Final Project Journal

i learned to photograph about 4 years ago and since then i was thinking of how to control my camera movement's and making automation system for routine actions

then i found a blog about a diy camera slider so i started making it last summer in quarantine i made some progress but got stuck because power source was big and the wiring was a mess, and couldn't make other axis like tilt and pan , plus i had no experience or knowledge at all for coding, and couldn't find bearing system robust to support tilt and pan movement ,also i wanted to add an interface like an LCD or mobile app and to make it battery power operated to make it mobile and easy to carry anywhere.

so i choosed a new project with some kind close similarity to the slider

i choosed to Make a 360 Turntable for product photography and maybe add photogrammetry system "if i got it working :D" since i also love 3d modeling and sculpting ,

the project main features can be separated into two parts the rotating turntable and the controlling unit box

so for the table itself wanted to make it closed cylindrical box at first but thought of time consumption for printing and although it will take a lot of material to make it the size i wanted to be, which is 30cm approximately wide , so i choosed 3mm plywood and laser cutting then i scketched some lines to think about what will be in place and relations to other component

• then up to the modeling :D i used fusion for sketching and then extruded some surfaces (sketches) and assembled them together with joints, then i added electronic components to think how they will be mounted together

for the main constructer of the table and its base i used 8cm tall screws with 8mm diameter and nuts

• for the control box i firstly imported all components i decided to use into fuison360, i used GrabCade and MCmaster to find all components.

after that i arranged them to know what is a good size for the box

then i drew the sketches and i used T-slots for final assembly of the box itself

then i projected components openings and screws for final assembly

after finishing i exported all final sketches DXF for getting ready to laser cutting

i arranged all parts in illustrator and add some stuff there too like the led openings

for fabricating on laser i used laser work software to arrange files and setting up power and speed for the laser machine i then uploaded files and waited i used approximately 3 of 30x50 cm rectangular sheets

then i started assembling plywood parts and made sure it all fits

now it all went perfect, :D

up to the hard stuff we goooo

the electrical components i used :

• Nema 17 stepper motor + jumper wire cable >> output

• stepper driver a4988 + Expansion Board module

• 16x2 i2c LCD Screen >> output

• rotary encoder module >> input

• on off switch

• mini breadboard

• 5mm IR infrared LED (Transmitter Diode) >> output

• 5mm LED s (green and red) for indicating status >> output

• a lot of Jumper Wire (male to male , and male to female )

• Arduino UNO

and some 330ohm resistors basically for the LEDs

i used 9V 2amps power supply because stepper motor nema 17

Current: 1.2A at 4V

https://www.circuito.io/

its cool and easy website i just dragged the component and it gives you suggestions how to connect them "i'm not cheating :D"

i tested every and each component alone

with code in separate

at first the code begins with some declarations and definition to libraries and other variables used

firstly i tested the stepper motor and worked

const int stepPin = 6;

const int dirPin = 7;

void setup() {

pinMode(stepPin,OUTPUT);

pinMode(dirPin,OUTPUT);

}

void loop() {

digitalWrite(dirPin,LOW); // direction

for(int x = 0; x < 1000; x++) {

digitalWrite(stepPin,HIGH);

delayMicroseconds(350);

digitalWrite(stepPin,LOW);

delayMicroseconds(350);

}

delay(500);

}

next i tested the encoder with the lcd to get count numbers and direction

#define clk 2

#define data 3

int counter = 0;

int State;

int LastState;

void setup() {

//Define the pins as inputs

pinMode (clk,INPUT);

pinMode (data,INPUT);

Serial.begin (9600); //Start serial com so we could print the value on the serial monitor

// Reads the initial state of the clock pin

LastState = digitalRead(clk);

}

void loop() {

State = digitalRead(clk); // Reads the "current" state of the clock pin

// If the previous and the current state of the clock are different, that means a step has occured

if (State != LastState){

// If the data state is different to the clock state, that means the encoder is rotating clockwise

if (digitalRead(data) != State) {

counter ++;

} else {

counter --;

}

Serial.print("Position: ");

Serial.println(counter);

}

LastState = State; // Updates the previous state of the clock with the current state

}

third step was the menu

so i found that i have to make an array and call one of them with the counter from the encoder like the numeric keyboard example we had before

i made

char MenuLine[4][20] = {" 360 Video ", " Clk&Rotate ", " option 3 "};

int CursorLine = 0;

and in the loop i called the CursorLine with the counter of the encoder to shuffle through the MenuLine array

and i made a selection function if pressing the button takes the CursorLine number and put the correspond

void selection()

{switch (CursorLine) {

case 0:

lcd.print(" Clk&Rotate ");

Serial.println(" Clk&Rotate ");

rotate_clik_IR();

break;

case 1:

lcd.print(" 360 Video ");

Serial.println(" 360 Video ");

rotate_video();

break;

case 2:

lcd.print("Option 3");

Serial.println(" 3 Selected");

i added motor action

i added a function for rotating the motor and called it from the selection menu

void rotate_video() { // rotates the shaft full cycle

digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH); // LOW for CCW , HIGH for CW direction

for (int x = 0; x < 200; x++) { // 200 step for full rotation of the shaft

digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH);

delay(5); // Speed

digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW);

delay(5);// Speed

}

}

rotate_clik_IR(); // rotates the shaft no of steps and then call another function for the IR shutter in it

void rotate_clik_IR() {

digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH);

Serial.println(" shot 1");

// IR function here <<<<<

for (int x = 0; x < 50; x++) { // 50 for 1/4 rotation of the motor

digitalWrite(stepPin, HIGH);

delayMicroseconds(3000); // Speed

digitalWrite(stepPin, LOW);

delayMicroseconds(3000);// Speed

}

lastly the IR function

i searched and found a ir library which have builtin functions and found the one needed for my camera brand

ir code void sonyShutter() {

for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++)

{

irsend.sendSony(740239, 20); // specifically for sony and the code is for shutter release

digitalWrite(redLED, HIGH); // just an indicator

digitalWrite(greenLED, HIGH); // just an indicator

delay(40);

digitalWrite(redLED, LOW); // just an indicator

digitalWrite(greenLED, LOW); // just an indicator

}

}

the actual code:

at first the code begins with some declarations and definition to libraries and other variables used

Void Setup<< where code play only once at the beginning only

here i declared output and input pin and power on the lcd and its backlight also i added

welcome screen

Void Loop

it basicaly work with the encoder and shuffle through an array and select it

next i add the actions after selection each in a separate function and called them all back each in its place

when i was alone coding i usually search google but my group instructors Menna & Mohannad was so helpful , and thanks Saed for making my ir infra led work

i paused many time for coding i didn't know how encoder works and how to make a menu system for choosing within

im stuck now at making a submenu within the first choice or the first array

the code just exits to the main menu every time :S

if i hade more time i would

1. print a knop for the rotary encoder

2. make a 3dprinted gearing system

3. add submenu and make a user input in it

4. controlling over Bluetooth with GUI smartphone or a pc