Hi All I am started to make a DIY Timelapse Slider. I am considering the V Slot for my project and "OpenBuilds Belt and Pinion Build Example". I like to implement 3-Axis Motion. Here the Slide looks easy for me. But for the Pan and Tilt I'll be glad to have your advise. My general plan for Pan and Tilt is ... to make the NEMA17 Stepper Motor Shaft anyhow coupled with 1/4" UMC Screw. So, for Pan control, I can connect the Motor Shaft directly with the Bottom Hole of Tripod Ball-Head. And for Tilt the same idea I wanted to apply with a Quick-Release L Bracket. For Tilt I need to make a custom Aluminium Bar based L Plate where the the Motor will Mount and the Motor Shaft will connect to the regular DSLR L Bracket. Do you think this idea will be good for Pan and Tilt? Also I am looking for a good way to connect the 1/4 UMC with Motor Shaft. Is there any Flexible Coupling to do that? Thanks in advance. Regards.
Not sure If you have looked into something like this yet. Pan/Tilt/Roll & Accessories You could easily mount something like a pan/tilt system to a vslot rail.
Hi Rendermandan. Thanks for reply. Yes, I saw this link before but unfortunately I can not buy parts from there. Actually I am from Asia and it will be very expensive for me to purchase and do shipment and get it by pay our customs duty Any other idea to couple 1/4" Screw with NEMA 17 Motor Shaft? Regards.
Any of a number of solutions out there. This is probably the simplest 5mm x 6.35mm Small Rigid Shaft Coupler Stepper Servo Motor CNC Coupling Nema 17. You could probably make one yourself cheaper and make it a bit lower profile.
Great, Thanks. Some more ques please ... -1. As I'll use the V-Slot Linear Rail (20mm x 60mm) so what is the best idea to mount Tripod at both end of the Rail? Is there any ready mount plate standard which I can buy? -2. Does this Wheel Structure (OpenBuilds Belt and Pinion Build Example) will also work with T-Slot smoothly? -3. For my Slide/Pan/Tilt I like to use NEMA 17 (Gear 14:1, Current 1.2A, Torque 3.8Nm, Step Angle 1.8 Degree). Below Motor I chooses to buy: New Best Gear ratio 14:1 Planetary Gearbox stepper motor Nema 17 1.2A Geared Stepper Motor 3d printer stepper motor-in Stepper Motor from Industry & Business on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group Will it be a good choice for Slide/Pan/Tilt? For Pan and Tilt, I like to avoid any additional Gear, Bearing, Timing belt ... just wanted to couple directly the Motor Shaft with 1/4" Screw (With Ball Head for Pan and with L-Bracket for Tilt). Will it be a good idea? Sorry I am not well sound in Mechanical. I am mainly Electronics guy. Regards.
You'll need to drill and tap an aluminum plate to 1/4"-20, and attach it to the rail. If you have a drill press, using a scrap of 1/2" aluminum off eBay is easiest. The OBPS plates don't work, because they're too thin- the ~1.5 threads you can squeeze in strip very fast under the pressure from the steel tripod threads. Only if you use OpenRail (also available on the OBPS). With V-Slot, you use the exterior bevels of the wheels within a track. With OpenRail, you use the interior bevels around the double-beveled edge of a bar. The OpenRail screws to the T-Slot as normal. You're saying to want to produce a mechanical pan/tilt directly from the motion of the main timing belt/screw? You might want to look into the drive mechanisms of machine lathes for that, but without lots of change gears to swap out, you're going to end up quite limited in the motions you can do. Better to buy a cheap 2-axis brushless gimbal to mount on top of the sled.
Hello Rob. Thanks for your suggestion. So I need to drill the V-Slot Rail to attach the Aluminum Plate ... that you mean, right? I'll use 3 NEMA 17 Stepper Motor. Where one Motor is for Slide only using the GT2 Belt. But for Pan and Tilit I want to connect the two Motors Shaft directly with Ball-Head and L-Bracket (without using any Gear, Bearing, Timing belt). Yes, 2-Axis Gimbal will be great. Is there any suitable Gimbal available to buy which supports NEMA 17 Motor Mounting option? Thanks again. Regards.
Nope, precisely what I said: drill and tap the plate for 1/4"-20, then drill 3mm (or whatever) mounting holes in it to bolt to the rail with T-nuts. The point of extruded rail is that you almost never have to drill it. Oh, so one motor per axis. Ok. No, I doubt you can buy a pre-made stepper mount gimbal, since they're for video and steppers tend to be slow, noisy and granular (by video standards). But your original plan is fine, you can mount directly to the shaft, even with a relatively heavy camera, since you have a 14:1 reduction on there (and therefore equivalent increase in torque). Just make sure the gears are bronze or steel if you're loading it up. If you're just using a small mirrorless or something, it'll be fine either way.
Hi Rob. Thanks. I'll not use any Mirrorless. My DSLR is Canon 6D with 24-105mm. It should be fine with the Motor 14:1 I chooses ... right? Wanted to ask another ques on Tilt control... For the Tilt control I basically need two L Bracket. One I'll use regular DSLR Quick Release L Bracket where the Camera will be mounted. But I am looking for the other L Bracket (an be Aluminium based) where the Tilt Motor will be Mounted. Is there any ready made such type of Bracket with NEMA 17 Mount option? Or its need to be a custom made? By the way, what means by 'OBPS"? I'll order all my parts now and keep here posted on my progress. Thanks again all. Regards.
I believe so. That's not a hugely heavy combination. Should be ok. I've never seen a pre-built bracket with NEMA 17 mounting pattern, but that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist. I suspect it'd have to be custom made, though. Shouldn't be too hard- take a regular DSLR L-plate and either drill a bolt pattern into it, or add a piece of aluminum plate with the pattern in it. Grinding off the anodization and epoxying should work. OBPS = OpenBuilds Part Store (ie. the Openbuilds store attached to this very forum, link up top under "PART STORE")
