“Are you fed up of shaky footage that ruins your video? In this Instructable I attempt to address this issue by building my own automated camera slider. I used the power of CAD and digital fabrication to create a robust gantry system that rolls along a length of square tubing. The gantry holds a pan and tilt mechanism that gives the user the ability to shoot from any angle.
The entire system is made using off the shelf parts such as stepper motors and Arduinos and it is designed to be easily transportable while being sturdy.
Follow on to create your own Automatic Arduino Powered Camera Slider and do drop a vote for this project in the “Automation Contest” if you enjoyed the project and decide to build your own version. I would love to see your own versions so do post your creations using the “I made it” section.
The automatic camera slider was designed in Autodesk’s free-to-use Fusion 360 3d modeling software. I began by importing the stepper motors into the design and built the pan and tilt mechanism around them. Next, I modeled the rail and made the two pieces that held the stepper motor and idle pulley on the ends of the rail. The design was made with structural stability and ease of assembly in mind. The gantry or the slider used regular bearings as wheels that kept contact with three faces of the square tubing. This allowed the gantry to roll smoothly without skewing.
Another goal while designing the automated slider mechanisms and parts was to keep the models as compact as possible and implement a modular design. This would allow the user to easily assemble and disassemble the slider and carry it around with them. This is one major point that traditional sliders tend to lack.
Finally, I designed an enclosure that would hold all the electronic components and a display that will display useful information.
ELECTRONICS:
Arduino Uno x 1
NEMA17 Stepper Motor x 3
CNC Shield x 1
I2C LCD Screen x 1
Jumper Wires (10 pieces)
DC Connector x 1
HARDWARE:
20mm x 20mm square tubing (60 cm)
GT2 Belt (2 m)
Skateboard Bearings x 7(8x19x7 mm)
M4 nuts and bolts
3D printer filament (in case you don’t own a 3D printer, there should be a 3D printer in a local workspace or the prints can be done online for quite cheap)
The approximate cost of all the parts is roughly 60 USD.”