Differential drive pan tilt

thingiverse

This experiment involves creating a pan tilt system where the motors are permanently fixed, eliminating the need for slip rings to route wiring through them. The bevel gears used in this design can be accessed and modified using the Thingiverse platform, specifically the "Bevel Gear" model available at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1600967. However, there is an issue with errors in the STL output from this source that can cause problems during CAD development and 3D printing processes. This project requires the use of Designspark Mechanical software to create the CAD design, which is provided as-is. If you are able to resolve any issues or develop fixes for this project, please share them. For reference, here are two videos showcasing the pan tilt system in action: https://youtu.be/Su6O6155UJM and https://youtu.be/0TMbUoMD7nA. Regarding the bearings used in this design, 4mm BB gun pellets proved to be an effective and affordable option. On request, I have included the C# code used to operate this system on a dotNETMF G120 board from GHIelectronics. While not perfect, the code includes decent acceleration control. To achieve smooth motion on this board, precalculating all stepper pulse timings was necessary, taking a few seconds to complete. A slight offset between each stepper's starting motion results in a minor deviation from the intended path. Please note that I do not recommend using this board for development purposes; you will likely experience better results with an Arduino instead.