3-Axis Camera Slider (Pan-Tilt-Mount)

3-Axis Camera Slider (Pan-Tilt-Mount)

A stepper-driven, Arduino Nano-controlled motion-control rig for DSLR/mirrorless cameras. Designed for video motion control, time-lapses and panoramic shots. Three NEMA 17 stepper motors drive the pan, tilt and slider axes. The pan axis uses a 144:17 herringbone gear reduction giving 0.0133° resolution; the tilt uses 64:21 for 0.0369°. The slider rides a 2GT belt on V-Slot 2040 extrusion for ~0.0225 mm linear precision.

Hall-effect sensors on each axis allow auto-homing. The rig is silent in 16th microstepping and runs from 12 V DC or a 3S LiPo for ~1 hour of portable shooting. The Arduino can also fire a camera shutter via a 2.5 mm jack, and accepts commands over USB or a JDY-31 Bluetooth pass-through.

Highlights

• 3 NEMA 17 + TMC2208 stepper drivers
• Auto-home via A3144 Hall sensors
• Pan, tilt, slider keyframe sequencing (panoramic-lapse / time-lapse)
• Camera shutter trigger via NPN transistor
• Bluetooth or USB serial control
• Custom PCB (Gerbers in repo)
• Tested up to 1 kg payload

Original creator: Isaac Chasteau (isaac879) License: MIT Source: https://github.com/isaac879/Pan-Tilt-Mount Demo video: https://youtu.be/1FfB7cLkUyQ STL files: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4547074

Hardware Required (BYOD)

This program targets an Arduino Nano running the pan_tilt_mount_nano_code_tmc2208 firmware. Communicate over USB serial or JDY-31 Bluetooth at 57600 baud.

Build Notes

• Skill level: Intermediate (soldering + 3D printing required)
• Build time: ~2-3 weekends
• Estimated cost: $60-110 USD for electronics + extrusion + hardware
• Custom PCB Gerbers included; you can also wire on perfboard

Commands (Arduino serial protocol)

Rp t e c are the most common: R reports status, p<deg> pans, t<deg> tilts, x<mm> slides, c triggers shutter, A auto-homes. See the full commands list PDF.

Printing

The full printable part set (26 parts) for the complete rig is now included here — the entire pan / tilt / slider mechanism, not just accessories. These were converted to STL from the creator's original STEP CAD exports in the source repo (isaac879/Pan-Tilt-Mount, MIT-licensed); an earlier STL-only import had missed them because the repo ships the mechanism as .stp CAD files.

Printed parts include:

• 144-tooth herringbone pan gear base mount + 17-tooth pinion (144:17 pan reduction)
• 64-tooth and 21-tooth herringbone tilt gears (plus print-in-place "flexi" gear variants)
• Pan mount, pan-mount bearing clamp, base-mount bearing clip ring
• Tilt U-mount and hall-effect stepper mount
• V-Slot 2040 slider carriage (top + bottom), support leg, belt clamps (side 1 & 2), belt-clamp lever, hall clamp
• 3D-printable bearing (parts 1 & 2 + cage), and bearing/shaft spacers
• Gear-side and idle-side supports, plus the LP-E6 camera-battery holder mount

Grab everything as a single ZIP (or the combined 3MF) from the print panel, or download parts individually.

Not printed — source these per the BOM: 3× NEMA 17 steppers + TMC2208 drivers, Arduino Nano, A3144 Hall sensors + magnets, V-Slot 2040 extrusion, GT2 belt/pulleys, metal bearings, and the custom PCB (Gerbers in the repo).

Original CAD & STLs: Isaac Chasteau — Pan-Tilt-Mount (MIT license) · also mirrored on Thingiverse (thing:4547074).