from a 12v battery for field work?

Electronics is not my strong point.

Thanks for all the input so far.......

Ken

A NEMA 17 will be more than enough for this project - unless it's a very heavy camera.
In this blog post, Bart talks about using a NEMA 14. lower power consumption and quieter.

If you go Arduino for the controller, it will require 5V but the stepper driver will run from 12V.

The program linked in the article assumes a computer to drive it. A standalone controller with and LCD would also be an option depending on how much you want to spend.

Arduino, what's that all about. I presume it's some sort of controller. Does it come ready made or as a kit, and how is it programmed?

Ken the dummy

There have been some fancy examples shown already. This is another option (more so the track):

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Arduino, what's that all about. I presume it's some sort of controller. Does it come ready made or as a kit, and how is it programmed?

Ken the dummy

It's a small, cheap, easy to program, open source board that is ideal for controllers. Lots of add on boards (called shields) for all manner of functions - including motion control and time lapse for cameras (http://www.minie.airiclenz.com/about-the-miniengine/)

Intro to Arduino

Agree with using existing linear motion components and using a belt drive.