Congratulations - I tried building something similar but gave up. Could get a very robust tilting head but not a rotating frame. On the last version, gave the tip of my Fuji's extended zoom a sideways tap and it was still oscillating 2 minutes later! That looks very stable in comparison to mine.
@AAGruntpuddock Thanks. This was the proto-build for the full aluminium version that I build and use today.
Lego is perfect for identifying such nasty mechanical glitches before it ruins a project.
The unstable panning motion did come to my attention to. The solution is threefold and quite simple. Make sure the unit is balanced and horizontal. Use worm-wheels to drive the base, which I bet you did. But mostly, with lego's, make the gears tight and stiff. The torque comes from the worm-wheel.
@AAGruntpuddock I built a wooden version as a prototype for an aluminium head - it worked so well I never bothered with the aluminium, which would have been a lot more expensive as well as difficult to modify.
@AAGruntpuddock To each his own I guess !. I like Alu because it is very predictable. It a part is scraped I can always melt it and recast it for something else.
Did you continue using the NXT module for your "production version" ? ( I did ! ).
How did you solve shutter control? ( I rigged a relay to accept nxt motor-power-on )
@OptGear I still use the NXT because all the bits are integrated. Considered Aduino, etc to start with but it was too big a learning curve compared to Lego and meant buying bits from all over the place. I initially used mechanical methods to operate the focus/ shutter mechanisms before moving on to relays. Recently acquired a Mindsensors Relay Driver and that works fine - just add a 3.5mm socket and it is a direct replacement for my home-built relay module.
@AAGruntpuddock Hang on !. I just realized that I know your work and video and I commented on it earlier !. Ahh the drink... Anyway, As stated, I love the usage of a footscrew base for the unit.
A problem with this design, I feel, is the lack of adaptability for certain hardware. I use a variety of camera's and lenses, each with it's own dimensions and nodal points. For a single cam-lens setup this would work perfect.
What IDE did you use to program it with ? I used robotC to build an interface.
Woody was built so the lens lies on both axes of rotation irrespective of camera orientation. This means the tilting frame is too narrow for the camera body. Wood is cheap so you could build separate frames for portrait and landscape formats. The motors, camera mount etc detach easily for re-use and the lower frame is just held on by the tribrach clamp. A second frame including gears would cost ~ £20. Original program in NXT-G but now NXC.
@AAGruntpuddock Fantastic. I'll make sure to blatantly "borrow" some of these ideas. for my "kacey II" ( or III ) system. I don't think I'll be making a lego-pure version seen that a setup with a proper nodal-point alignment is to stressful on the material (Although there do exist third party aluminium lego bricks !!!)
@OptGear Use all you want - it is open source as far as I am concerned. Took me a while to get it all together so started putting it on Flickr to short-circuit the process for anyone who wanted to build something cheap and accessible.
@OptGear I also find that getting the nodal point aligned is the real catch. Even with a little Canon A640 the plastic is pretty stressed when the camera is that far off its center-of-gravity. Unfortunately center-of-gravity does not equal nodal point.
@kenc3dan I think your A640 may just be light and small enough to be able to sit at the right position within such a LEGO robot to be functional. This would mean the trick is making a mechanism that allows you to actually set the nodal point with the legos. Using worm-wheels wisely, offset balance should not be a problem. First determine the nodal point and then try and build a suitable jig for it. PM me for detailed ideas.
it's been 6 months boy's.... am embarking on a project inspired by your's and others videos and really need to see how you geared the motors and any input you might have on the programing. I want to build a move-shoot-move motion dolly for time lapse using my NXT 2.0 kit. Please post the details of your panorama robot.
@mrskyml I have no plans or details in digital form, but the gearing is pretty easy. With Lego making use of the turntable part (2 for the vertical and 1 for the horizontal) and a wormscrew driving that with a ration of 1:1 from the NXT motor gives you enough torque to move a heavy DSLR around with ease. The coding was done in RobotC which is cheap and easy to use.
Your idea is very much feasible with legos I think.
@OptGear The only think we have done in a new version of the Panobot, which is made from aluminium tubing, is replace the mechanical trigger with a electronic one, which might be a good addition to your project for various reasons.
It is quite simple to build your own NXT driver camera shutter box with a relais, voltage regulator, solder, connectors and some pinboard. Set motor to 100 power for a 100th of a second to shoot.
For any specific questions PM me and I'll try to clear stuff up.
really good!
jcuadriello 1 month ago
Congratulations - I tried building something similar but gave up. Could get a very robust tilting head but not a rotating frame. On the last version, gave the tip of my Fuji's extended zoom a sideways tap and it was still oscillating 2 minutes later! That looks very stable in comparison to mine.
AAGruntpuddock 6 months ago
@AAGruntpuddock Thanks. This was the proto-build for the full aluminium version that I build and use today.
Lego is perfect for identifying such nasty mechanical glitches before it ruins a project.
The unstable panning motion did come to my attention to. The solution is threefold and quite simple. Make sure the unit is balanced and horizontal. Use worm-wheels to drive the base, which I bet you did. But mostly, with lego's, make the gears tight and stiff. The torque comes from the worm-wheel.
OptGear 6 months ago
@AAGruntpuddock I built a wooden version as a prototype for an aluminium head - it worked so well I never bothered with the aluminium, which would have been a lot more expensive as well as difficult to modify.
AAGruntpuddock 6 months ago
@AAGruntpuddock To each his own I guess !. I like Alu because it is very predictable. It a part is scraped I can always melt it and recast it for something else.
Did you continue using the NXT module for your "production version" ? ( I did ! ).
How did you solve shutter control? ( I rigged a relay to accept nxt motor-power-on )
For a next model I'm considering Arduino.
OptGear 6 months ago
@OptGear I still use the NXT because all the bits are integrated. Considered Aduino, etc to start with but it was too big a learning curve compared to Lego and meant buying bits from all over the place. I initially used mechanical methods to operate the focus/ shutter mechanisms before moving on to relays. Recently acquired a Mindsensors Relay Driver and that works fine - just add a 3.5mm socket and it is a direct replacement for my home-built relay module.
AAGruntpuddock 6 months ago
@AAGruntpuddock Hang on !. I just realized that I know your work and video and I commented on it earlier !. Ahh the drink... Anyway, As stated, I love the usage of a footscrew base for the unit.
A problem with this design, I feel, is the lack of adaptability for certain hardware. I use a variety of camera's and lenses, each with it's own dimensions and nodal points. For a single cam-lens setup this would work perfect.
What IDE did you use to program it with ? I used robotC to build an interface.
OptGear 6 months ago
Woody was built so the lens lies on both axes of rotation irrespective of camera orientation. This means the tilting frame is too narrow for the camera body. Wood is cheap so you could build separate frames for portrait and landscape formats. The motors, camera mount etc detach easily for re-use and the lower frame is just held on by the tribrach clamp. A second frame including gears would cost ~ £20. Original program in NXT-G but now NXC.
AAGruntpuddock 6 months ago
@AAGruntpuddock Fantastic. I'll make sure to blatantly "borrow" some of these ideas. for my "kacey II" ( or III ) system. I don't think I'll be making a lego-pure version seen that a setup with a proper nodal-point alignment is to stressful on the material (Although there do exist third party aluminium lego bricks !!!)
OptGear 6 months ago
@OptGear Use all you want - it is open source as far as I am concerned. Took me a while to get it all together so started putting it on Flickr to short-circuit the process for anyone who wanted to build something cheap and accessible.
AAGruntpuddock 6 months ago
@OptGear I also find that getting the nodal point aligned is the real catch. Even with a little Canon A640 the plastic is pretty stressed when the camera is that far off its center-of-gravity. Unfortunately center-of-gravity does not equal nodal point.
kenc3dan 1 month ago
@kenc3dan I think your A640 may just be light and small enough to be able to sit at the right position within such a LEGO robot to be functional. This would mean the trick is making a mechanism that allows you to actually set the nodal point with the legos. Using worm-wheels wisely, offset balance should not be a problem. First determine the nodal point and then try and build a suitable jig for it. PM me for detailed ideas.
OptGear 1 month ago
it's been 6 months boy's.... am embarking on a project inspired by your's and others videos and really need to see how you geared the motors and any input you might have on the programing. I want to build a move-shoot-move motion dolly for time lapse using my NXT 2.0 kit. Please post the details of your panorama robot.
mrskyml 1 year ago
@mrskyml I have no plans or details in digital form, but the gearing is pretty easy. With Lego making use of the turntable part (2 for the vertical and 1 for the horizontal) and a wormscrew driving that with a ration of 1:1 from the NXT motor gives you enough torque to move a heavy DSLR around with ease. The coding was done in RobotC which is cheap and easy to use.
Your idea is very much feasible with legos I think.
OptGear 1 year ago
@OptGear The only think we have done in a new version of the Panobot, which is made from aluminium tubing, is replace the mechanical trigger with a electronic one, which might be a good addition to your project for various reasons.
It is quite simple to build your own NXT driver camera shutter box with a relais, voltage regulator, solder, connectors and some pinboard. Set motor to 100 power for a 100th of a second to shoot.
For any specific questions PM me and I'll try to clear stuff up.
OptGear 1 year ago
Oi, You can not set the nodal point !!!!.
retepvosnul 1 year ago