The history of my slider build is a bit long but basically I started building with a buddy for a full automated timelapse slider using an Arduino UNO and a load of coding. I was to build it, and he was to code it. We've lost contact over time and the build is stagnant. I've come to terms with it not being what I initially wanted, but I'd love it to at least have a speed control and back/forth movement. Would anyone be willing to help me out if I share my hardware options and such? I realize I'm asking a lot, and I've tried learning coding...trust me, but I was tasked with building for a reason haha. I can even send the code that I do have to see where we made it before things went stale. ANY help is greatly appreciated. I could do a lot of good with this for video work.
You're in luck! If all you want is the basics, I already did all the work for you here: http://openbuilds.com/threads/dslr-video-slider.648/ - links to the GitHub repository and all that stuff are in the build write-up. I tried to comment everything fairly thoroughly, so it should be reasonably straightforward to follow.
Hey Rob, sorry for the slow response. I have found your tutorial previously. I'm going to attempt making this next week (well, I'll be ordering next week) and if you would be open to a few questions, I'd greatly appreciate it! I understand my NEMA17 probably won't pull my DSLR vertically, and probably not even my GoPro. I have found also a DC motor version, do you have thoughts on that method? I was thinking of using something such as this (http://www.amazon.com/HOSSEN®-Mini-...=UTF8&qid=1427829023&sr=1-3&keywords=DC+Motor) but not sure it would lift either. I'd love to have at least a bit of strength behind this thing. Would something like a 3S LiPo battery (11.1 volts) be useful in building this? It's a small power plant with a ton of power. I'm lost on the electronics side, sadly. I was in charge of the mechanics and hardware sourcing!
I doubt the OpenBuilds NEMA 17 would have any issues pulling a GoPro vertically. The trick to pulling vertically is counterweighting, not raw motor power, like in elevators. Converting torque to pulling force is just a case of knowing what the diameter of your toothed pulley is. 9V is fine for horizontal DSLR motion and GoPro motion. A 3S LiPo pack should be plenty of power.
