This is a video that was posted on YouTube a while back but doesn’t seem to have seen much traffic. It was posted by broadcaster Handy Bear (aka Michel), and unlike most camera slider motorization conversions these days, there’s no 3D printer in sight!
The slider shown in the video is just a cheap one Michel found online. It looks like many inexpensive sliders, and these are often the best candidates for an engine rebuild. An Arduino Nano controls the electronics.
Michel has posted a full guide to building your own device at Instructables along with a parts list and some code. It works like many motorized DIY slider solutions and uses principles similar to a 3D printer.
Michel’s solution uses the Arduino Nano with an A4988 stepper driver to drive a Nema 17 stepper motor. This is the case with 99% of cheap 3D printers. Michel’s slider even has end stops, just like an axle on a 3D printer. A GT2 belt is also used as the drive system.
The only thing I would suggest here, especially now that prices have come down so much, is to get a TMC2208 stepper motor driver. It’s much quieter than the A4988, allowing for much finer control for those of you who want to capture time-lapse footage!
That’s about where this project’s connection to 3D printers comes in. All the parts used here are either off the shelf or easy to assemble yourself from parts lying around. Literally. Michel attached his limit switch using scrap wood and hot glue.
The video shows Michel carefully disassembling his slider to access and modify its components. Various holes are drilled for it to run wires through, allowing the Arduino on one end to communicate with the switch on the other end without having wires lying all over the place.
The housing for the electronics appears to be an aluminum project box. Michel cuts various holes in it to accommodate various dials (potentiometers), switches, an LED and the motor spindle. A Sony NP-F battery case is (once again) hot glued to the end of the box.
In Michel’s defense, he drilled a series of holes in the metal end of the box to allow the hot glue to seep in and find a good grip. The controller attaches directly to the end of the 3D printer and a GT2 belt is used to move the carriage up and down its length.
For those who speak French (or want to rely on YouTube’s auto-generated subtitles), Michel also posted a tutorial video (in French) explaining in more detail how he modified his slider to make it a little more automated close.
I like the way this is built and I actually think he did it better than most people who have full access to 3D design software and a 3D printer. I suppose if you have a flair for design then the tools and materials don’t really matter.
I especially like the Gibson Les Paul style knobs on the potentiometers!
Be sure to check out the full build details on Instructables.
[via PetaPixel / Images Michel (Handy Bear)]
