Our work room is about 25 x 30 feet. The goal is to install an X/Y set of rails for a camera mount to move about the room. The expectation is a couple hundred bucks for the XY translation part of it. Lets keep this thread limited to the hardware part but understanding the end game. This will be an Arduino project, but maybe the hardware questions should be posted elsewhere.
We will be recording video and audio so keeping it quiet with smooth motion is at a premium. I suspect that a belt driven mechanism will be the quietest and am open to suggestions.
The speed needed is only about walking speed. Accuracy and repeatability of maybe an inch or two. Better is good. I don’t know how fast the cost will increase as the accuracy goal increases.
Question: What type of hardware and motors should I be looking for?
Question: What speed and accuracy can reasonably be expected before doubling or tripling the cost?
The X motors can be mounted to the room walls or ceiling. Question: With that distance across the room is it best to have a motor on each end or a shaft that is driven from one end? A shaft seems simpler but then it will probably need some support in the middle, a noise and vibration source. I think a belt drive would be best to keep it quiet but am uncertain.
On the XY table will eventually be mounted an arm about six to eight feet long. It will hang down from the table such that it can be rotated and tilted. This will move the camera from close to floor level up to the ceiling. The camera with its own PTZ controls will be mounted on the end of the arm. I am guessing about 20 to 30 lbs. Is that a reasonable guess? With an arm of about six feet that will put some modest amount of torque upon the mounting table and its bearings. Not worried about its details yet, but, the XY table must be sufficiently strong.
Question: Will the camera arm need a counter-weight?
Question: What should be the distance between the two Y rails? My estimation is about two feet to help with the torque imposed by the camera arm.
Thank you for your time.
What are you willing to pay for my doing your engineering for you?
Paul
bkelly:
Our work room is about 25 x 30 feet. The goal is to install an X/Y set of rails for a camera mount to move about the room. The expectation is a couple hundred bucks for the XY translation part of it.
I am guessing about 20 to 30 lbs. Is that a reasonable guess? With an arm of about six feet that will put some modest amount of torque upon the mounting table and its bearings. Not worried about its details yet, but, the XY table must be sufficiently strong.
That size and weight would need some serious consideration and design not to mention cost.
I'm suggesting beyond that of a beginner.
Interesting Mekano You ask for. If the camera is supposed to reach both close to the floor and close to the ceiling it's quite obvious where the X and Y rails need to be mounted.
Belt drive will be quite. Steppers move step by step and might interfere depending on the frames per second. A DC motor equipped with a rotary encoder will move more smoothly.
Railroader: Good idea about DC motors. It will need some encoders so the controller will be able to positively track the position.
Blujets: A load of 20 to 30 pounds seems modest to me. Why do you think it will require professional engineering?
The expectation is a couple hundred bucks for the XY translation part of it.
Multiply that by at least ten, and you will be closer to the mark.
Lots and lots and lots of unknowns
Look at yhe cameras tbe use in stadiums.
All wires.
Motors will be noisy
Rollers or bearings will be noisy
Sketcj out your camera a is and movement First
Then the other acxes will present themselves
Check out the components here.
STRUCTURE - ServoCity and the other tabs.
You may be able to join long channel sections to make 2 room lengths up and then run motors in those side channel that can go "back and forth" while the camera arm runs in a channel "across" from side channel to side channel.
Suspend the whole contraption from ceiling mounts at multiple places.
CrossRoads:
Check out the components here.
STRUCTURE - ServoCity and the other tabs.
You may be able to join long channel sections to make 2 room lengths up and then run motors in those side channel that can go "back and forth" while the camera arm runs in a channel "across" from side channel to side channel.
Suspend the whole contraption from ceiling mounts at multiple places.Great site. Thank you.
Have you considered a "delta" setup? Like a delta 3D printer, but with cables. I've seen the like in football stadiums.
bkelly:
Blujets: A load of 20 to 30 pounds seems modest to me. Why do you think it will require professional engineering?
Because I've been around for quite some time .
It's called experience.
bkelly:
I am guessing about 20 to 30 lbs. Is that a reasonable guess? With an arm of about six feet that will put some modest amount of torque upon the mounting table and its bearings.
30 pounds on 6 ft of arm is 180 ft.lb or about 244 N.m in torque. That's not what most people will call a "modest amount of torque" for something that is on a mounting that itself has to be mobile and move easily. Changing the setup so you don't have to deal with that torque will make it a lot easier.
On top of that you should make the contraption strong enough that you can hang on it yourself - i.e. roughly 10x the weight of the camera itself. If not that strong, keep humans out of the room when it's in operation. I don't think anyone will be happy to have a 20-30 lb weight zipping around over their heads on a contraption that can only just hold on to it.
Mount the long axis on the ceiling. Much more strength and mounting points.
Use an articulating arm
100 pounds capacity should be considered very light weight
Unistrut can be found in 20 foot Lengths.
Chain link fence rails in 21 foot Lengths.
If your accuracy is to be within 1/8 inch then pretty much anything will work
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