Cutting foam sheets... with a needle!
- Thread starter dkj4linux
- Start date
dkj4linux
Elite member
Dang, Dave. Very impressive. But it's a shame you have to make everything of that durable metal crap. Just think, if you had that 3d printer you could be doing like the rest of us... making your stuff out of that silly plastic crap
Night, night. -- David
Last edited:
dkj4linux
Elite member
A short break from drag-knives... the latest on the camera slider
Here's my IR remote-controlled Camera slider -- two-axis: linear, rotation. Arduino UNO with two A4988 stepper motor drivers and 1/16 micro-stepping. Ordinary TV remote, currently just jogging using the arrow keys, OK/STOP, soft-reset, and number keys 1-3 to set preset jogging speeds. Plan to add traverse speed input and begin/end setpoints.
Reprinted the funky GT2 and herringbone drive gears (first photo) on my other 3d printer and everything looked much better...
I abandoned the code from the Brainy-bits site [using a joystick and interrupts(never worked for me...)] and merged IR remote decoder and motor control code I had already gotten running. Then I started further modding the code and micro-stepping when it occurred to me that I probably should make a short video in its current state. For some reason the preset speeds stopped working as they had been and the rotation axis decided that it only wants to rotate in one direction... but it moves in response to IR input, so here it is
To top it off, I don't seem to be able to insert a couple of other photos for this post so maybe it's time to go to bed. --David
Here's my IR remote-controlled Camera slider -- two-axis: linear, rotation. Arduino UNO with two A4988 stepper motor drivers and 1/16 micro-stepping. Ordinary TV remote, currently just jogging using the arrow keys, OK/STOP, soft-reset, and number keys 1-3 to set preset jogging speeds. Plan to add traverse speed input and begin/end setpoints.
Reprinted the funky GT2 and herringbone drive gears (first photo) on my other 3d printer and everything looked much better...
I abandoned the code from the Brainy-bits site [using a joystick and interrupts(never worked for me...)] and merged IR remote decoder and motor control code I had already gotten running. Then I started further modding the code and micro-stepping when it occurred to me that I probably should make a short video in its current state. For some reason the preset speeds stopped working as they had been and the rotation axis decided that it only wants to rotate in one direction... but it moves in response to IR input, so here it is
To top it off, I don't seem to be able to insert a couple of other photos for this post so maybe it's time to go to bed. --David
Last edited:
Sweet, great progress from two Daves to start my day
I wish I could afford CamBam...sure seems like one of the best cam setups for hobbyists. The price is totally reasonable (though I do think the price for their cut viewer software is a bit high) but it's still more than I can spend right now. I'm probably going to get the actual license for estlcam since I'm getting so familiar with it at this point. I've considered trying the cambam demo...but don't want to get hooked and then loose it because I can't swing $150 to buy it
I tried our company logo last night even without corner compensation since it's all curves:
Not horrible. Not horrible at all. There were a few small issues. The teardrops in the E and G had sharper corners than I realized - but that only affected the bits that got removed so no big deal. Bigger issue was that using 'engraving' mode in estlcam didn't fully cut the outlines as warned on the vicious instructions. So when I removed the surrounding vinyl there were tiny tiny tabs still attaching things. That caused some of the finer circle bits around the outside to get bumped out of position, and the dot over the I and the N in design came off and had to be put back in place manually. But...still for a first try not bad at all. This is "coaster" sized so still pretty small. I suspect if I had cut it 12" like I originally planned the tabs would have been small enough not to be an issue. But I didn't want to risk wasting 1/5th of one of my rolls of vinyl on a first cut!
I'll try and get a photo of my knife holder tonight. I thought I had taken some but can't seem to find them
FWIW - before risking any of my vinyl I did a test by just zip tying a fine tip sharpie to the knife so it stuck down a few mm more than the blade and then let it run on some of my pink foam. Let me confirm that things looked reasonable and the whole design drew. The pen shifted a bit so it didn't come out perfect, but for a quick sanity check it did the job.
That camera slider looks great David. Can it easily be programmed to run a slow pattern instead of just controlled by the IR? Like take 45 minutes to go from one side to the other while rotating the camera to keep it aimed at the same spot type of thing? I know it's possible...just curious how tricky it would be with the setup you're using to control it.
I wish I could afford CamBam...sure seems like one of the best cam setups for hobbyists. The price is totally reasonable (though I do think the price for their cut viewer software is a bit high) but it's still more than I can spend right now. I'm probably going to get the actual license for estlcam since I'm getting so familiar with it at this point. I've considered trying the cambam demo...but don't want to get hooked and then loose it because I can't swing $150 to buy it
I tried our company logo last night even without corner compensation since it's all curves:
Not horrible. Not horrible at all. There were a few small issues. The teardrops in the E and G had sharper corners than I realized - but that only affected the bits that got removed so no big deal. Bigger issue was that using 'engraving' mode in estlcam didn't fully cut the outlines as warned on the vicious instructions. So when I removed the surrounding vinyl there were tiny tiny tabs still attaching things. That caused some of the finer circle bits around the outside to get bumped out of position, and the dot over the I and the N in design came off and had to be put back in place manually. But...still for a first try not bad at all. This is "coaster" sized so still pretty small. I suspect if I had cut it 12" like I originally planned the tabs would have been small enough not to be an issue. But I didn't want to risk wasting 1/5th of one of my rolls of vinyl on a first cut!
I'll try and get a photo of my knife holder tonight. I thought I had taken some but can't seem to find them
FWIW - before risking any of my vinyl I did a test by just zip tying a fine tip sharpie to the knife so it stuck down a few mm more than the blade and then let it run on some of my pink foam. Let me confirm that things looked reasonable and the whole design drew. The pen shifted a bit so it didn't come out perfect, but for a quick sanity check it did the job.
That camera slider looks great David. Can it easily be programmed to run a slow pattern instead of just controlled by the IR? Like take 45 minutes to go from one side to the other while rotating the camera to keep it aimed at the same spot type of thing? I know it's possible...just curious how tricky it would be with the setup you're using to control it.
dkj4linux
Elite member
Sweet, great progress from two Daves to start my day
...
I tried our company logo last night even without corner compensation since it's all curves:
...
That camera slider looks great David. Can it easily be programmed to run a slow pattern instead of just controlled by the IR? Like take 45 minutes to go from one side to the other while rotating the camera to keep it aimed at the same spot type of thing? I know it's possible...just curious how tricky it would be with the setup you're using to control it.
Quite the eclectic thread this has become! I'm thoroughly enjoying it but I do wonder sometimes how many folks are probably cussing us because we aren't starting new threads everytime we start a new project/phase? What do you all think? Personally I think that if it involves needle cutting, MPCNC and tooling, and/or 3d-printing it's a-okay with me...
Your logo looks great, Jason. I think you and Dave are both making great progress on the drag-knife front. I hope to start messing with that soon but am quite willing to let you guys do all the "pioneering" for now. My plate is full enough at the moment... and delaying my start will only allow you and Dave to lay more groundwork for when I do.
On the camera slide front... you do realize that "easily be programmed" is relative? My coding skills are marginal at best... though I've been around code and looked at it most of my adult life. I even cross-trained as a "software engineer" at the large corporation I retired from in 2005, when they needed more programmers for some large contracts they had. I've been far removed from that environment for a long time now but I'm confident this little project is entirely "doable"... eventually, even with my limited skills. I'll be happy to share my code whenever you -- a *real* software engineer -- (or anybody else) decide you want to jump in.
Here's my current plan for the camera slider... I envision that one will use the IR remote for all functions.
1) JOG the trolley and turntable independently at any of 3 preset speeds to their starting positions.
2) Capture the SETPOINT1/START coordinates for both axis in a single operation.
3) JOG the trolley and turntable independently at any of 3 preset speeds to their ending positions.
4) Capture the SETPOINT2/END coordinates for both axis in a single operation.
5) Input a TRAVERSE SPEED -- I think this is in steps/sec (4000 steps/sec MAX for Arduino UNO)
(Haven't figured my steps/mm yet but I know 609 mm/min is about 24 in/min... a good starting point for testing.)
6) Input a TRAVERSE DIRECTION -- left to right, right to left, SETPOINTx to SETPOINTy, etc.
7) Start TRAVERSE at speed and direction... motors start/move simultaneously and stop at end positions at same time
Step 7 uses the AccelStepper/MultiStepper library and was demonstrated in the Brainy-bits sketch and video. That's the reason for my confidence that this is all "doable". Actually you could set in many setpoints -- and get as fancy as you want -- but a couple is good enough for demonstration purposes.
For me, primarily, this is an exercise in refreshing some of my coding skills... and Arduino is fun to play with. Whether any of the above plan makes sense or not... the question isn't whether it makes sense or not; it's whether I can make it happen as I envision it
-- David
Last edited:
Makes perfect sense David, and fancier than I was anticipating I was just assuming tweaking a few variables in the sketch and reflashing for different "patterns" - being able to "program" it with the IR is way nicer than I expected!
Let's not insult real engineers by lumping me in with them. I'm little more than a hacker at most - I can put bits together and achieve a goal but starting from scratch is way beyond me. And actually engineering a system...I'm way to fly by the seat of my pants for that
I was just assuming tweaking a few variables in the sketch and reflashing for different "patterns" - being able to "program" it with the IR is way nicer than I expected!Let's not insult real engineers by lumping me in with them. I'm little more than a hacker at most - I can put bits together and achieve a goal but starting from scratch is way beyond me. And actually engineering a system...I'm way to fly by the seat of my pants for that
I have to say I like the way this thread has become a bit of a mashup of all sorts of fabrication ideas. My only worry is that if someone was looking for info on say, a drag knife, they'd never find it in here. At a later stage it might be worth digesting all that's been discussed in here into flitetest articles.
I am technically a software engineer by profession, but in reality I get to do very little actual software development at work. Mostly project management and consultancy nowadays. I run a little sideline business with a friend developing products for my other passion which is astronomy. I get to do quite a bit of firmware development there primarily using PIC and like everyone else I do like to dabble in arduinos too so if there's anything I can do. Its seems though that David J is a little more skilled at this than he lets on
Anyway back to the subject matter. Jason I'm in awe of your latest cut, seems like you have nailed it right down. I did a crcle test cut earlier after adjusting the depth, although the just is clean i'm puzzled because the cut is not a perfect circle. There is clearly some wobbling going on. I suspect its my foamboard cnc flexing. It was designed for cutting foamboard and isn't overly rigid. I'm going to move on and see it I can come up with a new holder that I can insert into the spindle of my rigid all metal cnc machine. Given how reely the spindle rotates I'm thinking about just a spring loaded holder and allow the spindle to rotate the whole thing.
I got a sick patient tonight with vomiting bug so I'll probably be too busy to get much progress. I'm totally paranoid about hand washing as I *really* don't want my wife or myself getting that damn bug too.
I am technically a software engineer by profession, but in reality I get to do very little actual software development at work. Mostly project management and consultancy nowadays. I run a little sideline business with a friend developing products for my other passion which is astronomy. I get to do quite a bit of firmware development there primarily using PIC and like everyone else I do like to dabble in arduinos too so if there's anything I can do. Its seems though that David J is a little more skilled at this than he lets on
Anyway back to the subject matter. Jason I'm in awe of your latest cut, seems like you have nailed it right down. I did a crcle test cut earlier after adjusting the depth, although the just is clean i'm puzzled because the cut is not a perfect circle. There is clearly some wobbling going on. I suspect its my foamboard cnc flexing. It was designed for cutting foamboard and isn't overly rigid. I'm going to move on and see it I can come up with a new holder that I can insert into the spindle of my rigid all metal cnc machine. Given how reely the spindle rotates I'm thinking about just a spring loaded holder and allow the spindle to rotate the whole thing.
I got a sick patient tonight with vomiting bug so I'll probably be too busy to get much progress. I'm totally paranoid about hand washing as I *really* don't want my wife or myself getting that damn bug too.
With the patient safely tucked in bed. I set about a more ambitious test. Some positive results, still not perfect. I found that not using offset compensation has another side effect. Some closed polys dont quite complete leaving that 0.5mm tag behind which i had to tidy up before removing the excess. Obviously because the knife tip is trailing the toolpath.
While removing the excess, I found I still don't have my DOC deep enough and I had a right job lifting the excess while trying to leave the lettering behind. One very positive thing is just how fine you can cut. Look at the bridges between the small 'm' thats < 0.5mm. Actually this was cut mirrored and I then mirrored the photo for visibility. The small letters are 20mm high.
Cheers
Dave.
While removing the excess, I found I still don't have my DOC deep enough and I had a right job lifting the excess while trying to leave the lettering behind. One very positive thing is just how fine you can cut. Look at the bridges between the small 'm' thats < 0.5mm. Actually this was cut mirrored and I then mirrored the photo for visibility. The small letters are 20mm high.
Cheers
Dave.
I have the same problem with the little tabs, I don't think it's so much the corner compensation as just needing the paths to overlap a bit at the end instead of starting/stopping at the same point due to the blade trailing. I need to look into some post-processors or specialized drag knife gcode generation options. I found dxf2gcode has support for drag knifes with proper compensation so I may give it a try: https://sourceforge.net/projects/dxf2gcode/
Though that means having to convert things from PNG/AI to DXF first...not a huge issue but one extra step for my current workflow.
That Christmas sign looks great! I was also surprised at the ability to get fine detail with the knife. Though I lost a lot of mine when i removed the waste due to the fine details being stuck to the waste by those little tabs
I also managed to snap some shots of my mount this morning. Here it is in the machine. I'm using the hicwic quick change mount on my MPCNC so this just slides into that. I don't even bother with adding the screws to lock it in as friction holds it tight enough for the pressure that's used with the drag knife.
Here's the variants I went through from left to right. The white one on the left is Ryan's original official design. The next two were meant to screw to a separate wing mount for the quick change...or maybe just get zip tied to the machine - I hadn't really decided. But they had minor issues with the size of the slot for the ridge on the cutter and I wasn't huge on them for a number of reasons so I moved on to the fully integrate version that needs support to print.
This is how they were positioned when printing. The two on the right look funny because they're missing support material that was already removed. They used a LOT of support to print. Both to make them sit flat, and to support the upper "beam". The big issue is that due to the design of the knife and the mount the knife mount has to sit lower than the bottom of the QC mount. Designing that in a way it can be printed is...tricky.
This one almost worked...but the slot was still a tiny bit undersized and when I snapped the cutter in it split The next two I made the shell around the cutter thicker and the slot slightly larger. I tried gluing this one back together with acetone and it kind of worked...but since it was still undersized I had to replace it anyway.
It's kind of hard to see, but the final change I had to make was to put a bigger groove around the top above the other groove so it would be possible to adjust the blade depth without taking the knife holder out of the mount.
Now that I know it works I should toss it up on thingiverse...but I'd still like to improve it some and come up with a way that it can print without support....
Though that means having to convert things from PNG/AI to DXF first...not a huge issue but one extra step for my current workflow.
That Christmas sign looks great! I was also surprised at the ability to get fine detail with the knife. Though I lost a lot of mine when i removed the waste due to the fine details being stuck to the waste by those little tabs
I also managed to snap some shots of my mount this morning. Here it is in the machine. I'm using the hicwic quick change mount on my MPCNC so this just slides into that. I don't even bother with adding the screws to lock it in as friction holds it tight enough for the pressure that's used with the drag knife.
Here's the variants I went through from left to right. The white one on the left is Ryan's original official design. The next two were meant to screw to a separate wing mount for the quick change...or maybe just get zip tied to the machine - I hadn't really decided. But they had minor issues with the size of the slot for the ridge on the cutter and I wasn't huge on them for a number of reasons so I moved on to the fully integrate version that needs support to print.
This is how they were positioned when printing. The two on the right look funny because they're missing support material that was already removed. They used a LOT of support to print. Both to make them sit flat, and to support the upper "beam". The big issue is that due to the design of the knife and the mount the knife mount has to sit lower than the bottom of the QC mount. Designing that in a way it can be printed is...tricky.
This one almost worked...but the slot was still a tiny bit undersized and when I snapped the cutter in it split
The next two I made the shell around the cutter thicker and the slot slightly larger. I tried gluing this one back together with acetone and it kind of worked...but since it was still undersized I had to replace it anyway.
It's kind of hard to see, but the final change I had to make was to put a bigger groove around the top above the other groove so it would be possible to adjust the blade depth without taking the knife holder out of the mount.
Now that I know it works I should toss it up on thingiverse...but I'd still like to improve it some and come up with a way that it can print without support....
dkj4linux
Elite member
...
I also managed to snap some shots of my mount this morning. Here it is in the machine. I'm using the hicwic quick change mount on my MPCNC so this just slides into that. I don't even bother with adding the screws to lock it in as friction holds it tight enough for the pressure that's used with the drag knife.
View attachment 78670
Here's the variants I went through from left to right. The white one on the left is Ryan's original official design. The next two were meant to screw to a separate wing mount for the quick change...or maybe just get zip tied to the machine - I hadn't really decided. But they had minor issues with the size of the slot for the ridge on the cutter and I wasn't huge on them for a number of reasons so I moved on to the fully integrate version that needs support to print.
View attachment 78671
This is how they were positioned when printing. The two on the right look funny because they're missing support material that was already removed. They used a LOT of support to print. Both to make them sit flat, and to support the upper "beam". The big issue is that due to the design of the knife and the mount the knife mount has to sit lower than the bottom of the QC mount. Designing that in a way it can be printed is...tricky.
View attachment 78672
This one almost worked...but the slot was still a tiny bit undersized and when I snapped the cutter in it split
View attachment 78673
It's kind of hard to see, but the final change I had to make was to put a bigger groove around the top above the other groove so it would be possible to adjust the blade depth without taking the knife holder out of the mount.
View attachment 78674
Now that I know it works I should toss it up on thingiverse...but I'd still like to improve it some and come up with a way that it can print without support....
Here are mine... pen on the left and drag knife on the right. I printed them in two pieces to avoid having to print support material... and then simply glued them together.
I haven't used the drag knife yet... trying to finish up camera slider sketch. Want to get a video to post here. -- David
I just can't bring myself to trust glue on plastic. Solvent welding I can bring myself to trust...but glue...just makes me nervous
The other issue was that my drag knife was considerably smaller than the one Ryan designed his mount for. You can see how much smaller my mounts are than the one of his design I printed. I assumed it was just the diameter that was different - but I'm pretty sure the length is pretty dramatically different too. Which is why my modified mounts are soo short. I thought about doing a raiser off the back to get the top "spring" bit higher but figured it wasn't really necessary and would make adjusting the blade that much more difficult.
I still need to do a pen holder. I did the original hicwic one that uses a rubber band but none of my sharpies fit quite right and they end up shifting around in the mount while printing. I like the new design Ryan did with the spring bars like the drag knife mount better and need to print one up.
The other issue was that my drag knife was considerably smaller than the one Ryan designed his mount for. You can see how much smaller my mounts are than the one of his design I printed. I assumed it was just the diameter that was different - but I'm pretty sure the length is pretty dramatically different too. Which is why my modified mounts are soo short. I thought about doing a raiser off the back to get the top "spring" bit higher but figured it wasn't really necessary and would make adjusting the blade that much more difficult.
I still need to do a pen holder. I did the original hicwic one that uses a rubber band but none of my sharpies fit quite right and they end up shifting around in the mount while printing. I like the new design Ryan did with the spring bars like the drag knife mount better and need to print one up.
dkj4linux
Elite member
Near-complete Camera Slider
Here's the latest on the camera slider. I'm pretty happy with it but still a bit spastic on the controls (much like I fly RC planes!)
I do a complete run using only the IR Remote for all functions...
In the following video, I JOG the linear axis to desire starting position, position rotation axis as desired, and capture first setpoint. Then JOG linear axis to ending position, position rotation axis as desired, and capture second setpoint. Go into TRAVERSE/PREVIEW mode (both motors now start/move/end simultaneously) and use left/right arrow buttons to move rapidly between captured setpoints to PREVIEW they are what I want and, when happy, I press OK to TRAVERSE at slow speed between setpoints. [..then everything goes to heck... I reset the Arduino and do pretty much the same again but forget to capture one set of coordinates, go back to capture them, and then do Preview runs in each direction and finally forget to Traverse before turning off camera...]
The Arduino sketch features the following functionality:
The IR Remote Camera Slider Controller operates in two basic modes: JOG and PREVIEW/TRAVERSE
-- JOG mode primarily used to position each axis independently at desired start and end setpoints
---- Use arrow keys: Each axis moves independently: Right/Left for linear axis, Up/Down for rotation axis (CW/CCW)
---- Use 1/2/3 keypad keys for preset JOG speeds: Slow/Med/Fast
---- Use OK/STOP to stop current JOG in desired position
---- Use CH+ and CH- to capture setpoint coordinates
-- PREVIEW/TRAVERSE mode has two sub-modes: GOTO/PREVIEW and TRAVERSE
---- Use TVPwr to enter PREVIEW/TRAVERSE mode after setpoints have been captured in JOG mode
---- Use arrow keys to GOTO/PREVIEW current setpoints:
---- Both axis start, move, and stop simultaneously at GOTO/PREVIEW speed (much faster than actual TRAVERSE)
---- Left arrow GOTO/PREVIEW left-most setpoint position, Right arrow GOTO/PREVIEW right-most setpoint
---- Use OK/STOP to begin actual TRAVERSE:
---- Automatically TRAVERSES to opposite setpoint from current GOTO/PREVIEW setpoint
---- Uses TRAVERSE speed input by operator in steps/mm (225.0 steps/mm moves about 12" in 1 minute)
------ TRAVERSE speed currently hard-coded to 225.0 steps/mm
------ TODO: still need to figure out how to enter multi-digit speed from IR keypad... 12/15/2016
-- BOXPwr key is a soft RESET for Arduino
-- Uses Arduino IDE Serial Monitor to monitor operation while testing
-- Uses generic RCA IR remote control
---- (Arduino example sketch "IRRecvDemo" from IRRemote library allows capture/display of IR
---- remote codes so that almost any common TV remote can be used to control camera slider)
-- Assumes linear axis stepper with 200 steps/rev, 1/16 micro-stepping, 36-tooth GT2 drive gear
Everything is working as envisioned except for user-input TRAVERSE speed. That requires multi-digit input of a number of steps/sec -- i.e. 225.0, 450.7, etc. -- and I've hard coded it for now to about 1' per minute (225.0). It should be much like putting in a channel number for the TV... I just don't know how to do it yet. I won't be broken-hearted if someone with an idea of how to do that yells out a solution... I'll post the code if it helps
-- David
Here's the latest on the camera slider. I'm pretty happy with it but still a bit spastic on the controls (much like I fly RC planes!)
I do a complete run using only the IR Remote for all functions...
In the following video, I JOG the linear axis to desire starting position, position rotation axis as desired, and capture first setpoint. Then JOG linear axis to ending position, position rotation axis as desired, and capture second setpoint. Go into TRAVERSE/PREVIEW mode (both motors now start/move/end simultaneously) and use left/right arrow buttons to move rapidly between captured setpoints to PREVIEW they are what I want and, when happy, I press OK to TRAVERSE at slow speed between setpoints. [..then everything goes to heck... I reset the Arduino and do pretty much the same again but forget to capture one set of coordinates, go back to capture them, and then do Preview runs in each direction and finally forget to Traverse before turning off camera...
] The Arduino sketch features the following functionality:
The IR Remote Camera Slider Controller operates in two basic modes: JOG and PREVIEW/TRAVERSE
-- JOG mode primarily used to position each axis independently at desired start and end setpoints
---- Use arrow keys: Each axis moves independently: Right/Left for linear axis, Up/Down for rotation axis (CW/CCW)
---- Use 1/2/3 keypad keys for preset JOG speeds: Slow/Med/Fast
---- Use OK/STOP to stop current JOG in desired position
---- Use CH+ and CH- to capture setpoint coordinates
-- PREVIEW/TRAVERSE mode has two sub-modes: GOTO/PREVIEW and TRAVERSE
---- Use TVPwr to enter PREVIEW/TRAVERSE mode after setpoints have been captured in JOG mode
---- Use arrow keys to GOTO/PREVIEW current setpoints:
---- Both axis start, move, and stop simultaneously at GOTO/PREVIEW speed (much faster than actual TRAVERSE)
---- Left arrow GOTO/PREVIEW left-most setpoint position, Right arrow GOTO/PREVIEW right-most setpoint
---- Use OK/STOP to begin actual TRAVERSE:
---- Automatically TRAVERSES to opposite setpoint from current GOTO/PREVIEW setpoint
---- Uses TRAVERSE speed input by operator in steps/mm (225.0 steps/mm moves about 12" in 1 minute)
------ TRAVERSE speed currently hard-coded to 225.0 steps/mm
------ TODO: still need to figure out how to enter multi-digit speed from IR keypad... 12/15/2016
-- BOXPwr key is a soft RESET for Arduino
-- Uses Arduino IDE Serial Monitor to monitor operation while testing
-- Uses generic RCA IR remote control
---- (Arduino example sketch "IRRecvDemo" from IRRemote library allows capture/display of IR
---- remote codes so that almost any common TV remote can be used to control camera slider)
-- Assumes linear axis stepper with 200 steps/rev, 1/16 micro-stepping, 36-tooth GT2 drive gear
Everything is working as envisioned except for user-input TRAVERSE speed. That requires multi-digit input of a number of steps/sec -- i.e. 225.0, 450.7, etc. -- and I've hard coded it for now to about 1' per minute (225.0). It should be much like putting in a channel number for the TV... I just don't know how to do it yet. I won't be broken-hearted if someone with an idea of how to do that yells out a solution... I'll post the code if it helps
-- David
Last edited:
Wow David that's killer! I'm definitely going to have to build one of those at some point.
But my next project was just confirmed. My paycheck yesterday came with a couple extra portraits of Mr. Franklin tucked inside as an early Christmas gift. One went to my wife for putting up with me, one went to savings, and one just went DTR and a few ebay sellers for the bits to put my laser together Should all be here before Christmas too! I better get going on printing the mount
Once I've got the laser and vac table finished...then I can focus on a cam slider
But my next project was just confirmed. My paycheck yesterday came with a couple extra portraits of Mr. Franklin tucked inside as an early Christmas gift. One went to my wife for putting up with me, one went to savings, and one just went DTR and a few ebay sellers for the bits to put my laser together
Should all be here before Christmas too! I better get going on printing the mount Once I've got the laser and vac table finished...then I can focus on a cam slider
dkj4linux
Elite member
Will it float?
Well... I printed a stand for the slider turntable and mounted my old Samsung phone...
And, the true test. I'm a dull guy so picked the most interesting subject matter I have within easy reach to test this thing. I suppose I could have centered the [very interesting] subject a bit better at the end but... you know, I'm old. I set start and stop setpoints for both axis and traversed linearly a couple of feet in about 2 minutes. Still haven't coded in the user-input traverse speed so have it hard-coded to about 1 foot/minute... worked out about right as far as I can tell. Even added a soundtrack... I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing my extremely-loud TV in the background -- David
Well... I printed a stand for the slider turntable and mounted my old Samsung phone...
And, the true test. I'm a dull guy so picked the most interesting subject matter I have within easy reach to test this thing. I suppose I could have centered the [very interesting] subject a bit better at the end but... you know, I'm old. I set start and stop setpoints for both axis and traversed linearly a couple of feet in about 2 minutes. Still haven't coded in the user-input traverse speed so have it hard-coded to about 1 foot/minute... worked out about right as far as I can tell. Even added a soundtrack... I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing my extremely-loud TV in the background
-- DavidJason. they all look great. A question for you. Somewhere in an earlier post you mentioned that you lowered the z until "the spring just started to deflect" or similar words. But I don't see any springs. Am I right in assuming that the horizontal arms provide that springyness to counter any unevenness or non level on your worksurface?
dkj4linux
Elite member
Thanks, Dave. Yes, there was a little vibration toward the end. Printed herringbone gears aren't ideal in this application... but they look neat. There's a bit of backlash and a little roughness on some of the teeth and the turntable itself rocks a bit if you press around on it lightly. Also, the camera mounting base required me to ease and enlarge those openings in the gear... so it sits rather loosely on top. It actually did far better than I would have ever thought it would given that it isn't all that rigid and depends on gravity to hold it all together.
But, as is typical, my curiosity is nearly satisfied so will probably leave it to someone else to improve it and make it pretty. I'm generally more interested in function over form so rarely ever really finish anything; i.e. once satisfied that something can be done, I usually tire of it quickly... and then it's time to move on
-- DavidSimilar threads
