I need help!
My name is Joshua Bedford (as you can see) and I enjoy creating things. I have recently gotten into video (last 2 years) and have experimented with building my own camera slider (why not?).
My goal is to create a camera slider that is cost-effective, yet fluid. The attached photo is of a prototype i (very) roughly made with wood. It is VERY fluid (best one I’ve used that isn’t belt-driven) but the wood is too soft for me to trust it’s support. It is a prototype made out of metal pipe (copper in my case, conduit is a cheap option that would be perfectly fine), wood, pulley wheels, and bolts.
This is where the problem comes in: the wooden supports. I need the ability to fasten the slider to a single tripod in the center, or between two tripods from each end via a 1/4" threaded hole. I inserted 1/4" threaded inserts into the wood, but it is too soft to withstand much strain (not good). I could use a hardwood possibly, but I wanted to explore the cost and strength of 3D printing / CNC machining.
I will attach photos of my (very rough, don’t judge) slider. I can provide more if needed.
As stated, the attached image is the current version. It is very rough. The .skp file linked here is a sketchup file (not my design) of a similar slider, if one could be designed to use conduit and pulley wheels, it can be done very cheap! Link to Greg’s sketchup file: Camera Slider | 3D Warehouse
My goal is to be strong but ‘cheap’. A hard plastic might work well, but im not opposed to metal (just sounds expensive).
The “engineering” part of it is fairly simple. 1/2in. conduit has a 0.706" outside diameter. I need 4 items: x2 end plate to secure pipe perfectly parallel (evenly spaced… potentially by 2 pass-through style holes), x1 center plate for center support (prevents bowing), x1 dolly for supporting the camera as it slides. I can provide more details and dimensions of what i have currently if needed. I just need help figuring our the CNC or 3D print things (if they are feasible for the price).
