Hi, I am a complete newbie here so apologies if this is an overly simple question… I’d like to build a simple system to lift a metal arm with a stepper motor very smoothly. It’s to lift an object (approx 1 kg)in and out of a tank of liquid, and will be filmed insow motion so needs to be fairly fast but super smooth. Are there kits I can buy? Someone I could ask to build it? I am not up to speed with circuitry, power etc but reasonably practical! Thanks in advance for any help or links
I require your help regarding a problem I’m encountering.
A stepper by definition isn’t smooth; it “steps” from one position to the next. Unless you need the precision positioning that a stepper is designed for I recommend using a DC gearmotor. It will be much smoother, probably cheaper, and certainly easier to use.
Is there some reason you need a stepper?
Hi, thanks for coming back to me. I’d assumed a stepper motor would be smooth (as well as precise) because I’m aware they’re used in motion control rigs, but other than that I’m not set on them. It’s more about smoothness, the build will be filmed and potentially in macro so any juddering/shaking would render it less useful! Essentially I just want motor that can lift a platform, and ideally a kit that I can use to assemble this Meccano style!
Can you give more information? I don’t know of any off the shelf assembly that does what you want, but it shouldn’t be hard to build.
You say it needs to lift 1kg: how far? how fast? Will it just be a cable lifting it straight up or some type of lever arrangement (a drawing of what you have in mind would be good.) Are you wanting to control it manually with a switch or do you want it automated somehow?
What I envision is a small gearmotor attached to a frame over the container with a cable going down to the object. There are plenty of gearmotors available that could handle 1kg and moderate speeds and don’t cost much. But to even begin to recommend one the speed you need is required.
