tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33206397726164446502024-03-05T10:57:38.198+02:00HalsugripEki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-39677763604176147052013-01-02T12:39:00.001+02:002013-01-02T12:57:19.289+02:00Back in business<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4bMNdYznW1d5MGTo9a8v1Zv3FoMU8-TqS513DdRjbOj5krJ7yzElF35EL_clGFN1KuQ7uhfqExZpaIolblXxkTl1xSHj-hGIhmgC0v42WPCl0x_OttXbDkjFoA8qwdOmJC58UnWrxWsu/s1600/20130101_DSC_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4bMNdYznW1d5MGTo9a8v1Zv3FoMU8-TqS513DdRjbOj5krJ7yzElF35EL_clGFN1KuQ7uhfqExZpaIolblXxkTl1xSHj-hGIhmgC0v42WPCl0x_OttXbDkjFoA8qwdOmJC58UnWrxWsu/s320/20130101_DSC_0007.jpg" width="320" /></a>A little bit of progress... we moved to a <a href="http://spacewhale.fi/" target="_blank">new studio</a> in the fall, and all my prototype stuff was tucked away in the storage. Building up the studio took most (if not all) of my free time, so i didn't get to do much with Halsugrip stuff.<br />
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The good news is, there's now a dedicated service corner in the new studio, with much better resources for working on this stuff. And it's pretty much done now too. All the screws, nuts, bolts, aluminum profiles, custom parts, tools etc. have their own little homes, it's much more organized (or will be, when i get what's left of the chaos sorted out - that takes some serious effort i can tell you).<br />
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This said, i worked on the moco system last night, after a long break - what better to do in the New Year's Day than to tinker with the nerdy stuff, eh?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE_WZlgGRK_xUGNpwE9_wXEjEa7hK0vxc2w48q0dqU717Aul9rKG93EPCth0RheGnSCKcaxyDyWSMhHmiRMFV0WTi_LNylhXYgYCesd980myv_JCoEaU6__cfoPuteplleTH9hVg_dmVg/s1600/20130101_DSC_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE_WZlgGRK_xUGNpwE9_wXEjEa7hK0vxc2w48q0dqU717Aul9rKG93EPCth0RheGnSCKcaxyDyWSMhHmiRMFV0WTi_LNylhXYgYCesd980myv_JCoEaU6__cfoPuteplleTH9hVg_dmVg/s320/20130101_DSC_0008.jpg" width="320" /></a>And lo and behold, i got pretty much all the remaining mechanical stuff done - even tried on a DSLR and found out that the head feels plenty sturdy enough. Next it's just a matter of putting the electronics together, and the "small" task of coding the control software for the moco.<br />
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As a side note, for now i built the base for the head using a narrower track width than in my original plans - this way it's compatible with my existing manual mini dolly gear. It's not pretty, i had to improvise a lot - but i will likely get back to the wide track later, that also helps to accommodate the on-board electronics and controls. For protoing the system this smaller, stripped-out Frankenstein version will do just fine.<br />
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As the title says - back in business, yeah!Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-59221001395657113842012-08-27T12:03:00.000+03:002012-08-27T16:35:06.381+03:00D5100 @ shrubberyI got a new camera this summer, Nikon D5100. Here's a test video i did last weekend... I'll just copy the text from video description here, lazy me...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/RImCzvvwgiM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />
Some tests with my new Nikon D5100 (and Tamron 11-18 mm wide zoom), first outdoor footage. I tried to press the camera a little, with high contrast / high detail scenes.<br />
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I also have Nikon D90, which is a nice still camera but the video quality is pretty appalling. As i have some decent Nikon glass, when i wanted a DSLR with usable video quality, i went for yet another Nikon body, D5100. <br />
<br />
The overall impression is that D5100 is less serious a camera, lighter, feels more plastic, has way poorer battery life etc. For stills, i prefer D90, even if it's older and has less resolution etc. D5100 makes for a decent 2nd body, and sometimes the extra resolution can be useful. And the adjustable LCD is a very nice feature.<br />
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As far as the video quality goes, the resolution is decent, even though it clearly resolves less than the full 1920x1080. A huge leap from D90. The camera handles highlights and overexposure pretty decently and i like the colors overall. There's a shot at the end where i adjust the exposure from over to under, this should give an idea how the camera handles these. The camera unfortunately has rather severe moiré on fine details, seen i.e.in the ocean surface as crawling blue-red artifacts. These are partially hidden by Youtube compression and look worse on the camera originals.<br />
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The other thing i tried out was Tamron 11-18 mm wide zoom. It's fun beast, 11 mm is pretty darn wide but it still handles the geometry pretty well, without visible distortion. There are a few shots at the end of the clip where i walk around with the wide lens camera handheld (with the tripod attached to give it a little more mass for stabilization). Pretty wild even with such simple moves. <br />
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Camera settings: Picture control Neutral; Sharpening 0; Contrast -1; Brightness +; Saturation 0; hue 0; ISO 100; Auto control ON; Max. sensitivity ISO 1600; Min. shutter speed 1/50; Aperture priority mode. <br />
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With these settings, i get semi-manual operation. I first choose the aperture. When i switch to live view camera chooses the rest of the exposure parameters automatically, but they can be adjusted with the +/- setting to arrive at the desired value for ISO and shutter speed.<br />
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The camera will use ISO 100 with the current f-stop, and the +/- setting varies the shutter speed. If the shutter speed hits the threshold value of 1/50 when increasing exposure, the +/- setting will then adjust the ISO until the second threshold of ISO 1600 is reached. After that, the +/- will again adjust the shutter speed.<br />
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In a vast majority of cases, the result is the same i would have used with full manual control. When i hit the exposure combination i like, i just hit the AE-L button to lock the settings. This is a bit flimsy and backward way for adjusting the exposure, but it still works well enough.<br />
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Overall, i'm pretty happy with the purchase. This is not the best video DSLR, but it's pretty affordable, offers semi-decent image quality and most importantly to me, i can use my existing Nikon glass with it. <br />
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<br />Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-4374652656719193232012-08-24T02:23:00.000+03:002012-08-24T02:23:14.280+03:00The Pi is in the closet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Raspi_Colour_R.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Raspi_Colour_R.png" width="265" /></a></div>
I've totally forgotten to mention <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/">Raspberry Pi,</a> a barebones Linux computer board that is about the size of an <a href="http://www.arduino.cc/">Arduino</a> board (smaller than a pack of cigarettes), costs a few dozen bucks, and comes with decent connections, including HDMI etc.<br />
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It has a decent amount of computing power (similar to a modern cell phone AFAIK), so it can even process live HD video. Could be pretty cool alternative for the brains of Moco, or i.e. a standalone camera tracker together with an Arduino / IMU, for example.<br />
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It's rather nifty i must say, and i have one in my closet. Still unopened, but i'm eagerly waiting to play with it... Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-84646255111304464632012-08-18T23:49:00.001+03:002012-08-24T02:07:47.922+03:00It's been a while, part deux a.k.a. research and developmentIt's indeed been a while, mainly because there hasn't been much of new development on the hardware side.<br />
<br />
Or maybe just because i've been lazy... <br />
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Here's the beef. The hands-on work with the gear is on a hiatus currently, as we're in the midst of a move to new studio, and have been for the last few months. All the stuff is currently stacked in boxes in a huge pile. The new studio will be pretty cool - we will have a much bigger green screen, with two cyc walls.<br />
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While the physical gear stuff has been on a halt, i've been looking into software side of things. Not that much for the motion control stuff, but rather for a virtual studio (though they're related).<br />
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First of all, i've learned a bit of c++. I'm no guru, but i've gotten my first small programs to compile successfully. It's a start.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First dabblings... </td></tr>
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Virtual studio needs a few building blocks (apart from the obvious green screen, camera etc. hardware) - a block to tell where the camera is, a block to get the details of it's lens, a block to ingest the video, a block to create the 3D background images, a block to remove the greenscreen and composite the talent to the BG and finally the code to tie all these together to an user friendly application.<br />
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A lot of the stuff needed is open source, and could probably be hacked together with some glue code. So far so good.<br />
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I think the most complicated issue is to accurately retrieve the camera position and rotation.<br />
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I've toyed with the idea of attaching a Kinect sensor to the main camera. Some source code for <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=152807">Kinect Fusion</a> like stuff is available, but incorporating it isn't necessarily too easy, to say the least. I already got the Kinect, so i will play around with this stuff for sure.<br />
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Another route i have considered is using a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7hTIlq-YRE">9DOF IMU</a> - there's some Arduino compatible ones available, they are plenty good enough i.e. for <a href="http://diydrones.com/">UAV drones,</a> but i'm not sure whether they are stable and accurate enough for high precision tracking that's needed for the camera. I'll probably buy one and test it in practice, as well as the cheap <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Move">PS Move</a> controllers - which work i.e. with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLbl7hl2PRc&list=PL157C85AD4EBA4F4F&index=1&feature=plpp_video">LightWave3D's virtual studio tools</a> (which i definitely need to look more into too, by the way).<br />
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Optimum case would probably be something like what <a href="http://ipisoft.com/">iPisoft</a> does for mocap, tracking the production camera's position using multiple cheap cameras (namely PS eye), which is similar to what many established virtual set manufacturers do already. Unfortunately, this all is commercial software and thus there's no way to get the source, and i've had a bit of a hard time finding even whitepapers on the subject. I / we will very likely purchase iPisoft at some point though, to enable markerless motion capture of actors in our studio - a topic definitely worthy of it's own post, but that's for later.<br />
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Although <a href="http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/">OpenCV</a>
graphics library includes some camera tracking algorithms, they are not
readily suitable for this task, as far as i can see. But it can probably
be used for getting the video frames and processing them on the GPU -
Open CV has bits for i.e. calibrating the lenses etc. which should come
in very handy. I'll probably need to write my own keyer, and so far
i've already written a rudimentary one that works in real time, at least
using a webcam. I've earlier done a more complex keyer for After
Effects using Pixel
Bender language (shame on Adobe that it's discontinued in CS6).<br />
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<br />
<br />
While all this happens to the video, the camera's parameters are sent to a 3D engine that will render out the virtual scene from the real camera's point of view. The most likely candidate for this might be <a href="http://www.ogre3d.org/">Ogre</a>, which is open source.<br />
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The last bit needed is the glue code to make this into an actual application (or a suite of applications).<br />
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How hard can it be?<br />
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Pretty hard i'm afraid, but hey, some
others have succeeded in doing that stuff, so even if i don't, it may be an interesting
ride to try ;-) Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-84146220282942283292012-02-27T11:26:00.008+02:002012-02-27T11:58:51.393+02:00It's been a while<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Routing the cables through the bearing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>...since the last update. That's, well, mainly because there hasn't been that much progress to report on. Been rather busy with Real Work (TM). I did manage to get a bit of time to work on the moco head a while ago, the current assembly is a kind of an hybrid of the metal and plastic ones: i used some steel bits to reinforce the plastic construction.<br />
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Further, after a pretty long adventure in the belly of the custom and postal offices, some more parts arrived. Namely, the motors and control board for the moco - i put the original parts to the CNC machine. The <a href="http://cncsnap.com/wiki/domopes">Domo*pes board</a> has the motor drivers built in, which is rather convenient. So, the moco head now has the motors, as well as the necessary power transmission, belts and pulleys to make it work.<br />
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While assembling, i noticed some design silliness in my original plans - nothing that would stop the head from working, but stuff that i will definitely redesign for future models, if i ever get that far. Again, the lesson here is that what looks good on the computer screen may work, but it just as well may not.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head on top of the temporary base.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In other words, planning ahead does reduce the number of mishaps, but not eliminate them altogether, with my engineering skills at least... in this case, the way i thought i'd secure the motors (just by the friction caused by sandwiching the mounting plates to the frame) was way too flimsy - i added extra bolts to tighten it up. A somewhat working temporary solution, but far from optimal.<br />
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Some things worked as planned though: routing the cables through the center hole of the large aluminum bearing at the base of the moco head still feels like worth the effort. This way the cables are not a problem when i.e. panning the head more than 360 degrees. Of course, even with this configuration, the cables will get twisted if the head is rotated too many times, but i don't really think that is a big issue in practice.<br />
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Also, i did assemble a temporary base for the head, well, to some extent. No wheels or motors etc. yet. Just the frame. This is actually not at all how i planned it, but might work for now. The good thing with this new configuration would be that it'd run on a narrower track, the same width i use with the manually operated miniature dolly. This would be a big plus for compatibility, obviously.Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-14537893781113918952012-01-08T17:36:00.000+02:002012-01-08T17:36:04.311+02:00Not the droids part deux.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-TT7qrct-3hhnB7-cK38YIdpVsQK3iazFOQ2fEuKOMx2xlPDLomOHv4e8ktEbNaKCIeXy3FaXO6bgzEFRbJOeckU_cz7oDixri4cGFr4_iGwWagQ2lAeOqp4VfOFxm8uhQnOhnc42pAR/s1600/20120108_164306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-TT7qrct-3hhnB7-cK38YIdpVsQK3iazFOQ2fEuKOMx2xlPDLomOHv4e8ktEbNaKCIeXy3FaXO6bgzEFRbJOeckU_cz7oDixri4cGFr4_iGwWagQ2lAeOqp4VfOFxm8uhQnOhnc42pAR/s320/20120108_164306.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Today i had a few hours again - this time, i assembled the plastic version of the Moco head (left). Again, this is not the final version, it's missing motors, belts, pulleys and so on, as well as the whole base. On this pic it's resting ontop my manual mini dolly - which is essentially just a 75mm cup for a video head with wheels. Simple, but works perfectly...Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-56557449337622236422012-01-03T01:36:00.001+02:002012-01-03T01:39:43.632+02:00It's alive!! (Part One)Yep, the CNC stuff works now, more or less. After a long night at the studio, i managed to get the thing to do what it's expected. So, it not only moves controlled by the computer, carving out stuff, it does it with at least some degree of accuracy - a supposed 10 cm move is a real 10 cm move, also according to the tape measure. Also, i found the right combination of software to make the machine accept <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-code">GCode</a>, the standard format for this type of machining.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFBdyL6LaBrTDCP2_NxYYbVHHrnGq8MhflcOBhbBap_n-ePjn6tQlS8A5f4VKfSfkR5w7UcJcjQUWP1fuunhMSm0QTBYj40SWBDziVQv-IJ1CkoTw17pumsQSc81Y2hautiaAj3-6ospK/s1600/31122011033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFBdyL6LaBrTDCP2_NxYYbVHHrnGq8MhflcOBhbBap_n-ePjn6tQlS8A5f4VKfSfkR5w7UcJcjQUWP1fuunhMSm0QTBYj40SWBDziVQv-IJ1CkoTw17pumsQSc81Y2hautiaAj3-6ospK/s320/31122011033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That was not exactly a trivial task - i tried dozens of combinations that didn't work. For example, there are many flavors of the controller board i use, Arduino. A piece of software that's said to be "Arduino compatible" may or may not work on any given version of the board. As the software is mostly written by hobbyists, it may easily be that the author of the software has only tried it with one hardware combination.<br />
<br />
The board i used for this machine is <a href="http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardMega2560">Arduino Mega 2560.</a> It's bit of an overkill for this task, so it's not too surprising that most CNC software is originally written for lesser (and older) Arduino versions. There's also quite a lot of software for 3D printers out there, which use the same principles as this machine (XYZ motion, GCode instructions), but with the addition of controlling the extruder head which is kind of a hi-fi version of a hot glue gun, and other extra stuff. I tried those too, but honestly my skills (and especially patience) were not up to the task of bypassing all that excess code to make the software work with my crude barebones machine.<br />
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I don't actually remember the exact combination i finally ended up using, but i'll try to document that when i get back to the studio. Also, some coding was needed to make my machine work: some basic configuration (i.e. how many rotation steps make one mm of movement) as well as bypassing some code (i do not have end stop switches on the machine, for example).<br />
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After all this, the machine works, as said. But just barely. I can already see dozens of improvements that need to be made in order for this to be an actually usable tool instead of just a fun curiosity project. And as far as i've read other people's experiences, that is an endless road. Many people end up doing multiple machines, each better, more capable and accurate than the earlier ones. I wouldn't be too surprised if that happened to me too...Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-7120110019823793702011-12-25T13:07:00.004+02:002011-12-25T13:30:35.821+02:00CNC or Moco?<span id="goog_818845520"></span><span id="goog_818845521"></span>Decisions, decisions... I had one afternoon of free time to work on the project before the holidays. I had most of the parts for the DIY CNC, and the 5mm acrylic parts had also arrived for the alternate plastic version of the Moco head. I knew i couldn't do both in such a short time so i had to pick one. This time, i decided to have a go at the CNC mill, the reasoning being that if i got that working properly, it would help with the motion control stuff too. Better to have the tools than the product at this point.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbK40YatAdEkdWOJ0VHpi_KOVhbe-OMMAe_kTabIIAgTTvjX9Z209rgyWV1sY14ShYgkLsJtonvRvHLto_RFdiVv2-R4cP5I_xAIANRyYBtFFzJNWoP_5s1yrvXVCEy0R7diA_R8-2Rz9/s1600/23122011016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbK40YatAdEkdWOJ0VHpi_KOVhbe-OMMAe_kTabIIAgTTvjX9Z209rgyWV1sY14ShYgkLsJtonvRvHLto_RFdiVv2-R4cP5I_xAIANRyYBtFFzJNWoP_5s1yrvXVCEy0R7diA_R8-2Rz9/s320/23122011016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CNC mark zero point five.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So i started to bolt stuff together. The CNC mill/3d printer/ whatever uses a lot of the parts from Halsugrip system - i had them readily available. It says something about the versatility of the aluminium profiles that it didn't really take that long before i had the frame done using the standard length pieces (i had done some testing previously which obviously did help). For the linear motion, i used sliding bits on the profile grooves, for now. Will see if that works for real. The linear motion in all axes is powered with Nema 17 stepper motors, which rotate M10 threaded rods.<br />
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I bought the zero backslash leadnuts and threaded couplers from <a href="http://www.dumpstercnc.com/">dumpster cnc.</a> The quality of the parts seems to be very good. The only complain is that the couplers, while made for a metric system, use imperial hex grub screws for tightening the coupler to the rods and the axle. And of course, i have no imperial hex keys. I guess a trip to the hardware store is needed, or maybe i will replace those with my own screws.<br />
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As far as the laser cut parts for the machine go, they're mostly 6,6mm delrin. Wised up from previous mistakes, i tried to make them as adjustable as possible - no exact positions for fixing screws but rather grooves where the screws can be slided around at least a little. Nevertheless, many parts didn't fit at all as is, i had to saw, drill etc. them to bolt my Frankenstein CNC together. Its surprising how despite checking measurements multiple times, and even making a 3D version of the finished gear to see everything fits together before ordering, when i actually get the stuff on my hands, it rarely works the first time.<br />
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In theory, the CNC is now built - i have all axes assembled, motors and lead screws in place etc. Unfortunately, i didn't have the time to connect the electronics and bolt on the dremel-like cheap Cotech tool to actually try it out. The design is far, far away from being optimal, so it will be interesting to see what happens when i do. But that will have to wait untill next time...Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-70835129328230390372011-12-21T11:40:00.000+02:002011-12-21T11:40:44.712+02:00And now: DelrinYep, the Delrin parts arrived, as well as some of the back order parts from <a href="http://www.technobotsonline.com/">Technobots.</a> Most of this stuff will be used for the CNC machine, not the Moco system. Delrin is a pretty cool material, very hard and rigid, and also very low friction. More to follow when i have the time to go to the studio and actually do something with this stuff...Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-42203302937921923112011-12-16T07:31:00.003+02:002011-12-16T08:52:11.142+02:00Not the droids you're looking for...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxw0qSeI3rRppCuUoQdyK1Hq5V_GuYn3KIOs_8pQo8x4rsuXEIkix0lcQqZmyL0lIpLWJqSb1QZWaHRMYPforeBlDE8nvOIqDREn1PXQT2BHZpAORRHnBvdLvurq-_MhafKCyLMl75dOC/s1600/14122011012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxw0qSeI3rRppCuUoQdyK1Hq5V_GuYn3KIOs_8pQo8x4rsuXEIkix0lcQqZmyL0lIpLWJqSb1QZWaHRMYPforeBlDE8nvOIqDREn1PXQT2BHZpAORRHnBvdLvurq-_MhafKCyLMl75dOC/s320/14122011012.jpg" width="320" /></a>...but pretty close. The answer to the question last time was "steel". Even though some parts are still missing, i couldn't help but toss together a mockup of what the Moco head will look like when it's done, using scrap parts. So, what you see in the image isn't the real deal, but the overall shape is more or less correct, sans wheels and some other bits. The steel parts are 0.9 mm thick (the only option available at Ponoko), which isn't much. I was a bit worried about the rigidness, or rather the potential lack of it, but after bolting the parts together the resulting assembly feels rather solid.<br />
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I'm simultaneously working on another approach to the same thing: instead of 0.9 mm steel, it will be made of 5 mm thick plastic sheets. When i get that stuff, i'll compare the two for rigidness, weight, durability, look etc. properties. I hope one of these two approaches will work fine, but if not, the next thing i'll try will be aluminium, in 3 or 5 mm thickness. Ponoko can't supply that, but there's yet one more online manufacturer that does, <a href="http://www.emachineshop.com/">emachineshop.com.</a> I haven't ordered anything from there yet, but i did already download their CAD software and try it out. Works fine.<br />
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As a side note, i also made some progress with the DIY CNC / 3D printer. It will be built mainly from the standard Halsugrip aluminum profiles - actually that's closer to their original purpose in a way. I did quite a few tests for track / dolly alternatives back in the day, and some parts i gathered for that purpose will find a good use in this contraption. My dolly protos use skate wheels currently, but one option was to use slider bits instead. They are machined slippery plastic parts that run along the grooves of the aluminum profiles. The moves are very precise, but they required a bit too much force to be used in a dolly in my opinion, and they made a clearly audible swooshing sound which is a no no for any shoot with on location audio. But for the linear move elements of the CNC / 3D printer they will work nicely, i think. The force to overcome friction should be a non issue, my design uses 10 mm threaded rods to drive the XYZ stages, so each full rotation of the motor is translated to only 1.5 mm of linear motion. With that kind of transmission, there's plenty of force with me i hope.Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-50126586225152456332011-12-13T10:14:00.002+02:002011-12-13T12:01:43.205+02:00Steel or Delrin?Just got a word from DHL that a package from Ponoko is about to arrive tomorrow, they wanted to know whether they would take care of the customs and taxes, or would i do that myself. I let them do it. So, tomorrow i'll get more parts - they come from Ponoko New Zealand (though i ordered from USA). I have only two orders in from outside the EU, so they must be either the steel or the delrin parts for the Moco rig. Either way is good, i get to play a little again.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7-7Zp-pd6faLOpKPVQjNZvMAxjEcTBh1pntt_gEpbs7zAx06I7znkZ4Q1kzH3jXCByI2a4R0IewoMhvVLDzoefNE_IpgWAi4E46dV6T2djZjyJuoXhmBmABRnyHSfQ_uXb55odBjVYGq/s1600/20090824_1573_SM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7-7Zp-pd6faLOpKPVQjNZvMAxjEcTBh1pntt_gEpbs7zAx06I7znkZ4Q1kzH3jXCByI2a4R0IewoMhvVLDzoefNE_IpgWAi4E46dV6T2djZjyJuoXhmBmABRnyHSfQ_uXb55odBjVYGq/s320/20090824_1573_SM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First "somewhat Moco" prototype, summer 2009</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The motion control rig has very humble beginnings. As a proof-of-concept (and out of necessity), i made a quick time lapse camera rig two years ago from a RC toy car by changing the motor and modifying the transmission for very, very slow motion and stripping out the excess parts. Then i just put a small sand bag on top of that, and let the camera rest on it.<br />
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I used the crude proto to shoot an actual gig, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss_8A6oETXY">Skanno's corporate video. </a>I started with D90, but being hooked to a laptop for the time lapse trigger soon proved impractical (which reminds me, the Moco rig will need a still camera trigger option too i guess). For most shots, i used my trusty old HV20, a little HDV camera, sometimes with my <a href="http://eki.pp.fi/temp/Eki/HV20/35mm_adapter/firstlook/">DIY 35mm DoF adapter (built 2007).</a> I just let it record for as long as i thought i needed the shot to be, then sped up the footage in post. I'm pretty happy with the results i got.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/ss_8A6oETXY/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ss_8A6oETXY&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ss_8A6oETXY&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-66980003544018643382011-12-12T15:34:00.004+02:002011-12-13T13:59:15.060+02:00Electronics<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEraG4TjaaNs8oe7Phhl5H1RO6IfPotMBFZm7G4_s8VZpjzNnKe-PoL6vi9GNhvcVMiFK-UZWMayiN2Y1nwp2G8-1S2HQRLMm6fNuPRcnyf9bXqiC-eEK4eQjXeodMV-WDyW_qRTENMQb/s1600/10122011003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEraG4TjaaNs8oe7Phhl5H1RO6IfPotMBFZm7G4_s8VZpjzNnKe-PoL6vi9GNhvcVMiFK-UZWMayiN2Y1nwp2G8-1S2HQRLMm6fNuPRcnyf9bXqiC-eEK4eQjXeodMV-WDyW_qRTENMQb/s320/10122011003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moco dolly/head electronics</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Just a quick note, most of the electronics for the motion control dolly/head have arrived, as well as some of the laser cut parts, belts and timing pulleys etc. At this point, it will have three axes of freedom, track, pan and tilt. I spent better part of a day soldering etc. The basic setup seems to be ok now (at least everything powers up). I will test this as is when i get the rest of the parts, running under computer control. The standalone controls (also seen in the picture) can wait until i have everything else working properly. I'm using D9 sub connectors in many roles - they are pretty robust, and work well with pre-crimped cables and can even be soldered directly to boards - most of the connections will not be permanently soldered though, at least on this prototype, for easier debugging and maintenance.<br />
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The electronics setup is rather similar to that of CNC mills/routers and 3D printers. I will need to write my own software though. But speaking of CNC, i ordered an extra set while at it, and will probably build my own CNC / 3D printer. So far, i have been ordering 3D printed parts from <a href="http://www.shapeways.com/">Shapeways</a> and laser cut parts (plastic and steel) from <a href="http://www.ponoko.com/">Ponoko</a>. While this works really well, everything can be done online, quotes are automatic and the quality is great, in the other hand it's not too cheap when the parts are largeish, especially with shipping... and it takes quite a while to get the goods. Having my own gear to make the prototype parts would make things move along much faster. Not so surprisingly, usually the first version of a part doesn't really work too well, it's the 2nd or 3rd generation that's, well, "ok". And between each iteration, there's a few weeks of waiting, not to mention, usually a few hundred more bucks spent.<br />
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As a small rant, i'd really like to see similar online service as with Shapeways and Ponoko from Finnish companies - i'd like to get stuff done locally, but i do <b>not </b>want to call a sales representative just to know how much a square meter of 3mm aluminium costs. That stuff should be available online. Especially as i mostly work on this project after hours, and the question usually arises at 1 am.Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320639772616444650.post-36407117577571401282011-12-12T09:39:00.006+02:002011-12-13T11:41:22.347+02:00Work In ProgressI've been in the business of making moving images for the last 20 years or so, be they actually shot or virtual ones. I've also always been interested in building my own stuff, getting by with scarce resources, using DIY and/or consumer equipment wherever it's suitable for the job. I'm not an engineer, but over the years i've built multiple edits, made a few greenscreen stages, written software and also made some minor gear to use on the shoots.<br />
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Maybe two or three years ago or so, i started to look deeper into building my own tracks, dollies, jib and other camera gear, with the underlying idea to maybe make those into a real product line one day. The key point was to make the system as affordable and as modular as possible - maybe partly inspired by <a href="http://www.red.com/products">Red's new Epic and Scarlet</a> cameras. The work-in-progress title for this line of gear is "Halsugrip" - hence the name of this blog. The journey is still underway and i'll try to share a bit of that trip here.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMTSeXbKG-KtilDHHOaU4aGn0shzkHunrhzfxYm4JuKrPfQoY6odKFEmn7xyUcBxugFAvExOv4SaZXfVyTlBsQ9qDapS8-UZivlV3IRxEZMSApr5Bu8yyfFx0C6iALSDLAsnI_uV_sqUK/s1600/20091211_6857_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMTSeXbKG-KtilDHHOaU4aGn0shzkHunrhzfxYm4JuKrPfQoY6odKFEmn7xyUcBxugFAvExOv4SaZXfVyTlBsQ9qDapS8-UZivlV3IRxEZMSApr5Bu8yyfFx0C6iALSDLAsnI_uV_sqUK/s320/20091211_6857_sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jib prototype V01 (December 2009)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The main building blocks of the system are aluminum profiles, normally used for making frames for industrial machines, conveyor systems etc. The profiles have multiple benefits: they're mass produced and thus relatively inexpensive, relatively light yet very robust and best of all extremely versatile. They have grooves that run through the whole length, and pretty much anything can be bolted on using standard M8 bolts and nuts. There will be a few standard profiles in various lengths with standard machining (cut to length, drilled, tapped), which can become parts of a jib, track, dolly, poor man's steadycam, motion control system... you name it. <br />
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Of course, there will also be custom parts - while i consider myself very much a novice still, i've enjoyed learning a bit about gears, pulleys, bearings, CNC machining aluminium, 3D printing, laser cutting and casting plastic.. and also a little about programming for embedded systems. It seems the options are endless, the number of design decisions simply bewildering.<br />
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Also, it's become painfully clear that getting the first somewhat working proof-of-concept prototype is often quick, easy and affordable, but coming up with a really good robust and versatile design that's worthy of showing to others is far from it.<br />
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Welcome on board folks, i hope you enjoy the ride.<br />
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As a teaser,<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mPJlNJN7gY"> this trailer </a>was shot (with Red One) using my prototype dolly and track.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0mPJlNJN7gY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Eki Halkkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756473076101700452noreply@blogger.com0