How to Make a Simple DIY CNC Camera Slider (In A Single Day)

Always one to test the limits of what’s possible, designer Daniel de Bruin makes sure to devote a little time each week to a “single day build” which aids his work.

One of his more recent projects captures the process of building a CNC camera slider to help with his client work (which is already pretty awesome if you see his videos). The video a quick 1-minute look at the steps, parts, and process:

Oh, the things you can do with a laser cutter. It’s a relatively simple build, especially if you’ve used the same parts to build a CNC machine. This build only requires a number of custom laser-cut parts cut from 1/4″ MDF, a 20×20 aluminum extrusion, a few bits of hardware, a ~6cm lazy susan turntable bearing and, at the heart of it all, an Arduino combined with a GRBL, CNC shield, and universal G-code sender.

After assembling the physical parts of the slider, Daniel attaches the CNC Shield to the Arduino UNO (Kit here), using the open-source GRBL CNC motion control firmware for Arduino to tell the steppers to move along a 20×20 T-Slot aluminum extrusion. (You can see how to set up GRBL for CNC in the Instructable here.)

Once the program is up and running, he can control the speed and rotation of the camera; allowing for some cool accelerated or slow-motion shots. But since the video above is taken by a different camera, we don’t get a glimpse of what these shots look like (I guess we’ll just have to take his word for it).

There’s not a lot more detail than that but enough to get you on your way or inspire your own single day (week?) build. You can find a few more of Daniel de Bruin’s videos on his YouTube channel. Follow him on Instagram, especially to see his excellent studio tour. And if you really want to know more about the man, check out his personal website.

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