DIY 3D printed Timelapse Turntable

An affordable DIY 3D printed Arduino Turntable designed for Time lapse photography. Changing the gearing and code it can also be used for Photogrammetry/3D scanning or Video. All the parts are common and generic and in most cases can be bought for under $30 including material costs for printing.

The turntable operates on the move shoot move principle in the Timelapse and Photogrammetry modes where the camera is triggered via the sync cable.

The electronics can be adjusted based on personal needs, I for example opted for 2xOptocouplers to simultaneously trigger two separate cameras.

I would describe this as an intermediate level project,basic experience with Arduino and 3D printing as well as the ability to solder are required.

If you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment and thanks for watching!

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00:00 Intro
00:19 Supplies
00:35 Electronics
00:52 Wiring diagram
00:56 Printed Parts and Assembly
04:10 Testing

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Assembly instructions - best viewed at Instructables: https://bit.ly/3DTurntable_Instructables

Supplies:

Hardware

3D printed parts set, about 7$ worth of material.
3xM8x8mm Hex bolts
2xM3x4mm Hex bolts (https://geni.us/JvxX5K)

Electronics

28BYJ-48 Stepper motor https://geni.us/cGBFw (Amazon)
ULN2003 stepper motor driver
Arduino (or other microcontroller) https://geni.us/b92WV (Amazon)

Camera trigger:

PC817 Optocoupler https://geni.us/WwfIr (Amazon affiliate)
2x470 Ohm resistors
Camera trigger cable

Misc

Small breadboard or solderboard
Female header pins for microcontroller
Screw or plug terminals
Power supply 5-12V

Tools

Soldering iron
2.5mm Hex wrench
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Step 1 - Print the parts

Print the parts and clean up. Pay particular attention to the gear teeth, aim to do a better job than I did here at ensuring they are free from excess material.

All print files are available here: Printables https://bit.ly/3DTurntablePrintables

Or buy the set (Europe only) here: https://bit.ly/Turntable_Ebay


Step 2 - Electronics

Wire the electronics as pictured here 00:52

Note: I have only tested with Canon but should work with all camera systems.

Connect the tip and sleeve wires from the camera trigger cable to the output of the optocoupler, polarity doesn't matter. The third wire is for autofocus and remains unused.

Step 3 - Code
All code available here: https://bit.ly/Turntable_Code_Github

Step 4 - Assemble the turntable
Attach the motor to the gear cover with the 4mm bolts.

Attach the gear cover to the turntable base with 3x8mm bolts as pictured. The additional holes are spare and can be used if the holes become damaged.

Pictured is the gear to be used for Photogrammetry or video, use the two smaller gears and the other gear cover for Timelapse (it turns much slower).

Now connect and test everything! 03:08

Final thoughts

As I designed this Turntable to be as cheap and simple to build as possible it has some limitations. I will update soon with a few changes, at the moment I'm working on:

Mount for Nema 17 Motor https://geni.us/Nema17 (Amazon affiliate)

Ball bearing upgrade.

The supplied code is also very basic, suggested improvements are the incorporation of display and rotary encoder or push buttons to edit variables and changes modes without the need to connect to a computer.

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For licensing enquiries: info@by-drone.de
My Pond5 Stock gallery: https://bit.ly/3KvpQHt

My time lapse gear: https://kit.co/l0u0k0e/cellar-plant-timelapse-equipment

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Note: some links are affiliate, that means if you use them and purchase a product I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I appreciate the support!