How to motorize any slider for less than $50! Parts listed

In this DIY video, I show how I motorized my Edelkrone Slider Plus in 2-3 hours.
Any slider can be motorized in this very simple and affordable way.
All you need for it is your imagination, creativity and all the parts listed below or similar.
(Just opened affiliate account with Amazon and will make a tiny commission if you buy by clicking on these links. Thank you!)
Parts list:
Uxcell 12V Motor (I recommend 2 RPM for the time lapse and 40 RPM for regular shooting)
2 RPM - amzn.to/2NWJRsY
40 RPM - amzn.to/2M7iZor
Mounting Bracket:
amzn.to/2M68vWh
Timing Belt with Pulley (I used this one but had to drill a bigger hole in the pulley)
amzn.to/2wUWVZn
Speed controller:
amzn.to/2Qb1Oph
8 Battery holder:
amzn.to/2M7RpY3
9V battery connector clip:
amzn.to/2oLew1r
Cable:
amzn.to/2oOcfTl
Music from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsou...)

[@cinarsinan]

I am proud to see people love EdelKrone tools

[@4tcfilm]

The best video about the subject, simple & short, fantastic logo as well!

[@ZiggyM]

Wow, thanks!

[@gringo6f]

Thank you! I have the same slider and already wanted to do it like that but I did not know how. Thanks for sharing now I am going to do it. You earned another subscriber

[@youxanyou]

Very nice video, very well presented!

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you!:)

[@ProTekGuy]

That was a pretty cool and awesome upgrade bro! keep it up! Thanks for sharing! 👍

[@davidsgardell]

This is awesome, Ziggy!! I have the Kamerar SD-1 and would love to motorize it!

[@pjhunton]

I was literally just wanting to know this and your vid popped up, nice one man!

[@ZiggyM]

Thanks Phil!

[@DanielTuriman]

You are genius man!

[@ZiggyM]

Daniel Turiman Thanks man! But I’m not :))

[@kayatworkme]

Hello! Can u tell me why did u take 8 battery 1.5 AAA ? Why not 12v battery A23 or A27? Its smaller and chipper. Or im wrong? It will be problem?

[@ZiggyM]

Hey, it is just one of the options. Of course, you can use any 12v battery.

[@kayatworkme]

Ziggy Meilus ow, thanx for your attention!!!

[@Rangetechus]

Excellent video! Best solution I’ve seen yet!

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you!

[@virginijusmickevicius3363]

grazus vaizdai...:)malonu rasti lietuviu :),tokiu isradingu !

[@ZiggyM]

Aciu uz gera zodi! malonu ir man..:)

[@congtech]

Hi, is it possible to move the slider freely?

[@ZiggyM]

Hello, no it is not possible when you have the motor on, but it only takes munutes to take it of and replace that belt.

[@congtech]

yeah but sometimes, its just annoying to wait until the slider reach the right spot just to set tho focal point :/

[@ZiggyM]

I aggree, its primitive

[@angorets77]

How many revolutions does the gear motor have?

[@ZiggyM]

Mine has 40 rpm, but it could be even faster for the faster novement. I also use 2 rom motor for timelapse.

[@emilflognoid1532]

Inspiring! You gave me a great idea. ( I also want to make a slow-moving slide for time-lapse) Thinking I could use an old drill, most of them have speed control built into the trigger, I can mount it with a set screw to push the trigger at whatever speed I want.

[@ZiggyM]

Hmm... Old drill, huh? You will have to slow down a lot even the slowest motion of that drill, but, I guess anything is possible. Good luck! ;)

[@GabriellCoruja]

Just got one slider that look exactly like this one and this project may be perfect for me, but i need to know if this system has any type of course end recognition and if it do any kind of auto loop. Thanks!

[@ZiggyM]

Hey, my friend! It is a very basic project and no, it does not do any fancy stuff. You would need a more advanced controller for looping and course recognition. Good luck with it! ;)

[@siva-qj9cq]

500th Subcriber 🖐

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you! :)

[@jucamocesworksm5]

whaooo very smart solution!!

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you, Juan!

[@anthonyjaisingh]

Good on you mate that was brilliant.

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you!

[@Vitalivesfree]

What a brilliant video!

[@nacholara8419]

How will you make it able to go back and front when it finish the rail?? Thanks man

[@ZiggyM]

Hey man, It's all manual, with a help of a switch :)

[@realjaxon]

Well done. I have been thinking of a DC motor, but I wonder if they are very smooth. I am also considering stepper motors, which are very smooth and quiet, but may require more work.

[@indiemathlaws3393]

You could try a TB6600 driver with a pulse generator, the connection is quite simple. And if you choose to use an Arduino board, you would simply need the driver and the Arduino.

[@realjaxon]

@@indiemathlaws3393 Would that be for a DC motor or a stepper motor?

[@indiemathlaws3393]

@@realjaxon Stepper motor, a nema 17. A DC motor only requires power, or if you want to control the speed an h-bridge driver. I recommend this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aX29kKlpf9GXrdE

[@sknyutheniguoko]

nice

[@ZiggyM]

Thanks

[@EduarFilms]

question, why do you need 8 AAA batteries? it can't won't with 4 for example?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Cool video, Ziggy. I am building something similar to modify a DIY slider. I want to be able to control the motor remotely and have been planning to use an Arduino-based controller with a NEMA17 stepper motor. May I ask why you selected the motor that you did?

[@4tcfilm]

because is small, cheap, quiet & easy to control

[@YOURFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi Ziggy i like the build, which rpm should i get to do some product filming. closeups etc..

[@ZiggyM]

Hey! 40 RPM is the overall best option I think. With the speed controller, it can be slowed down enough as well as quite fast at the full speed.

[@YOURFISHINGCHANNEL]

thanks Ziggy.

[@csabalandi]

How much time does the A➡️B take to the camera with a 30/40rpm motor?

[@GreaterMontrealRealEstate]

I am convinced! I will build one. Do you have any modification to make it loop? Left to right automatically.

[@ZiggyM]

Hello Tomas! I didn't do that yet but try Arduino products for that matter. Good luck!

[@oldgitwithnewtech2124]

how did you join the timing belt after cutting to size?

[@MKBontwikkeling]

No need to I think it's just clamped

[@DavidBrazda1]

How quiet is the 40rpm motor? Is it suitable for regular video shooting noisewise?

[@ZiggyM]

Hi David, noise is a bit of a problem especially when recording in-camera sound. The only way is to have your subject a few meters away, use the external mike and move the slider at a low speed. It is best suited for soundless recording, b-roll and timelapse.

[@nicola_fiorentino]

Can you explain how to connect the electric parts? I’m not an expert and I have no idea how to connect the batteries to the main board and the motor.

[@ZiggyM]

I'm sorry, I missed your comment. Have you figured out the connection?

[@nicola_fiorentino]

Ziggy Meilus nope, any idea. Do you have a scheme?

[@ZiggyM]

No, I don't have a scheme, but it is very simple if you use similar components. Speed controller has 4 contacts (2 in and 2 out) and it has to be in the middle between battery and motor. So, 2 wires (+ and - ) from the battery go to the speed controller's IN contacts and other 2 wires connect to the speed controller's OUT and go to the motor. Even polarity doesn't matter that much here, you can mix + - and it will work anyway. Just try it :)

[@nicola_fiorentino]

Ziggy Meilus thank you very much, really usefull! Tank you 👍🏻

[@ZiggyM]

Thanks man! sure, no problem

[@tarapot9617]

Wtf

[@YOURFISHINGCHANNEL]

hi ziggy, i got most of the parts, just want to know how you got the reverse and forward working?

[@ZiggyM]

Hey, the speed controller has to have that magic switch.

[@YOURFISHINGCHANNEL]

hahaha ok, i thought i was smart and got a different speed controller , but with no magic switch. back to the drawing table .@@ZiggyM

[@legoguy830]

Any updates on the best voltage for the motor

[@ZiggyM]

For time lapse I use 2 rpm motor, the slowest I could find in this family. For this particular slider and slowest setup it takes about 25 minutes to travel all the distance. For normal sliding shots 40 rpm motor works good for me. It can even be faster 50 or 60 rpm for faster sliding motion. Speed regulator does a good job slowing it down.

[@legoguy830]

Working on this right now with my slider could you maybe post a picture or some kind of follow up on how exactly you did the wiring I am struggling to get it to turn on.

[@ZiggyM]

Not sure how to post a picture here.. it is very simple, speed controller is basically in the middle of the chain. it has 2 clamps marked IN to receive a power from the power supply and 2 OUT for the wire that connects to the motor.

[@orlandodasilva8117]

Zigy Melius, Great Video and thank you for the part list also. I love your project. I have a Proaim Spark 13, that is an Edelkrone clone, and I guess I can do the same with the Spark. Is that possible to have the arduino programed to operated into endless loops. It will be ideal for a B camera. I would guess, besides the programing, it will be necessary to add a "dip switch on each side of the slider.

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you Orlando! Yes, that would be a next step to improve this slider. I will think about it. For now I just tried to motorize it fast and cheap.

[@orlandodasilva8117]

Ziggy, Thank you very much, I did subscribe to your channel and I will be looking for new projects hopfully with an endless loop. I want motorize my Proaim Spark, but don't want to spend a fortune. I have another question: how is the noise level on your system? Thank you again

[@ZiggyM]

Its a bit noisy, I wouldn't shoot anything that requires a sound recording, but for b-roll or slow motion it is good. Also, my main idea was to use it for short time lapse, so it is perfect for that too. Thanks for subscribing! :)

[@kevintwitchettold]

Hi Ziggy, great vid, got me thinking, i do both time-lapse and b-roll stuff so the idea of switching the motors out is a real bummer, two ideas, how do u think it would perform if instead of changing the belt for a longer one and putting the drive 'outside' the slider the drive sprocket was mounted 'inside' the slider and tensioned up against the belt? That way a motor swtich need not be a PITA. The second idea is to fit a potentiometer to the set-up, I am no technician and this was suggested by a friend. Would that allow a greater RPM range? Say 0.25 to 50 RPM?

[@ZiggyM]

Kevin Twitchett Sure, this is just rough and primitive idea. You can do many things differently. Not sure what you mean by potentiometer, but it has a speed controller, i think thi is the same. Only thing is that these motors can be only slowed down to a certan point by it. So for more versatile speeds you would need something different, more advanced. Thanks for your interest though! 😀

[@xrayzone21]

Hi! Love your build and was thinking of doing it myself but with a slight modification. As I mainly do timelapses at night I need the slider to move only between shots or I get blurred images with long exposures. How would you suggest I could implement this feature in your build? I thought of just turning it on and off manually but I don't like this solution...

[@ZiggyM]

Hey, thanks! Yes, you are right, for night timelapses this might be no good. It moves really slow, so a 2-4 sec. exposure might not be a big problem, it would even give you a nice motion blur, but for the longer ones, it will not work. Then you need to make intervals and also fire the shutter at the certain points which have to be coordinated by some controller like Arduino. To be honest, for the really nice night sky timelapse I would look into buying a more advanced slider. They just so not cheap...

[@hierkosmo]

Hey Ziggy. How many pulls do you get per battery pack? 6 AA'S? Thanks.

[@ZiggyM]

Hey Sal, I use 8 rechargeable AA's, and they hold pretty good for several hours of continuous use, but never counted the number of pulls.. its a lot of them :)

[@Bonez888]

would you be able to replace the 8 batteries with a power bank? great video!!

[@ZiggyM]

I’m sure you can as long as it is 12 volt output. Thanks!

[@FikretinDunyasi]

A very nice and simple explained video:Great.I want to ask you or i can use a 20 or 40rpm motor istead of this 2rpm with this parts?If i use a 20-40rpm motor must i change the parts?Is a 20-40rpm motor more powerfull?Can you please anser me?Thank you

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you! rpm stands for round per minute, so more of them means faster motor. I use 40rpm for regular sliding shots and just switch to 2 rpm motor for very slow sliding motion for timelapse photography. No other parts need to be changed. Good luck!

[@FikretinDunyasi]

Thank you.I order everything and waiting for the parts.Very nice very simple explain.GREAT

[@puppay]

Hey Ziggy, Great video! The speed controller you posted in your description is no longer available on amazon. What is the name of it so maybe I can find it somewhere else or do you have something else in mind to use. Thanks!

[@ZiggyM]

Hey, thanks! It just some generic speed controller with a polarity switch. This one looks identical to mine: www.amazon.com/DROK-Control-Controller-Circuit-Rotation/dp/B075RDP29R/ref=sr_1_14?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1520239383&sr=1-14&keywords=electric+motor+speed+control

[@ngoprekbro2973]

Like it... Nice brooo..

[@ralphcantave9889]

Thx

[@demimoky3205]

please can we get the link for the slider

[@ZiggyM]

Sure, edelkrone.com

[@geneba712]

How did you stick the belt?

[@ZiggyM]

Not sure what you mean...

[@geneba712]

The replace rubber belt you use is open, a long strap. After taking the measure you need, you had to close it, to stick it, put together the ends. It it important how you did it, if the link is not well done, if it has a bump, may have a glitch.

[@ZiggyM]

The slider that I use has 2 separate pieces of belt. So I only had to replace one of them and no gluing was done.

[@geneba712]

I understand. Thank you for reply! I just saw how you cut the belt with scissors and the link you have for the belt on Amazon shows an open belt. That is why I asked. I have a similar slider and if change the belt, I would need to glue it and do it perfect. Nice video! I saw a video over Vilnius on your channel made with Mavic Pro. You have some interesting transitions there and interesting views. Not just the boring type. Did you use Premiere?

[@ZiggyM]

I just cut the length I needed. Hmm, not sure about gluing the belt. It has to be the way to fix it without gluing. If your slider has a single belt you just replace the whole thing with timing version. Thanks man! :) No, I'm using FCPX and sometimes Davinci Resolve.

[@SacredAces]

Loved the video! Coud you link me to your slider?

[@ZiggyM]

Thank you! You can look at their website: edelkrone.com

[@mcb9644]

drilling a $900 slider ? i don't think it is a good idea lol

[@PraveenKumar-fs6of]

A stepper motor would be Better for this Work, with Controller .

[@germannunez4324]

ohh yess, me lilke

[@LesTutosdUneMinute]

*Buys a 500$ slider* _Uses a cardboard box to make the enclosure

[@ashbrauw]

he's making a tutorial for people who can't afford it mister wiseguy!

[@BaronVonBiffo]

Your video seemed interesting but you've ruined it by drowning out your commentary with loud "music".

[@ashbrauw]

Les than $50 ????????? it's more than 50!!!!!!

[@tonymoua1058]

How did u put the belt together when it was cut?

[@ZiggyM]

This slider has 2 pieces of belt, one on each side, so I just changed one piece.