DIY Camera Crane for the Zhiyun Smooth-Q Gimbal
DIY Camera Crane for the Zhiyun Smooth-Q Gimbal
Published 2018-07-02T17:03:12+00:00
Jump into the Summer fun with this DIY camera crane! Use it to take aerial photography with your Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal.
Though the gimbal has a tripod mount at the bottom of the handle, I didn't like the whole gimbal to be held that way in all sorts of positions (horizontal to vertical).
I also wanted to have the longest adjustable pole available for a modest price. I thought about using an extra aluminum pool cleaning pole I had on hands.
I therefore designed this support which holds the gimbal both by the bottom 1/4"-20 mount as well as the top of the handle making for a very secure mounting with adjustable angle.
The clamp is a very customized version of this design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1012573
The knobs for the 1/4" bolts and nuts are taken from here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2267262 while the knobs for the M3 clamp bolt and nut can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2383326
If you want to add a plug at the end of the inner aluminum tube (if you use it alone to keep the end from digging into the ground), you can print and use the following: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2390255
See below for printing instructions, bill of material and assembly instructions.
This object was made in Tinkercad: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/67ejveLb0sP
The design requirements were:
No need to modify the gimbal
Keep the gimbal fully functional (including control panel)
Allow the gimbal to be positioned at different angles
Parts should print without need for support
In order to print the parts individually, you can separate the mesh parts in your slicer.
The two parts of the clamp are printed at once and if your printer is well tuned, they will easily separate after printing. If you need to adjust adhesion between the two parts of the clamp, you can tweak your extrusion rate or, if you use Simplify3D, you can use the "Horizontal size compensation" to that effect.
You may want to enable support for the pole mount (hole for the nut that prints underneath the part).
For a complete support, you'll need to print the following:
1X pole mount
1X gimbal support bracket
1X gimbal clamp (all three parts are plated in the included STL)
4X 1/4"-20 bolt knobs
2X M3 knobs
Bill of Material:
You'll need the following fasteners in order to assemble the support:
1X 1/4"-20 by 1 3/4" long bolt and one 1/4"-20 dome nut to affix the pole mount to aluminum pole
1X 1/4"-20 by 1 1/2" long bolt, one 6mm washer and one 1/4"-20 dome nut for the pole mount to gimbal support bracket swivel assembly
1X 1/4"-20 by 1" long bolt and a 6mm washer for the tripod mount of the gimbal
1X M3 20mm long bolt, two washers and one nylock nut for the clamp hinge
1X M3 20mm long bolt and 2 nuts that need to be glued into the small knobs used to close the clamp
1X M3 20mm long bolt as well as 1X M3 8mm long bolt and nut to mount the clamp to the support bracket.
You'll also need some 1/8" thick by 1/4" wide closed-cell adhesive foam strip to pad the contact points between the gimbal and the support.
Assembly Instructions:
Normally, you attach the broom or net to a pool pole on the bigger section and once extended, you handle it by the smallest section. But given we are going to be wielding the extended pole up in the air, it is much more efficient to mount our support to the smaller of the two rods and keep the larger one close to the ground. For this, you'll need to first modify your pole by removing the handle cap on the smaller of the two rods (27mm ID one) and drill a 1/4" hole for the mounting bolt 30mm from the end.
Then, we'll assemble the pole mount: First press the 1/4" dome nut and the 1 3/4" bolt into two of the four large knobs. Then press the second 1/4" dome nut into the hex recess in the pole mount. To assemble on the pole, insert the pole mount into the pole and align the holes so that you can insert and thread together the knobs with bolt and dome nut.
We'll now assemble the pivot hinge of the clamp by inserting the M3 by 20mm long bolt through the hinge with washers on each side and nylock nut at the end of the bolt.
You can now attach the clamp onto the gimbal support bracket by securing it with an M3 by 20mm bolt in the blind hole and an M3 by 8mm bolt and nut (the nut goes into the hexagonal recess in the support bracket). Ensure you put the sharp recess in the clamp towards the outside of the support bracket so as to marry with the profile of the Smooth-Q gimbal's handle. You can now cover with halves of the clamp with some adhesive foam strips as shown in the picture. Prepare both small knobs by threading completely and tightening one nut on the M3 by 20mm bolt, pushing it through one handle and securing with epoxy glue. For the second small knob, just insert a nut into it and secure with epoxy glue. Both small knobs can now be inserted into the clamp end end threaded together and left so the glue cures.
We'll prepare the tripod support end by puting small pieces of foam adhesive where it will contact the gimble and assemble the knob by pressing into one of the two large knob left the 1/4" by 1" bolt, inserting the 6mm washer on the bolt in between the knob and the support bracket.
Take the last large knob and press in the 1/4" by 1 1/2" long bolt, inserting a 6mm washer at the end of the bolt. Last we'll secure support bracket to the pole mount by threading the knob we just made through the two halves of the swivel joint of the bracket and mount (which has a dome nut into it's hex recess).
You can now mount your gimbal to the support by threading the knob with 1" bolt at the bottom of the handle and close and secure the clamp ensuring you rotate the gimbal's handle so the the control panel is on the outside of the bracket (so that it matches with the square recess in the clamp).
Enjoy your aerial shots!
Date published | 02/07/2018 |
Tecnología | FDM |
Complejidad | Fácil |
Sin apoyo | YES |