DIY Crane/Slider Combination

cholson

cholson

Member
I recently took on a DIY project to build a crane/slider combination based on the one by FloatCam (looked into purchasing this setup but IMO was way too much money).

The main points that I wanted in this design:
  • slider and crane/jib functionality in 1 device
  • use a moving counter weight to balance both sides of slider. this provides more stability and allows the slider to be positioned on a single tripod no matter where the camera is at
  • needed to be fairly simple construction because i don't have access to a CNC machine (yet)
  • based on 2 sets of commercial sliders with ball bearing wheels rig for super smooth motion
  • counter weight concept also allows for easy motion across the entire range of the slider. this type of setup allows the camera to move with a push from a single finger or small DC motor even when completely vertical
  • all aluminum for strength yet still fairly lightweight
  • quick release and knobs to help rapid setup and change from slider to crane/jib
Future to-do and wish list:
  • need to build a box to hold all of the electronic motor circuits (including a joystick to control the motion)
  • add kill switches to stop the motor when it reaches the end
  • finish work on a custom arduino controller (found some good resources, now just decide what features i need... and refresh my skills on how to solder circuit boards)
  • replace the Kessler K-Pod tripod with smaller tripod (it's a great tripod but because of how i'm using it the minimum height puts the camera position too tall for horizontal slides)
  • replace the slider wheels with rubber versions to be quieter
  • design/purchase a custom hard case (plan on using LM cases)
And now the photos...

counter weight (just a whole lot of washers... meaning, a few boxes of them. cheaper than the other options i was looking at and gives super small adjustments)
DSS_1674.jpg

the main pivot point. went with ball bearings to ensure smooth crane motion
DSS_1703.jpg

custom belt clamp. holds the belt that runs top/bottom of the slider and connects the camera carriage to the counter weight
DSS_3934.jpg

first time the rig was completed and setup... on the Kessler K-Pod and Hercules 2.0 head
DSS_4209.jpg

added the Manfrotto 701HD
DSS_4213.jpg

close-up of the motor and step down gears. setup to allow 1 RPM all the way up to 303 RPM motors from servocity
DSS_4220.jpg

close-up of the carriage, stainless steel wheels, and slider purchased from PBC Linear
DSS_4221.jpg

all the main pieces, including extra feet to allow the slider to be positioned on the ground (instead of a tripod) for really low slider shots
DSS_4245.jpg
 

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i am really intrigued by the idea of a crane that also lets me truck sideways during the movement. Is that the purpose of this rig? It looks exceptionally well built. Any chance you have a test shot we could see? I am thinking the camera is moving sideways as the crane goes up or down and as you get farther out your movement of the crane becomes more exaggerated on film.
 
RimSide said:
Pretty awesome. Could you post a how-to? And a price it would cost to build it all?
Click to expand...

thanks for the feedback. i posted the photos as a way to give inspiration and ideas for other DIY builders out there and i am willing to answer any questions you have about the process (but i currently don't have any plans on putting together a step-by-step instructions of the build)

this entire process was quite the learning curve... and i definitely pushed the extent of my DIY skills. the most important element i learned is that you have to have the right tools if you want to do certain cutting techniques. example: i tried to cut/mill the curved slot on my drill press with a custom built jig and it really didn't work (needed a milling machine). in the end, i was able to hide the rough part of the cut where i tore into the aluminum pretty bad but i told myself that i would never do that again

as far as the price goes, i haven't run any final numbers yet as the raw materials were purchased in bulk and for more than just this project (it would require some math to estimate a fair value). the most expensive parts were the parts i didn't build... the tripod head, tripod, and additional fluid head. after that, the stainless steel slider and carriage plus all of the motorized parts were the bigger pieces of the cost. i know i overbuild projects so i'm sure there's plenty of areas you could reduce cost on... but i only wanted to build this once so i opted for some higher quality components

i expect you could build a similar setup for somewhere around $800-1200 not counting the tripod and tripod head. this price range could easily be another $200-300 cheaper if you don't want to include the higher end slider/carriage and ball bearings... but IMO, that's why you do the work yourself, to ensure the quality is there

i'll take a few videos to show how smooth this project ended up and you'll see why those higher quality components pay off
 
treynolds said:
i am really intrigued by the idea of a crane that also lets me truck sideways during the movement. Is that the purpose of this rig? It looks exceptionally well built. Any chance you have a test shot we could see? I am thinking the camera is moving sideways as the crane goes up or down and as you get farther out your movement of the crane becomes more exaggerated on film.
Click to expand...

combining both a crane and slider motion is an interesting idea... but not the purpose of this rig. the "combination" part is that this rig allows multi-purpose capabilities of crane/jib and slider motion in a single rig. you still have to pick which mode you want the rig to be in and not both at the same time. i'm a small production crew right now so i'm always looking at ways to reduce the amount of gear i have to lug around for a shoot and why i opted to build this setup

and yes, it's very sturdy and smooth. i'm known to overbuild all of my DIY projects. my engineering brother gives me a bit of grief over this as i'm always trying to find ways to reduce weight at the end of the project. IMO, i would rather be stuck trying to remove weight (usually accomplished by drilling holes in some of the bulk material) at the end of the project than have the problem of it being too flimsy and the rig unstable/unusable

with the current setup as shown, i estimate i can mount around 20 lbs of camera/lens which is healthily beyond my needs right now. while the rest of the rig and components can technically support over 150+ lbs, finding a counterweight that would fit in the small space would be the tricky issue

i'll put together some test shots of the crane/jib motion and motorized slider (time lapse) so you can see it in action
 
Jeremy_Sawatzky said:
fantastic build quality! - i love love love this kind of stuff - i used those same gears on my pan,tilt head
Click to expand...

thanks. the first time i got the motor and gears hooked up for a test run... i found myself just moving the camera back and forth for 15 minutes. :) it was so exciting to see the project move for the first time. a lot of work went into that moment and i wasn't sure if everything would even work. the parts from servocity really made that motorized aspect really fun and easy to deal with

do you have a link to some photos of your pan and tilt head?
 
cholson said:
thanks. the first time i got the motor and gears hooked up for a test run... i found myself just moving the camera back and forth for 15 minutes. :) it was so exciting to see the project move for the first time. a lot of work went into that moment and i wasn't sure if everything would even work. the parts from servocity really made that motorized aspect really fun and easy to deal with

do you have a link to some photos of your pan and tilt head?
Click to expand...

yea just keep in mind this was my first prototype so its not very pretty hehe -

A whole new version is in the works that will have everything internal, its guna look rreeeeaaalll good. :D

this is a link to my camera crane build thread which includes the pan/tilt build - page 6 has a bunch of good photos - http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?248253-My-Custom-Built-Camera-Crane/page6
 
Hola Cholson.
Te escribo desde Argentina. Me gusta mucho tu dispositivo y quiero construir uno para mi. Podría decirme donde compró los carros con rulemanes y los cojinetes de giro?.
Tengo un muy buen amigo que reside en U.S.A. y puede traerlos a mi país, viaja por lo menos una vez al mes.
Te comento que he fabricado una grúa con un cabezal Servocity PT-2100 de 9,00 metros de largo para camara de video o cine profesional.
Desde ya agradezco tu información
saludos
Juan Carlos

I am writing from Argentina. I really like your device and want to build one for me. Could you tell me where you bought the car with ball bearings and spin bearings?.
I have a very good friend who lives in U.S.A. and can bring them to my country, travels at least once a month.
I commented that I have made ​​a crane with a PT-2100 Servocity head 9.00 meters long for video or film camera Professional
thank you for your information
Saludos
Juan Carlos
_MG_5560 recorte.jpg
 
juan:

i purchased the following low profile rails and carriage, while there's not a lot of room to attach the belt under the carriage, it was the best solution i found that closely matched the size of the extruded aluminum t-slotted framing i used for the main beam

http://www.pbclinear.com/LPRR-Low-Profile-Redi-Rail-Linear-Guide

since i have my belt attched under the carriage and knew that the belt would be touching the rails, i wanted to keep that surface as smooth as possible (so the belt teeth wouldn't catch on the pre-drilled mounting holes). my brother figured out that a combination of a M8 flat head screw and t-slot end-feed fasteners made for a flush mount in the rail holes and enabled the rails to be firmly mounted to the extruded aluminum beam. it just required some additional drilling to setup

http://www.mcmaster.com/#91294A282
http://www.mcmaster.com/#5537T155
http://www.mcmaster.com/#28145A75

all the other mechanical parts were purchased from McMaster-Carr

http://www.mcmaster.com/

and the gears, shaft, motors, etc. were purchased from servo city

http://www.servocity.com/

good luck with your build. when you're done, i'd love to see some photos of it in action

--note: my beam/rails is a bit on the heavy side. while i've found that some weight is good for solid support and smooth motion, if i built this rig again i would find ways to shave off weight. i would suggest that you consider doing the same during your build
 
Very impressive build. Your weight concern is well noted. What is the weight of the slider portion of the rig? My best guess is around 15 pounds.

If you ever discover a source for the rubber bearings, please share.:) So far the only option i've found is special ordering them.
 
Muchas Gracias por tu ayuda.
Nos encantó tu proyecto y estamos de acuerdo con usted que a estos proyectos hay que hacerlos sobre dimensionando las cosas para no sufrir deformaciones y que tenga problemas. Seguimos en contacto !!!
Juan
TECNO Digital
 
Hola Cholson, me quedó una pregunta para hacerte, ¿que largo tiene el slider?.
Gracias
Juan

Cholson Hello, I had a question for you, what long has the slider?.
thanks
 
chuckamuck: the slider portion is a bit heavier than i want... it's more like 25 pounds without camera and then adding the counter weights (variable), it runs between 30-35 lbs. like i said before, i over built this rig :)

and yes, i would love to have rubber bearsing. i looked around for quite some time and just kept the original stainless steel versions. they make more noise than i want, but since the slider is mostly only used for time lapse or b-roll footage, i haven't found it a large issue
 
tecnoproducciones: the beam i used was cut to match the length of the slider i purchased (so i didn't have to do any additional cutting or drilling). it's 1800mm and with the extra gear boxes, runs a little over 2080mm (both gear boxes mounts are slotted so i can adjust the tension of the belt)

good luck
 
That's pretty hefty. Part of the reason for that is the steel rods in the rail system and steel bearings carriages. Working up a little muscle is still better than several thousand dollars I suppose.:)
 
ha. it has the added bonus of saving me money from not having to have a gym membership!

if/when i have time, i would love to disassemble everything, drill holes in the main beam, anodize everything black, and modify the electronic components (needs kill switches at each end, embedded wiring, etc.)... but for now, i just need to use it more!
 
I think part of the solution of the weight issue is to cut down the number of components. Just the rail portion takes 3 pieces plus a lot of screws and nuts. I understand the reason for that but it does add to the weight. A simpler solution would be to use a single extruded I beam, but it would mean rounding the corners to create the "rails". Machining the carriages is pretty minor but would require the rubber bearings be sourced at the correct size. The rubber bearings are a real sticking point obviously.
 
Just for a giggle I got a quote for 3/4" dia. urethane bearings.... I wasn't amused with the outcome.:( $195 mold charge plus $22 per bearing. Admittedly a small quantity of 25 wasn't going to garner a discount, but it is enlightening to find that it is possible to custom order a small quantity if you're willing to pay up.
 
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