I tried using a Red Scarlet on the rig. Once you get it balanced, the motors have no problem moving it in all directions. The build level is still too weak to use it regularly. We are already working on a full metal construction of the head. The slider is massive enough to put anything on, the rotation head however is not.

Awesome, well done

@vicharris I doubt it was W20 since is really heavy (around 5kg just for the 1.8m slider and the carriage), and the pillow blocks are rated for like 80kg of weight a piece. Probably more than enough for the giant panavision cameras if you mount it properly. W16 is solid as well. It might be that you had W10 (like this one http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61dE3zMMGNL.AA1500.jpg ).

Here is a quick test:

I will try to use it on an actual shot next.

@kavadni Its a toothed belt. If i used the rack and pinion setup i would have to mount the motor on the carriage, which isnt good in this case (it would add around 1kg to the carriage weight, which would decrease max speed and the angle at which i can drive with this motor). Getting a 1.8m rack would be a challenge as well :P

@vicharris Do you have W20 or W16 size? I got W20 and its hard to get a good result when pushing it by hand. A test i've done when i got the slider:

For higher speeds you can get an ok result, but slow movements are problematic (unless you are a cyborg). I'd say its nearly useless if you would use it only with your hand (especially if you compare it to a pro slider like the cineslider from Kessler). But for motorizing i think its the best option out there (price wise, and how easy it is to motorize it).

I see now it's a belt :) or Rack?

@mk47, May I ask where you found the worm gear.

Great, please keep posting it's very interesting .. would love to see repeated moves. A track across the garden, then a track across a person against a green screen, then a composite would be interesting

Hey. I didnt get on the electronics yet. With the current gears the ratio is about 1:4. I think it will be to weak for certain lenses (especially for zoom). I think i could go to about 1:10 ratio with this type of gear setup. Then there is the worm gear and stronger NEMA (11&14) motors if even that turns out too weak.

As far as noise goes i think it will be a pretty big problem for recording from the camera. I doubt i would need the sound from the camera for the shots i have in mind. I dont think it would be a problem if I used a boom mic or something.

A little update. Its mostly done. All that remains are the gears and electronics.

The independent head is a very good idea. Thus the electronics and software should be able to work in different configurations. What kind of hardware are you planning to use? About motors, how did you size power and speed? To move the slider I am thinking to use a rack with a pinion mounted on the carriage. In this way I think I would get a higher precision and a more compact design.

It is very interesting.

What do you think about making it universal system so all it'll need will be three 1/4" threads (one on base and two on slider ends)?

I dont know anyone who owns a CNC milling machine and paying the commercial cost would be too much at this point.

But I know quite many of such firms :-)

Interesting, would you like to share some informations? Where did you get those nylon clamps? Are you using a stepper motor? How do you think to motorize the slider? Good job anyway!