Newbie looking for the right kind of motor for pan tilt head

Robotics and electronics discussion Miscellaneous
1

Hi!

I’m very new to the exciting world of robotics, so please forgive me for asking such basic questions.

I’m trying to build a video camera motion control system in which I could pre-program exact camera moves with Arduino.

I’m not sure what kind of a motor would best suite my intentions, there seems to be so many different options like brushless motors, stepper motors, servos etc.

I will list a few key things that might help with this decision:

-I need to control the motor accurately so that I can program it to always move the exact same amount
-The motor should be able to tilt a videocamera weighting up to 20 lbs (or 10 kilos).
-I need the motor to be able to turn around 360 degrees and in both directions (forward and reverse)
-The motor should be smooth, so that the movement won’t jitter
-I would like to be able to program also feathered movements (gradual starts and stops) for a smooth experience
-The maximum speed of the motor doesn’t have to be very fast

Is there some other things to take into consideration? Could you kindly suggest what type of a motor could suite my needs?

ANY help will be highly appreciated!

Thanks!

2

Hello.

20 pounds is quite a bit, especially to be doing 360 degrees in both directions. A geared brushed motor will be the easiest to control, so you should look for that. The load your motor will have to lift will depend a lot on your mechanical design, so you’ll have to figure quite a bit of that out yourself. If you don’t need continuous rotation, you could use something like our jrk 12v12 with a potentiometer for feedback. (You would need the appropriate mechanical reduction or a multi-turn potentiometer to get a 360-degree range.)

- Jan