Super-Light Brushless Camera Gimbal Frame

by jgrouse | June 24, 2013 | (5) Posted in Projects

After much searching through endless listings for Brushless Camera Gimbals on eBay one thing that struck me was that almost all of the gimbals were not particularly lightweight.  Most were made from G10 or aluminium and most involved lots of plastic clamps and bolts.  There had to be a better design that was both very light and very strong.  Carbon fibre seemed to be the answer to that requirement, however the designs that do use carbon fiber tend to stick with tubes and clamping those tubes together with plastic clamps.  Even still they all ended up being around 400g without the camera.  

Soooo, from past positive experience with 2mm carbon fiber plate I decided to start with a design for a frame that would cater to Sony NEX sized camera's and smaller.  This apparently required me to use 4008 size rewound brushless motors (about 45mm in diameter and 20mm deep).  So the design revolved around those dimensions.  I also had to take into account how it would attach to the underside of my hexacopter (also made from carbon fiber).  In my case I had already installed tall landing skids which look like this (very cheap on eBay) -

I replaced the plastic tubes with hollow CF tubes to reduce the weight.  Using the distance between the two 12mm upper tubes I designed a method of attaching to them that reduces vibrations, using rubber grommets, and allows for fore-aft repositioning to find a good balance point.  The final gimbal design below does not require any bolts to hold it all together, just small pegs that slot in tightly to lock it all in place and a dab of hot glue stops them from vibrating out in mid flight - which also allows for disassembly just by heating them with a hot air gun.  The only bolts required are to hold the motors in place.  The Martinez or AlexMos controllers with 45mm hole spacing then attaches to the bracket behind the roll motor.  Weight with the large 4008 motors ended up being close to 220g.  Keywords - Light, Strong and Simple.  Final rendered design below -

If you are using Chrome give this a go - http://168.63.167.21/gimbal.html.  This is a 3D version that you can interact with which gives you a better idea of how it all holds together.

And the prototype attached to my hexacopter -

Test video using the GoPro (anyone want to donate an NEX to test???)

Just in the process of getting a test sample CNC cut to see if it all comes together as nicely as the hand cut prototype.  If that goes well I will order 50 and see if I sell them all (thinking $90USD for just the frame and all the fixing).  Yet to find 4008 size motors that are under $50 each so a complete kit with all the electronics will probably sell for around $250USD.  Not a bad price if you compare it with the NEX size gimbals being sold on ebay.  Even the little RCTimer GoPro gimbal that is selling well at the moment is sitting around that price.

I will also srink this design down for GoPro only sized cameras and offer that up as a cheaper and lighter alternative to the RCTimer aluminium gimbal.

Happy to hear any expressions of interest - and gladly take on any contructive feedback.

COMMENTS

Splatwillicrash on July 1, 2013
Great design!! Many of us fly DJI products and dont have the long 15mm tubes for mounting Gear or Gimbal, and I have yet to see a really elegant way to mount onto a Flamewheel. I would order your unit if I had a decent way to mount it. This is a big market for you if you can come up with a good mount for this application. Velcro and Plastic Tie Wraps is not gonna cut it....
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jgrouse on July 3, 2013
I'll see if I can find an accurate DJI Flamewheel 3D object to import into my 3D software. That will give me a good basis to design a vibe free connection point for my gimbal.
Also seriously considering widening the gimbal a bit to allow the NEX7's USB hatch to fully open if the camera is sitting forward (due to use of the shorter lens). Some people will need that port open to run the camera from an external battery.
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jgrouse on July 8, 2013
Finally received a sample of the iPower GBM2008-80T gimbal motor. Almost finished designing the GoPro frame to suit its dimentions.

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StoneBlueAirlines on June 26, 2013
I would love to get a set of legs light that do you mind sharing where you picked them up?
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jgrouse on July 3, 2013
Hi, if you do a search on eBay for "tall landing skids" they will be listed there. The two rods are 12mm in diameter and 59 mm from the centres (as found on X650 quads). I'm weighing up selling them or designing some CF ones to connect to the same X650 type system.
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StoneBlueAirlines on July 6, 2013
Super thanks.
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jgrouse on July 6, 2013
Not sure if I'm allowed to post links so to be on the safe side just search for Grouse House Technologies where you'll get more information on this gimbal design and where I am up to with making them available. When the final revision is in my hands I think I'll post the Flitetest guys a ready to go gimbal to see what they make of it.
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BuddyMartin on June 25, 2013
That is really amazing. It looks like it works great keeping everything very steady. A scaled down gopro size is a great idea.
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jgrouse on July 3, 2013
Thanks everyone for the feedback. NEX gimbal will be on sale in my new store 1/8/13.
Almost finished designing the GoPro version. And yes, there are heaps of GoPro gimbals to choose from so to be distinctive the weight saving aspect will be pushed.
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manoktot on June 28, 2013
That looks good. I am going with the counterflow though, as a lot of gimbals are being made for the gopro already. It's nice that someone is focusing a gimbal for NEX/LX7 sizes which are far more capable cams.

I checked the link that allows you to explore the gimbal using chrome. I may have missed it, is there an adjustment for fore/aft of the cam? I can see there's one for the roll axis, but I don't see one for the fore/aft balance of the cam. Again, I may have just missed it so apologies if I did. Looking forward to this gimbal!
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jgrouse on July 3, 2013
If you are talking about fore/aft to balance the whole assembly on the multicopter with the battery then just slide the fore/aft on the two 12mm rods at the top. If you are talking about setting the fore/aft balance for the pitch assembly then you just move the camera fore/aft on the slotted platform till you find the sweet spot and then lock the 1/4" screw under the lower plate to secure the camera. Vertical balance on the pitch assembly can be set by adding the CF washers I provide to raise or lower the camera on the 1/4" connection point. The large CF washers I provide add strength to the base plate that the camera sits on.
I'm aiming for 1/8/13 to have the stock ready to go. Probably will be the odd tweak here or there before then. Just setting up the online store now. Will be some other cool stuff for sale as well.
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manoktot on July 4, 2013
Nice. I just saw your video for the first sample and the CF is looking stiff and sturdy. I would love to be able to try and mount my LX7 on that thing. Are you going to offer an RTF package (with motors and board)?
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jgrouse on July 4, 2013
Just checked the specs of the Panasonic DMC-LX7 - yes it will fit and the weight of that thing will not be a problem. I'd just make sure your multicopter is capable of lifting a 300g camera + a 300g gimbal.
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jgrouse on July 4, 2013
Yes, it actually feels sturdier than the prototype I hand cut, most likely due to the final CF being thicker (and unfortunately marginally heavier). Feels like I could drop it off a building and it would just scuff the nice shiny CF surface.
I'm in the ordering process at the moment and the plan is to have the kit with 2xLD-Power 4008 gimbal motors and the RCTimer controller. Still having a tough time tracking down wholesale supply of the AlexMos controller.
How heavy is the LX7? I can go get a big mug of water set to the same weight and see if there is any flex in it. If it is any wider than an NEX7 you might have a time trying to get it to fit on my design.
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RoyBro on June 26, 2013
I love this community! There are so many talented members willing to advance the hobby with exactly what we need.

I agree that a smaller version for the GoPro and an option for an over/under setup for folks that FPV using a separate camera. See Ycopter's setup. http://forum.flitetest.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4375&d=1337361275
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jgrouse on July 3, 2013
I'm with you on that. There are systems to allow video feeds from NEX / DSLR camera's but most seem to require a converter that goes from HDMI to composite video. The extra lag in that conversion process make FPV'ing a little tricky.
Would the preference be to have the FPV camera unstabilised with that setup?
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jgrouse on July 8, 2013
Please check out the update I have made to the design which now includes a tilt mount for an FPV camera as well as a mount plate for cameras similar in shape to the Sony Handycam range of hand held video cameras - http://www.grousehousetechnologies.com/GHT_NEXt-Gimbal_-_frame_only/p2202005_9920035.aspx

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jgrouse on August 2, 2013
Stock is in! Please check out my site at www.grousehousetechnologies.com and find out about my new NEX5 sized camera gimbal which as far as I can tell is the lightest one you will find catering to this camera range. All up weight with everything fitted (2 motors/controller/IMU and no camera) is only 345g.
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Super-Light Brushless Camera Gimbal Frame