3-Axis Camera Slider (2040 V-slot extrusion)

thingiverse

This is my custom-built, three-axis motion control camera slider designed specifically for my Canon EOS Rebel SL3 DSLR camera. The project video can be found on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/1FfB7cLkUyQ. Here's a quick rundown of the components and how they work together: an Arduino Nano serves as the brain, controlling everything and monitoring inputs from various sources. Three Nima 17 stepper motors are controlled by TMC2208 driver boards. When combining the stepper motor's step angle, microstepping mode of the driver boards, and gear ratios of the pan and tilt axes, you get a precision of 0.0133° and 0.0369° respectively (Stepper motors move 1.8° per full step, microstepping divides this by 16, and the gear ratio is 144:17 for the pan axis and 64:21 for the tilt axis). The slider carriage moves using a 36-tooth timing pulley with a 2GT timing belt on 2040 V-slot aluminium extrusion. This gives the slider a positional precision of approximately 0.0225mm. In 16th microstepping mode, axis speeds are limited to about 20 degrees per second for the pan, 15 degrees per second for the tilt, and 20mm per second for the slider due to software/microcontroller speed limitations that can only produce ~4000 step pulses per second. In half stepping mode, speeds could be about eight times higher depending on acceleration profiles and camera weight. The pan, tilt, and slider are nearly silent in 16th microstepping mode, but make noise audible when moving at full speed in half stepping mode. I've tested the maximum weight with just over 1kg, which includes my Canon EOS Rebel SL3 with the heaviest lens I have (Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6) and a Rode Video Mic Pro+. This worked without any issues although some shaking occurs when rapidly changing directions. There are Hall effect sensors and magnets embedded in the pan, tilt, and slider axes to allow stepper motors to home and zero themselves. The circuit can be powered by a 12V DC input or 3 cell LiPo battery for portability. With a 1000mAh battery, the three-axis slider can operate for about one hour. The Arduino monitors the battery level and prints it out. The Arduino can also trigger the camera's shutter using an NPN transistor and 2.5mm 3 pole jack. Communicating with the Arduino is done over a serial connection provided by the USB or JDY-31 serial pass-through Bluetooth module. You can find the code, schematics, and parts lists on my GitHub repository at https://github.com/isaac879/Pan-Tilt-Mount. Before printing this out, make sure your camera will fit as the 250D is quite small for a DSLR. The printable bearing has a small split in the outer race to allow it to be opened up and the BB's to be inserted.