The Shapeways Blog: 3D Printing News & Innovation
Shapeways Blog
Tuesday, April 5. 2011
3D Printed 3-axis Camera Gimbal for GoPro
Stabilizer For Remote Controlled Airplane for FPV and Aerial Video
So many cool things about this project I don't know where to start.
This (if I understand fully) is a beautifully designed pan-tilt-roll gimbal for a GoPro HD camera to attach to a remote control airplane and stabilize the footage.. Ok, already very cool. SFX is using servos from Hobbyking (MKS470) or other places, and you can use a remote control with v-tail or elevon mixers to drive this as a 3-axis pan tilt unit. For the gyro stabilization you'll need some 3-axis gyro and micro-controller to generate the servo signals.
Plenty of things I know nothing about but get excited when I see a video of the unit in action like this.
Electronics aside the housing is perfectly designed with really lovely snap fit with a twist-knob closure design -
I was really amazed about the detail and strength, considering that there is a tiny spiral inside that little twisty-knob that pulls in the little tag with some matching grooves.... using the natural flexibility of WSF - and it works well!
And next is a video of where the camera will end up, to make the video (already lovely) a little less nauseating for anyone inclined to motion sickness.. If you want to make your own you can order the 3D Printed parts through Shapeways, and get the IMU from Scinamics.
Comments
This started off as a "quick and simple" project, but I got a bit carried away while designing it
@Max: no, sorry not yet - I am working on it, but needed to attend to other things. Also, I need to set up the plane first. Stay tuned!
Maybe via http://scinamics.com/contact.html
Good luck, and be sure to send us videos of the unit in action..
The bearing for the pan axis is a fairly standard ball bearing, 16mm outer and 8mm inner diameter (total overkill, I know....). Hobbyking sells these (I think as helicopter spare parts), maybe search for it. They should also be available from various online shops and ebay sellers, or maybe even in a local engineering supplies shop.
