Motorized Camera Slider

This project builds on top of the original bluetooth motorized camera slider. Most of the electronics and hardware components are repurposed in this upgrade and uses the exact same code and software.

The Upgrade

The majority of the update is mechanical. The slider performs much smoother and operates with less friction in the timing belt. The entire slider assembly can now be mounted to a tripod! Two 2020 aluminum extrusions support the linear bearing rail allowing the assembly to be mounted to a tripod. Redesigned mounts reduces the amount of friction caused by the timing belt, allowing much smoother motion.

Prerequisite Guides

I suggest walking through the following guides to get a better understanding of the electronics.

Electronic Components

The Adafruit Metro, Motor Shield, BLE Module and Stepper Motor are the main electronic components used in this project. 

1 x Adafruit METRO 328
with Headers - ATmega328
1 x Adafruit Motor Shield
Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield for Arduino v2 Kit - v2.3
1 x BLE Module
Adafruit Bluefruit LE SPI Friend - Bluetooth Low Energy

Hardware

There's a lot of hardware components such as the sliding rail, linear bearing, ball bearing, timing belt, extrusions, etc.

1 x Linear Bearing Supported Slide Rail
Linear Bearing Supported Slide Rail - 15mm wide - 500mm long
1 x Linear Bearing Pillow Block
15mm Diameter - Wider Version
2 x Slotted Aluminum Extrusion
Slotted Aluminum Extrusion - 20mm x 20mm - 610mm long
1 x Aluminum GT2 Timing Pulley
6mm Belt - 36 Tooth - 5mm Bore
1 x Ball Bearing
Radial Ball Bearing 608ZZ - Set of 4
1 x Timing Belt GT2
Profile - 2mm pitch - 6mm wide 1164mm long

Fasteners & Joining

Handful of machine screws, hex nuts, t-nuts, etc.

1 x M3 Screws
M3 x .5 x 4M (for Adafruit Metro) | M3 x .5 x 6M (for Stepper Motor)
1 x M4 Screws
Button Hex Machine Screw - M4 thread - 8mm long - pack of 50 (for various mounts)
1 x M4 Screws (Longer)
M4 x .7 x 18M for various mounts
10 x M4 Hex Nuts
M4 x .7 (1.95M thick, 7.0M flat)
4 x M5 Screws
M5 x .8 x 16M for the Pillow Block
1 x T-NUT FOR 20X20 - M4 THREAD
Aluminum Extrusion Oval T-Nut for 20x20 - M4 Thread - pack of 50
1 x Camera and Tripod
3/8" to 1/4" Adapter Screw
1 x 1/4" Screw with D-Ring
Cameras / Tripods / Photo / Video
1 x Swivel-Head Pan Tilt
(PTZ) Shoe Mount Adapter
1 x GT2 Timing Belt Torsion Spring
6mm Width Belt Pack of 10

This guide was first published on Jan 02, 2018. It was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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