How to make a jib arm motorized head

Let's Make Robots Project Ideas
1

Hi , I am wondering what there is out there to make a motorized camera head for a jib arm. What I have for the arm part, is two 1 by 4 bolted about two inches apart. I need some help to build a motorized head and control it from 8ft. away. So really what my question is what motors and controller do I buy?.

What I’m trying to make is something like this but cheaper than $650

I would appreciate any answers.

2

Thanks for the information. What servo controller would you suggest if I want velocity controlled? And what controller do I use for position controlled?

3

What is the different between this DDT560 Direct Drive Tilt (Hitec) and this DDT540 Direct Drive Tilt (Futaba). And what controllers would you suggest with one of these?

I am a independent Filmmaker with very little money, so I am looking for as many options as possible.

4

The Aluminum PT785-S Pan / Tilt System is $350 and is very similar. You only need a servo controller and power supply. If you really want to make your own, you need to determine first if you want it to be velocity controlled or position controlled.

5

For velocity control, you’ll need to be very careful since the 785HB only rotate continuously using a 500-600us pulse and a 2400-2500us pulse. For you to be able to do this on a joystick, it would be at the very extremes (almost full forward and full reverse). It’s better to do velocity control on a programmable microcontroller since you have much more control over the signal you send. If you are new to microcontrollers, then we suggest the BotBoarduino since it’s programmable in Arduino, can be connected to joysticks and operated stand-alone. This way you can do both velocity and position control. There are many other options of course…

6

One uses Hitec servo motors, while the other uses Futaba. The mounting dimensions are specific, so they cannot make a model which uses servos from either manufacturer. Note that neither of those kits includes the base servo - it’s the pan axis only. If you want to control it by hand, you only need a joystick controller.