It Was Good but I Can Do BETTER

[@James_Norris]

Great vid! - Mech. Engineer chiming in! Creating some compressive force is your friend for this sort of application - A cost effective method of overcoming the wobbling issue while keeping only a single post would be to add an additional hole to your base plate, centered to the extrusion porfile. This would allow a threaded rod to pass which can be locked off with a nut and washer on the underside of the base plate. You will need to secure the other end of the threaded rod to a cap at the top of the pole. you can adjust the amount of tension on the rod by adjusting the nut. By running a rod along the inside of the aluminum extrusion, anchored at both ends with a nut & washer to adjust the tension, you create a situation called prestressing. When you tension the rod, it introduces a compressive force along the length of the pole, effectively increasing the rigidity. This additional internal force reduces flex and deflection, which can help dampen or limit the wobbling effect. When the pole is hit, it oscillates mainly because of its length and the inherent flexibility of aluminum, which is a bit more prone to bending to other materials such as steel. The rod acts similarly to how a guitar string does: when tensioned, it becomes very stiff. When you add tension to the rod, it makes the entire structure behave as though it has a higher modulus of elasticity (stiffness). This helps counteract the pole’s tendency to oscillate by adding resistance to bending, especially at the top. You could further dampen the wobble by fixing the whole arrangement onto a dampening layer before fastening to the base plate - somethging like a thin rubber or foam to absorb some of the kinetic energy when struck. Alternative options would be to create more of a frame to support the pole - either by way of more aluminium extrusion or gussets (more material, cost, weight and complexity) or to add something like tensioned guy-wires from the top of the pole to the corners of the base plate (similar to how tall antennas are supported). I would imagine this solution to be harder to use and adds to the cost and complexity of the project. Hope this helps :)

[@MarshallLoveday]

Best solution that I can see here, and should be fairly simple to add to the rig.

[@grainincidentallyyew]

This is awesome stuff. Thanks for chiming in! "the inherent flexibility of aluminum" Oof. I need to keep remembering that aluminum alloys are all more flexible than steel, no matter what decades of bicycle marketing has told me.

[@James_Norris]

@@grainincidentallyyew Totally fair point! The phrase ‘inherent flexibility of aluminum’ could use a bit more nuance - aluminum itself has a lower modulus of elasticity compared to steel, meaning it does flex more under the same load. Having said that, not all aluminum alloys are created equal, and some alloys are impressively strong and stiff, especially when used with optimized cross-sections, material grade and correct tempering such as for the extrusions shown in the video, likely a 6063-T5 (common for the manufacturing proceeses involved for producing the profile). That said, aluminum’s flexibility doesn’t necessarily mean it’s weak! In fact, it can be quite advantageous for absorbing shocks and vibration - hence why the bike industry has marketed it so effectively. For a tall, unsupported pole like the subject of this video, though - aluminum’s lower stiffness (relative to steel at least) makes it a bit more prone to wobbling.

[@Alexandra-Rex]

How would it be with three poles and some 45° angle bars between them at atleast the top and bottom? It's just what popped into my head just before he started with the second pole, I have no knowledge of this at all.

[@coolbugfacts1234]

That was my thought too, post-tension it like a concrete slab. First I thought about anchoring it like a radio tower, but the camera would run into the lines.

[@mikestone-w1q]

Vibration damping is kind of the opposite of stiffness: you have energy making the pole vibrate, and you need it to go somewhere else. Making the system stiffer just lets it hold the energy better and transfer it more efficiently. Try putting heavy felt pads between the metal plate and the caster mounts. The energy making the pole vibrate has to push against the ground to make the pole stop and go the other way, and making the energy pass through a slightly mushy pad will disrupt that. Some of the enrgy will make the fibers move relative to each other, converting the vibration to a small amount of heat. Better yet, saturate the with pads with heavy grease. The fibers will still be able to move, but when they do, they’ll also move the grease. Grease is a liquid, so it has low shear strength (one layer moving past another), but the high viscosity means a moving layer will transfer energy to the layers on either side of it. Basically the wobbling energy turns into energy stirring the grease at a microscopic level. Again, the energy changes from motion to heat, but the fibers-in-grease system do that *really* well.

[@jack002tuber]

I agree with this. Shock absorption is what you need and stiffness is the enemy

[@Craftlngo]

what you also could do to improve the stability is feeding a long piece of all-thread through the middle of the extrusion. Screw it tight into the bottom plate and anchor it at the top with a disc-shaped nut that is secured in the extrusion against movement along its length (maybe a slot that takes up the nut). If you now tighten the nut on the all-thread it gets set under tension stress. On the other hand the extrusion gets elastic compressed, which damps the wobble by changing the "wobble-frequency" of the extrusion.

[@philip6102]

Nice idea but one question. Wouldn’t the tension pushing down on a long extrusion like that eventually cause it to shift and bend? Or am I thinking completely in the wrong direction here?

[@Craftlngo]

@@philip6102 No, I was thinking of an pre-tensioning in the elastic area of hooke's diagram. No plastic deformation would happen if the nut is tightened carefully.

[@Wordsnwood]

Love seeing the Tron Lights shooting around in the background.... Cool Beams!

[@charleshanson9467]

Some sort of angled bracing or gussets probably would have gone a long way. But, I'm glad you got it satisfactory.

[@Culpride]

And you think making it stiffer and stiffer wouldn't turn it into a giant tuning fork? It's not problem that it's not stiff or massy enough. It's the question: where does the enegy go? How does a dead blow hammer do it?.

[@joegibes]

​@@Culprideeh, it will definitely make it stiffer and reduce the vibrations - probably increasing the frequency of the pole's natural resonance. For this application, that's a good thing. You could consider using some damping rubber where the braces attach to the pole, to help those higher frequency vibrations if they're too much.

[@EricFMyers]

Thumbs up for the bolt cutting tip, but if you forget the nut before cutting you can also slightly file a taper on the bolt's end.

[@MrDmorgan52]

I was going to add . I taper mine every time. Just doing what my Dad taught me 60+ years ago

[@EricFMyers]

@@MrDmorgan52 It also gets rid of that sharp burr which may prevent needing a🩹 in the future.

[@rogercoit2209]

Try threaded rod to put tension on the post, more you tighten the nut should be less movement 🤞

[@MohamedMagdy_94]

I was thinking the same thing... compression would really rule out the flexibility of the aluminum extrusion and couple it more securely to the base.

[@jbratt]

I was thinking a cable but a rod would be easier due to the available threading 👍

[@Culpride]

@@jbratt so make it a one stringed bass? Stiffening is a shure way to prolong wobble. Harden it like a one pronged tuning fork. A dead blow hammer on the other hand ... has a magical mechanism to transfer the energy into heat. Loose sand.

[@jbratt]

@@Culpride I think a stiffer beam would be better than a limber one to reduce the oscillation.

[@circadianrebel]

What I really like about this video is that it demonstrates nothing is perfect on v1, and part of the making process is iteratively acknowledging flaws and making (often small) changes to fix them.

[@Knobiks]

the problem of the wobble can be solved by changing the connection to the baseplate. Instead. you can stiffen it and add a dumpning effect by adding a 3d print thats connected both to the "tower" and the baseplate, plastic, even pla will behave like a dumpner, just make it a triangle.

[@mmgodfrey]

My thought exactly, just like stiffening up a pergola to reduce racking

[@dubCanuck1]

Agreed.

[@ambsquared]

My thought too. Also make the connection to it taller and have a couple bolts going through 90 degrees to the first two. Triangulate the support a bit wider on all sides. Could also add rubber washers to the bolts that could increase the damping. A bit of lead shot in the pole could make it act more like a dead blow hammer too.

[@Ovni121]

I'm not a mechanical engineer but I think it needs more triangle between the base and the pole📐

[@penguiin12]

damp or damping. not dump, not dampen, not dampening, not dumpning

[@Alextherockingchief]

Pass a wire in the middle, attached to the top and the base and tighten it. It will transfert vibrations right into the base. The base acts as a dampener for the whole thing, add weight to it or a dampening material and it should reduce vibrations quite effectively. Just like road lights poles are installed.

[@henryoppermann134]

Or you can think of a radio broadcast antenna with guide wires, to bring the momentum of vibration (pendulum effect) to the base as suggested…attach a couple of wires and tension them to the 2-4 corners of the base with a couple of simple turnbuckles

[@_Jester_]

@@henryoppermann134 and those wires would always be in the way or in the shot.

[@lowerdfool]

Two points of contact, from the base to that center extrusion, would add way more rigidity to that setup. Just add a piece of aluminum from the outside of the base plate to to extrusion about a foot from where it contacts the base on the both axis. You will lose some travel with the carriage, but it will not wobble anymore.

[@MontgomeryWenis]

The wobble got worse _because_ you added the battery pack to the top. You added weight to an arm stretched out over nothing at the top of a long pole. The laws of physics would require more weights near the bottom and middle to absorb the wobble before it could transfer to the thinner, taller structure. Telephone poles aren't larger at the bottom and buried several feet underground for no reason.

[@sapelesteve]

Great suggestions and exactly what I was thinking! 👍👍

[@loganstrong5426]

Yeah, no offense to Bob because obviously he's just making stuff up as he goes along and doesn't need to be an expert or anything, but as an engineer seeing the lack of understanding of the physics involved was a little painful.

[@MontgomeryWenis]

@@loganstrong5426 Yeah I get that he's kinda just looking at one problem at a time. And we have the benefit of not actually being in his exact shoes doing a project ourselves, but that still seems like a pretty obvious oversight.

[@joegibes]

Also note that for stiffness, you want the pole wider and/or stiffer at the outside - rather than strengthening the middle. Sure, the middle reinforcement can help, but it would be more effective to add a second extrusion, or triangle bracing down to the base.

[@JohnDlugosz]

18:38 "Down to just the pole" And just in time for Festivus! It has a very good strength to weight ratio.

[@esh92]

i find your belief system fascinating

[@billyriordan913]

I'd use a cable on either side of the extrusion under tension to triangulate the tower. It should still easily clear everything sliding up and down and it would cure the wobble in the remaining axis you're having issues with. An anchor on each side of the base plate and then attach the other end to the top next to the cable guides. Think of those super tall radio towers. They use guide wires like that. Also, I feel like the reason the wobble was worse is because of the added weight of the battery to the movable arm. It kind of amplifies the pendulum effect.

[@xavtek]

I was thinking the same about the added weight. Also there is a reason sailboat masts use shrouds and stays and I think this could be a simple solution to make it less wobbly.

[@Leo99929]

Fun experiment: Glue a weight to the diaphragm of a chunky speaker and stick two of those to the top of the pole in perpendicular axis. Then see how long the vibrations last as you vary the resistance across the coils shorted through a variable resistor/range of resistors? It should convert the relative motion into heat in the resistors and you could have some fun with variable damping in different axis.

[@dainperrault585]

I absolutely love follow up or V 2 videos of projects! That shows that every project isn’t always 100% perfect the first time every time. Mostly Berber perfect ever. So any follow up videos on anything are such good info. They help people think further into the future and get deeper problem solving and planning sooner than later.

[@soviut303]

I'm really glad you did a version 2 video on this! I feel like the wire should run inside the channel on both sides of the pully and connect to the top of the plate to reduce the prying force on the bearings. It would also free up the centre section of the T bar for attachments.

[@andy_warb]

Thanks for reminding me about your fusion course. I haven’t been able to get my head around fusion due to my stupid messy brain but I just started adhd meds and I’m really hoping it might help things finally click for me!

[@CapnFlags]

Oh. My. Gosh. I have a “fishing pole” behind my couch with my lights, fans, and a 36” pipe sticking out that hangs paracord down from the tip and suspends my WiiS4 controller. It’s helped with the weight of my modified Wiimote/Numchuk/Zapper so I can play longer! What you’re doing here is on my rig’s bucket list! It’s not freestanding, the couch smushes it against the wall. It should be freestanding. I find some inspiration from the few vids I’ve watched here. Seems like every project here can apply to something I want to do/want to do better! Thanks!

[@kylejacobs1247]

Note that adding fixed weights to the upper part of the pole will not dampen it from wobbling. Instead your spring-mass system will have a lower resonant frequency. Adding the wood in the center also does the same thing; it just adds mass to lower the resonant frequency, it does not meaningfully increase stiffness or dissipate energy. Wider posts like you mentioned will be much stiffer, but my guess is that most of the flex is happening at the base connection. Stiffen that up and the wobble will be nearly gone.

[@cheeseisgreat24]

So when you have a wobble from a tall thing, you have one of two things you can do, you can work to constantly stiffen it up in the axis it wobbles, or you can accept that it will wobble, and add something to the top that wobbles with it, but in an opposite phase, which reduces and removes the wobble faster. Look up “Tuned Mass Dampers” for the basic premise, the math required to design it is a little complex to describe in a YT comment, but it’s something actually very easy to experiment with. It can be as simple as making your top cap with the pulleys into one a bit taller and encasing a pendulum that you can add weights to.

[@Sethjxl]

Just added a post about exactly that. You can stiffen as much as you want, but your just changing the resonate frequency and as some point you might make it worse. I suggested using water as a damping method. A tuned mass is a good suggestion, too.

[@drunkramen]

Came here to say this, lol

[@davidknaul1162]

The challenge is that the natural frequency of the system will change as the weight and height of cameras are changed, so the damper would also need to be adjusted. Might be possible with a cable from the camera arm to the pendulum

[@cheeseisgreat24]

@ while true, the damper doesn’t have to be so precise to lower the frequency significantly, because he’s already not looking for perfect with the stiffening approach, just better. The only thing you gotta be sure of is that it doesn’t hit the system’s resonance frequency and end up adding to it, which on this thing I’m betting would be kinda tough to do even if you were trying to do it on purpose.

[@Culpride]

or you tape a dead blow hammer to the side that absorbs energy from basically any frequency and turns it into heat.

[@themeandrousengineer]

I would add to the thread trimming tip from experience in the machining world. You can also just cut it with a grinder or hacksaw, but them take it to a sander, face the end flat/square, and then angle it at 45 degrees as the belt sander runs while rotating the thread so you can chamfer the end. This will eliminate the nasty burr you had on there too.

[@bj_]

Look at "tuned mass damper" to reduce the wobble. Sand, epoxy, and other fillers are designed to reduce motor vibrations in machine frames (converting vibration to heat) which doesn't really work for very low frequencies like wobble. Tuned mass dampers are what tall skyscrapers use to cancel out wobble

[@westleyleonstudios]

Just purchase the Fusion Course! SO excited to start learning this stuff - Thanks, Bob!!!

[@DimovKV]

How did sailboats hold mast for cheap and simple way? just add side stay (shrouds) from top to the base in 3 or 4 intersected planes. You do not even need strong connection of vertical beam at the bottom, just steel cables tightned enouth. And you can try it in current iteration of your stand for new and old model. Install ringbolts and connect steel cables and tightened by turnbuckle

[@JamackeynGubby]

Simple solution with complex engineering: A spring loaded extendable pole that uses the ceiling as an additional point of support. That and a (previously suggested) thread down the centre to put the extrusion into compression

[@MadSpacePig]

I feel like the common-sense solution staring you in the face was to add angled supporting struts to the base of the pole. The reliance on a single, perpendicular connection point to the base is the thing that makes it an inherently unstable arrangement. Alternatively you could have taken a completely different approach and spaced out the two vertical extrusions, added horizontal beams for rigidity, and have the sleds slide up and down both simultaniously. |--------------| | | -----|--------------|----- | | |--------------| | | | | | | ---------------------------

[@achannelhasnoname5182]

It actually surprises me that he didn't think of that, it's such a basic thing?

[@coolbugfacts1234]

That would still wobble in one direction instead two. Easiest solution is drill a hole in the base, run a threaded rod through the middle and tighten from both ends, that way for the extrusion to wobble it has to stretch threaded rod.

[@nerdy1701]

​@@coolbugfacts1234that's a really good idea

[@Culpride]

@@coolbugfacts1234 and make it a one stringed bass guitar? Cool idea. But it wouldn't absorb energy to stop the wobble sooner. On the other hand, I can't imagine this thing wobbling for long if you taped a dead blow hammer to the side.

[@Carini76]

And turn 29 minutes of content into 5? Don't be silly.

[@ralphq5895]

I have absolutely ZERO use for this project BUT I thoroughly enjoyed parts I & II of it. I love watching your process and am planning to build the ultimate wall mounting system for quad monitor configuration using extrusions and plywood. The idea is that is be portable and aesthetically attractive so that when I move locations or change desk configurations it remains consistent. It should contain all the wiring necessary and be well hidden in the design. Thank you for your inspirations, keep the content coming.

[@Slikx666]

A thought comes to mind. In the very tall skyscrapers they have a massive weight and shock absorber setup to dampen the movement of the building. So if you had a suspended weight at the top with shocks from a RC car (minus the springs) it would dampen any vibration to near zero, just need to work out a few things and it's done. 🤔

[@Dsk001]

I came so say this as well.

[@shyft7401]

Late-coming suggestion, but my immediate thought regarding all of those power appliances in the base- is some sort of dock or easily accessed charging apparatus for the whole setup. I have no idea how it'd even be done- but anything to make it so you don't have to bend over and plug something in. Maybe a weight-triggered apparatus that when the cart is in place, a plug is raised into a receptacle for charging.

[@jp51552]

A thought on your steel pole, what about using a six or eight foot fence post? They are readily available and relatively inexpensive.

[@johng1232]

One of the hardest things about continuous improvement… Don’t let perfection, get in the way of better. Good job, great video, fun project.

[@johnnyb95678]

Always enjoy watching you noodle through things and sharing your thoughts as you progress. Thank you!

[@manmadecrafts]

I made yours from the last video but with a few changes. I used Neewer threaded shoulder rig mounts which extend straight out so they can't limit my up and down range and it works really well. Made a few other changes as well but I like what you did here. I used push down door stoppers which work well but I really like that yours can stop with just one kick down. Pretty cool!

[@shopwood99]

Attach a spring with a bolt and a weight to the top to create a resonance damper. Screw the weight in or out until it is most effective. Quick and cheap.

[@Pootel]

Great video man! If you wanna negate the wobble without changing the size of the extrusion, I'm pretty sure you could tighten a steel cable that stretches from the bottom to the top inside of it. The added tension would stiffen the pole and you could easily tighten the cable by using a bolt with a hook that you tighten from the bottom.

[@bendavanza]

Most camera stands have a much larger column, and the counterweight rides on the inside of the column. Big improvements from version 1!

[@Mortagus]

Awesome video, I love to see the "chase the problems and find a solution" style ^^. I can't stop thinking about another video about the same kind of build : Alexander Chapel made the same kind of camera support but a bit bigger. That seems to be really handly to have around ^^

[@jb510]

You’re amazing. Some thoughts. Wouldn’t steel be less ridged than aluminum and bend more? What you need is to increase the modulus and a bigger cross section would help, as two do. To be cleaner, I’d run the usb cables inside the extrusions. I’d also try putting diagonal knee braces to make it more ridge, that’d change the bending length dramatically, even if the knee brace was only 2’ off the base I think the effect would be huge… could either be ridged or cable stays.

[@NemesisLex]

Alexandre Chappel here on KZbin made a great version of such crane. Also with 3D Print and Wood/Metal. If you need some inspiration :)

[@geneard639]

Rigid structures tend to vibrate. You could add a wide bowl of heavy oil at the top of the column for short frequency vibrations and/or a pendulum suspended from the top to the bottom for long vibrations. These are two ways buildings, which are rigid, transphase the mechanical energy into thermal energy. I think helicopters, which are notorious for making vibrations, use active vibration controls and, yeah mostly the older ones use mechanical tuned masses which work pretty well.

[@1973Grejluder]

Have read a few comments, but not all of them. So someone might have brought the idea !! The idea with struts from baseplate to tower is what should been done. Look at the old tower see how low the camera have been used the subtract 5" from that hight. Add 4 struts from each corner of baseplate they should meet at the tower at the subtracted hight. Some have wrote wire, but I think that 2 threaded rods that forces tube down will be better ?

[@mkegadgets4380]

In part three of the series you could, get real 8020 inch and a half by inch and a half size. Add gussets from your steel plate to your 8020 that would stiffen it up pretty good. Remove the tool box storage on the bottom and place some used brake rotors on top of the steel plate. Look forward to your next video.

[@D-One]

Really cool, i wonder if you could have a much simpler solution without needing a counter weight, v-wheels with eccentric nuts to add friction so it never falls down to fast, and then the handle adjusting thing to set a fixed position. One advantage is you could have several platforms that move up/down to put things.

[@vkalvaitis]

I'd assume that making more solid connection at base would solve most of the wobble too, like pouring circle of concrete/resin placed on base and surrounding pole to have from all sides

[@MattSchneidergolo]

You could rotate the storage boxes by 90° and then add some diagonal braces from the outside edges of the base to a few feet up on the center post. That might help with the wobble side to side.

[@mglenadel]

The wobble comes from the natural frequency of the aluminum extrusion, plus the extra mass up high. One possible solution would be to reinforce it with more extrusions, as you tried, but with different extrusions (maybe a 20x20) so their natural frequencies would be different. Another idea would be adding a fluid dampening vessel (a sealed jar with water and baffles-they could be 3D printed) so the vibration is transferred to the water and dampened by its flow across the baffles. A similar idea to those mass dampeners in very tall buildings.

[@hugboat]

I like seeing iterations on products and projects. I know you don't need another one, but I would watch a video of you making this again just to see how your final product stacks up in cost and functionality to something like a Studio Titan camera stand.

[@whoisrhys]

All of these improvements seem great! The only additional change i would recommend would be to change the orientation of the battery pack. Just like the old base collected saw dust, the upward facing ports on that may start to collect dust and what not over time. Of course you could occasionally take a compressor to it as well

[@Fotozones]

Studio stands or salon stands (in old timer speak) are what we use in photography studios. They can be very expensive but the key to their stability is their mass and the materials used to make them. Aluminium needs to be much thicker than what you have used for your stands.

[@christopherbray598]

Looks like a lot of people have already suggested it, but I would agree that gussets are a very cost effective way to make this even better. It might require a change to your base storage. Great project.

[@pixelrancher]

I did much the same thing but instead of ordering that chunk of steel, I poured cement for the base, adding angle iron from industrial shelving (with all of the holes and slots already cut into them) while the cement was still wet. Four strips of angle iron in a square on the floor of the base with eight bolts run through the cement. I moved the camera support out on one edge and angled two legs back and away from the camera support creating wobble-free triangular supports with a ton of holes and slots to attach things to. (Shelves, storage boxes, lighting, cables) Ratchet set and a few bolts, the entire thing can collapse quickly and easily and get chucked into the van. Triangles are the key to no wobble. And the 40/40 connects to the angle iron - which is super-cheap per foot compared to the 40/40.

[@lucusloc]

If you want less wobble you want *damping,* not necessarily maximum stiffness. Think of it this way; tuning forks are very stiff, but will ring for a long time, a pool noddle is very floppy, but will not wiggle unless something is actively acting on it. Now of course for your application you do need a good amount of stiffness to resist outside forces moving your camera around, but you also need a good bit of damping when those forces do manage to get your rig moving. It is pretty ironic, but you actually mentioned the solution in your video; sand filling. If you had filled the rod with sand you would have added mass that would resist outside forces, but you would have also added a medium that is known for its vibration damping ability. As the whole system sways the sand moves around, and that movement absorbs energy that would otherwise keep the whole system vibrating. Maybe try filling the other tube with sand and see if that helps dampen thing out even more. Or an even better solution now that you have two extrusions is to put some rubber between them to decouple them. The rubber will absorb vibration in much the same way sand will, and the lose coupling will make it so that vibrations cannot transfer and reinforce each other.

[@pocket83squared]

A gem of a comment. And I totally agree. Simple solutions like that one can be so hard to realize. I once had a dampening problem with a lathe-based strip sander, and it drove me nuts. It had this strange, wobbly harmonic that would build into a sort of rogue wave of unpredictable bounciness. Counterweights, stabilizers, elastics, springs; none of them worked like a little (hanging) pouch of sand, which resisted the waves from every angle. Works like a charm.

[@WadeGlass]

Another possible solution would be adding in rubber grommets between the extrusion and mounting bracket to add some dampening.

[@rabbit5464]

Should connect like a ladder, parallel bars with cross connections. And would be easier with the t track that could connect them. That’s how the professional camera mounts like this are made.

[@needamuffin]

Taipei 101, at one time the largest building in the world, has a massive metal sphere inside the top four floors. It's an inertial dampener, it helps stabilize the tower and stop it from wobbling during earthquakes. A similar system would solve your problem here as well. Extend the print that houses the bearing that carries the cable to the other side upwards and attach a large weight by springs in the middle of it. Now the weight will act as a tuned mass dampener and counteract any movement of the pole and both lessen the maximum amplitude AND shorten the overall period. You'll probably have to play around with the springs and mass a bit to get the resonance to be close to the natural resonance of the fulles loaded pole, but you can measure the resonance of the pole and I'm sure there are online calculators that will help you find the correct mass weight and spring constants. I'm sure other suggestions here would help just as well, but mine's more fun.

[@HowardKloc]

I was a pro photographer and had a 10 foot “unipod” in my studio that easily supported an 8x10 view camera. It had a wishbone shaped base on 4 inch lockable casters but the center pole was a 4 or 5 in hollow chromed pipe with the counterweight inside the pole. Solid as an I-beam.

[@michaelbuddy]

I have that. Bought it from a retired photographer. The weight goes through the center of the tube in the middle, which is very important. I only wish I could extend the arm a bit for reach. Just a little would be nice. Trying to figure out how I might mod it.

[@Teckstudio]

I do have the same in my studio and was just looking for "this" comment. Using a 4"-5" aluminium pole/pipe is so unbelievable strong. Also placing the counterweight inside the pole gives you more flexiblity. Even more: You can rotate the camera arm freely around the pole, no need to move the base when its looked in place. Its a quite clever, simple and incredible sturdy construction.

[@novotd443]

I have a similar setup for a portable light use in a paint booth. I simply started with a steel I beams, used the sides are a railing, some cobbled together rollers. Top was similar to yours, used a concrete filled car tire as a base, bolted the beam to the disk and put it on a retractable wheel setup. Dirt cheap (although it didn't look nowhere near as nice as your setup), highly effective.

[@Sethjxl]

Another way to possibly address the wobble would be to add a volume of water in an enclosure at the top. Wouldn't need a lot, but the sloshing effect of water will naturally counter the resonant frequency of the current pole.

[@wolfpreist]

Tip for drilling and taping holes use your end mill. you can create or buy a tap follower. Drill your hole, then before you reset or move, tap it with the follower.

[@WoodworkJourney]

Definitely recommend the Fusion course, it absolutely helped me even though I’m old and not the brightest lol

[@dubya13207]

I just saw you jam the wood into the extrusion, so you might have done this later…but I have an idea that’s a bit crazy and probably won’t work, but might be worth a shot One of the stabilizing mechanisms in a skyscraper is a pendulum. It attaches at the top, then runs all the way down through a shaft in the middle to the ground (or lower), where a heavy weight sits. It counter-balances the wobbles of the building, dampening any movement very effectively The thing I’m not sure of is if your shaft is too narrow…you may not be able to put much of a weight (even if it’s long) inside it. You could raise your attachment point to have a little pendulum box in the middle of your base though You know, just for fun

[@justinvandyk5210]

You could also add base braces. 45 degree supports between the main pole and the base.

[@TheMrclean11]

Are you able to add some type of counterweight at the top of it? Like the Taipei building. It’d look pretty cool too.

[@TriSamples]

I’ve seen people do this setup hung from ceiling tracks. What you really needed to stop wobble was add two angled supports at the base at 90 degrees. Less material, more fun with brackets.

[@jonblair5470]

I still think you should take take the extra extrusion away and add triangular bracing at the bottom, like the bottom foot or so. Think of it like a covered patio, without the triangle bracing in the corners you could sway it all over no matter if it’s I-beams bolted to concrete or built from wood embedded in dirt 4’. Cross bracing increases stability and reduces wobbliness.

[@bartlester591]

If you wanna make your pole, a little more stable, what I would suggest is take input for support on the bottom around it angled into the pole as stabilizing agents

[@nathandrouin4730]

Long time watcher of the channel and you almost never do a version 2 ...I love you did this video...its shows always be leveling up

[@inkedupbigboy]

Another easy thing to try would be to put a piece of all thread down the center and bolt both ends with washers to put tension on the extrusion

[@thomasfeix7979]

To reduce wobble you will need something that dissipate the energy. Steel and aluminum don't dissipate that much. I would try to add TPU spacers at the base where you screw the post to the base.

[@napierpaxman]

17:25 - you need a thing called a tuned mass damper - a spring with a weight on the end attached to the top of the tower, so it will wobble instead - google 'tuned mass damper' - perhaps even a small tank of water - the AMP tower in Sydney, Australia has a water tank at the top to do just that... :)

[@610annasinclair]

have you concidered the poll Resonant Frequency as cuting it the right lenth might help as well

[@wayneswonderarium]

Another thing you can do after pulling the nut off is filing down those starting threads just a little - it'll have a huge impact when threading anothe nut on since the threads gradually get larger

[@danielrisueno8003]

I'm definitely gonna use that trick to cut bolts down. Thanks for the tip!

[@magomat6756]

Since I work with fusion 360 and my 3 d printer my brain doesn't stop to come up with things to make .I wish I ass 18 again and have a whole life to thinkering .😊 I'm happy when I see a video of you i love you channel from the start way back

[@Lukegord]

I think the answer is not a bigger extrusion, actually using smaller extrusions bolted together might be quite better. The same as here but in both directions. Maybe a combination of ticker and bolted. And some lateral support on the base, instead of just the brackets.

[@hazael_d]

At 25:00 what you set the little piece in its place, can be seen how the camera wobbles a little. I think this problem also lies at: the camera being part of some sort of like tower-assembly and the top of that all not having support That can probably be corrected through modeling some arm that let the camera rest over the pole or something. I hope the idea comes handy for some end

[@GethinColes]

Your ply was probably dampening some of the wobble. The steel is keeping that wobbly energy in the system. I like the suggestions about threaded rod and guy wires, but what about a mass dampener at the top, like they use in skyscrapers? Guy wires going half way up your main pole would kill a whole crap load of wobble

[@chrissetter]

I love the DIY engineering and problem solving. HOWEVER, this stand exists in the professional studio environment, albeit way more expensive. It’s called a salon stand. It is ROCK steady, very maneuverable, and easily adjustable at every axis. I would implore you to study the design of that stand if you ever feel like tackling the issue again. Also, tubular structures are much more steady as compared to extruded aluminum. I wonder if there’s a DIY set of tubes with an infrastructure of bits and bobs (like clamps, slides, mounts, etc) that one can buy and build whatever they want with it similar to extruded aluminum. Love the videos and cheers from a professional photographer who also fabricates with wood and metal ;)

[@Thomllama]

making the 2 extrusions into a truss instead of bolting together would help a lot, one as it would lower flex in general over being bolted together, but bolting to the base in two places farther apart will stiffen it a ton.

[@PepijnHazelhof]

you should do 2 nuts on the threath before you cut, and use the nu as guide to make a straght cut. besides of that to take the woble out, thins sailing boat, mast and triangles, I hope you will implement this, and build a thirth

[@TheRealJackDiamond]

Have you considered guy wires from the top of the extrusion to the base? Give it compressive force (as I see others mentioning) and make it more like a tripod with a solid base for moving your camera. Might take some creativity but I think guy wires would help greatly, even if it's just on the back side!

[@susan_halla]

I know you don’t want to do a v.3, but I’d love to watch you try all the things you mentioned at the end PLUS some of the great ideas here in the comments. I’m invested now because the experimentation scratches my scientific itch. Thank for liking to make stuff, Bob!

[@koifish1le996]

Like James Norris said, you should add a method to compress the pole. His way seems like it would work just fine, but i think you could have an easier time using steel cable under tension. You would just have to design a mounting plate for one end, and a tensioning plate for the other. I think a simple relatively thick plate of steel or even aluminum with a threaded hole in the center bolted to the top with some sort of attachment to a bracket inside that holds a nut on the bolt threaded into the top plate. This way you loosen the bolt to tension the cable. If you can come up with a way to use a turnbuckle, that would probably be easier to tension. Also +1 to the comment about designing and printing a bracket for the bottom attachment point. Just a simple gusset/rib.

[@ronsimpson143]

Would all-thread with washers and bolts on either end to tighten and put under tension work? Kind of like how they pre-stress concrete girders for bridges and buildings? Or a gyroscope stabilization system. That one would be the coolest version.

[@TheIdeanator]

when cutting off a bolt, kiss the end with a file or flapdisc or something to chamfer the end instead of just chasing it with a nut.

[@circadianrebel]

I'd strongly suggest trying to add triangle bracing at the base of the pole. It is surprising how much even a steel bracket can flex, and how much difference even a small triangle brace can make.

[@overyourheadtampa]

For the extrusion, did you think about filling with aluminum? Would have turned it into a solid piece but taken a while to complete since would want to go slowly to reduce potential warping. Would have likely added rigidity quite well.

[@nidavis]

awesome buid! in addition to adding struts as many have mentioned, perhaps 4 individual 2020 posts built as a box truss with 3d printed crossmembers would be much more stable, in addition to allowing the counterweight to be captured inside. You could space them to allow for common 6060 or 8080 gantry carriage plates.

[@nidavis]

also, when connecting the 2 posts together (and for any 2 pieces of extrusion together or extrusion to anything else like a wall), attach them from the two facing (inner) channels rather from the outsides. This means drilling access holes from the outside of the support extrusion so you can tighten the screws on in the inside. there are 2 important reasons for this - first as you found it means no hardware in the way of your motion system, and second is that most (good quality) aluminum extrusion is designed so that the faces slope 2 degrees towards the slot. 8020 calls this a "2° Drop-Lock Feature" and acts as a built in lock washer. attatching this way will pull both those faces together for much more solid contact. This also means when bolting from the outsides that there's less contact between the faces because of this 4 degree combined angle. When bolting from the outside you're basically only making contact at the corners of the extrusion.

[@koolBOY8323]

4 inch steel square pole, welded to the plate at the bottom, keep the existing caster kit and storage. rip the extrusion long ways in half. mount the extrusion to the pole, use all your nifty 3d printed accessories and such, and fill the center of the pole with concrete. short of being bolted to the ground and to the ceiling i don't think it would get any more rigid.

[@nateevans6528]

Another excellent video, thank you for taking us along for the ride!!!!

[@dragade101]

For a stiffer column, use a larger diameter. I know it isnt sexy to have to work larger but it will help you here to have vertical stability.

[@the_str4ng3r]

See you in a couple months for the steel reinforced version. Can't wait!

[@SamMakris]

You could use a tuned mass damper like skyscrapers do. Curious if a container of water at the top would cause it to dampen. Adjusting the amount of water could be what helps you tune it.

[@markcole6460]

It seems like you could take a long all thread and run it from the top of the rail to the bottom side of the plate. Then tighten down a retaining nut on the top which would use tension to reduce the wobble.

[@joefitzy]

Some triangles of extrusion that connect the mast to the baseplate might help.

[@MrWorth66]

knock the wood out and add a threaded rod on the inside. The compression in the extrusion will stop the wobble, since the 'wobble' will have to overcome the pretention you've put in, so the tighter you tension it the stiffer it will be. change the top plate to steel though so you don't break the plastic cap when tensioning the rod.

[@DeeMacias]

Making structures in Inventor and building them was my past job in automation engineering. If you wanna stop wobbling all you have to do is connect the pole to some extensions that are then fixed in outer positions on the base.. possibly in all directions. Avoiding any of these reinforcements to be in the way of the carriages. An even better solution would be: solid base as you already did + a sheet metal folded as a large rectangle, folds in the base with holes to bolt it to the base. Onto 2 opposite faces, you bolt your aluminum extrusions on which carriages run up and down.

[@engieviral]

How low do you need the camera to go? To add stability can you add angle bracing at the bottom up to say, 12-15 inches up? I think part of the problem is that the attachment point is such a small footprint compared to the height of the extrusion. You might have to have 4 smaller storage containers at the bottom instead of 2 larger ones, but choose your disadvantage. You could even just modify your existing rig without rebuilding.

[@Wonkoman42]

Spitballin’. What about a new battery pack holder that has some wiggle to its attachment to the arm? It would use something already there to add some passive damping to the tower, and shouldn’t be difficult to change a model you already have in Fusion.