DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Upgrading a simple DIY PVC camera dolly with a motor and big wheels

Feb 12, 2018 by John Aldred 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Anybody who shoots video or timelapse knows that the key to getting great shots often involves camera movement. This is why sliders and dollies are so popular. Almost every timelapse shooter or filmmaker I know owns one. Of course, they’re not cheap. So lots of people have come up with ingenious ways to build their own. Including one from way back in 2011 by Frugal Filmmaker that costs less than $20.

For Eric Strebel, though, while it worked great, he wanted more. So, he upgraded the one he made to add a motor. The problem is, it’s too fast. So now he’s upgraded it again to turn it into a motorised Hot Rod table dolly. The construction extends Frugal Filmmaker’s original design quite nicely. It’s a fairly simple modification, but you may need to use a few more tools.

Eric’s motorised version of the table dolly uses a direct drive type system, using pressure on the top of one of the wheels to drive it forward. This gave him 8 revolutions per minute of the wheel, or one full revolution every 7.5 seconds. That’s quite quick, ever for tiny roller blade wheels. One revolution is around 22cm in total distance travelled. Around 3cm per second, or 1.76 metres over a whole minute.

The theory is that the larger wheel will rotate more slowly, and thus allow a slower speed. But, mathematically, this doesn’t make sense if you’re also moving the motor to the outer edge of the wheel. The motor’s still spinning at the same speed, and sure, you’ll get fewer revolutions per minute on the wheel it self, but with the circumference of it being proportionately longer, you’ll still travel the same distance. But, the motor does have a variable speed control circuit in there, allowing Eric to slow it down. The larger wheels should also help it to move more smoothly over ground that isn’t perfectly flat.

One pretty neat feature of the motor mount is that it’s spring loaded. This allows you to quickly and easily free it from the wheel to push and position it manually. That’s one of the biggest pains with many motorised dollies and sliders. You have to use the motor itself to reposition it where you want it, which often takes forever. No such issue here.

If you don’t fancy doing all this tooling to make the parts fit perfectly, but you’re a dab hand at 3D software, you might want to consider designing and 3D printing your own parts. Regular PLA should stand up quite well to this kind of use. Personally, though, I’d 1probably go with ABS or PETG for the motor mount itself, due to potential heat build up on the motor, if you go the 3D printing route.

I’d probably also extend the leg that comes down from the top piece to hold the crossbar with the two front wheels, too. Right now, it wouldn’t be rotating parallel to the ground if you want to have the camera turn as it moved. At tiny angles this wouldn’t be a massive deal, but at greater angles, you’ll have one wheel slightly off the ground – which could cause potential wobble as it moves.

Overall, though, it’s a very neat modification. The principles of this could be applied to just about any DIY dolly design. Of course, you’re on your own when it comes to cutting and measuring and making it all work.

If you haven’t seen the original video from Frugal Filmmaker on how to make the basic dolly, here it is.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailDIY PVC Table/Skater Dolly For Video Photography How to convert a floor dolly into a DIY tripod track dolly Default ThumbnailUse A PVC Pipe Lock For A More Robust PVC Studio The new $1 Hot Wheels “Zoom In” car is a miniature GoPro camera dolly in disguise

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: DIY, dolly, Eric Strebel, motorized slider, slider, table dolly

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« The Chroma is a new and unique large format technical camera
Instagram might soon warn you when someone screenshots your story »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Insta360’s new teaser says they’re entering the gimbal market
  • Users report blurry photos from Samsung Galaxy S23/S23+ cameras
  • Whale with severe scoliosis captured by drone video
  • Photographer builds 11-foot electronic waste skull to show Bitcoin’s impact on climate change
  • Fuji’x April X Summit reported to be cancelled

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy