Prototype 'Noga' Articulating Arm Build Episode 7 - Assembly & Design Discussion

In my quest for better camera mounting options to film my videos I ended up building this prototype articulating arm.
Currently I'm using my phone to film everything because it's just light enough to be mounted on a regular indicator arm. The knob needs to be tightened quite hard though and that gets old quick.
I hope to make this the first iteration of a larger project, make some design changes and experiment with some different materials.

[@servandofernandezgrana5004]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and skills. Excellent work, very pedagogical. I look forward to your next project.

[@ED_T]

Thanks for watching!

[@ChrisJenkin-ej3rs]

Great Build, we have all had the days when things just don"t go:)

[@keithbaker8212]

That’s a lot of work man good luck and god bless you

[@ED_T]

It was a lot of work indeed, thanks you for the wishes!

[@TrPrecisionMachining]

very heavy dutty Arm..good job..thanks for your time

[@ED_T]

Thank you!

[@275jesuss]

Solid construction! If everyone accepts this, I think this design will be created. Please continue to prioritize yourself.

[@ED_T]

I’m not sure what that means exactly but thank you 😁

[@kentuckytrapper780]

Enjoyed the build, thanks for sharing..

[@ED_T]

Thanks for watching!

[@stringmanipulator]

I would love to have the plans for this awesome project 😁

[@ED_T]

You can find my email on the about page of my channel, send me a message there and I'll reply with the drawings. But be aware, if you make them to print, you will likely encounter the same problems I did. It's a work in progress after all 😁

[@eightysevenmoore]

Time out?!? You said there’s designs for similar arms using closed hydraulic system?!? Link to examples please!!!

[@ED_T]

H&G make some very nice articulating arms that are actually hydraulic. I have one at my day job that I took apart because I was curious. www.hoerger-gaessler.de/hydraulische-messstative.html

[@eightysevenmoore]

@@ED_T I’m searching for miniature actuators… nothing really feasible… 💰💰💰

[@ED_T]

You’re looking for miniature hydraulic actuators?

[@joell439]

Fabulous project. Thanks you for sharing such a simple, yet sensitive and complex mechanism to machine at home. 👍👍😎👍👍 As you stated, I too suspect the ID clearance did not remain smooth after welding. I wonder if you could have been restored the ID’s with some emory strips threaded into a long thin slotted mandrel installed into a drill chuck.

[@ED_T]

That's a great idea, when the sticking starts to bother me enough I might do that

[@jimsvideos7201]

Well done!

[@ED_T]

Thank you!

[@josephwaldner7752]

it would we cool to see a hydraulic version of the arm built is there a video on yt that shows how it works I had an idea if you put a gas shock (the kind of cylinders that are used on the trunk of a car for example) in the the id of one of the tube and have it constantly apply pressure to the ball/ swivel joint via a rod with a sliding fit in the id of the tube and a hole and bevel at the front . the default status would be a locked articulation/swivel point and to release it you could maybe utilize a tapered hole in the "rod" (the component with the sliding fit that bears against the ball) and have a screw with a tapered point that is slightly misaligned by .1 to .2 mm. my english is failing me but basically the screw with a tapered point would release the clamping effect on the gas shock by engaging with the taper in the rod and allow the the joint to articulate till it is backed out again if there is something you don't understand or id didn't stated clearly enough let me know

[@ED_T]

Hello Joseph, thanks for your suggestion! In principle I can definitely see it work, the question is how much force can a gas spring apply and is it enough to rigidly hold the arm in place? There is quite a bit of force required from the screw in my arm to keep everything locked up. Also while the gas spring would hold the socket and ball at the end in position, the elbow in the middle of the arm would still need tightening another way. That means 3 screws to turn to lock or unlock the system. For ease of use 1 screw like it is now is ideal

[@tigeraudio]

How much you want for that prototype? I just want to hold up a 15.4” monitor.

[@ED_T]

Just the hours I have in this prototype would make that a very expensive monitor stand. At a low end shop rate it would be €900 not including materials. I don’t plan to sell this prototype, it was meant as a functional exercise. Maybe in the future I can make up a small batch where the price would be considerably less. But I’m not sure there is a market for these

[@tigeraudio]

@@ED_T OK. I figured like me, when you make revision 2, the old one sits in a bin for some years then is eventually tossed.

[@ED_T]

I'm using it currently to film the videos 😁

[@billjohnson5793]

Very cool….thanks

[@ED_T]

Thanks Bill :)

[@lukey_skywalker]

What did you thread on the boat at the elbow?

[@ED_T]

That’s M10 I think

[@JaenEngineering]

I think if you decide to build a version 2, threads+loctite would be the better way to go rather than welds and push fits. Also, you may need to heat treat the spring clips after forming them. If they're still in the annealed state they'll just deform when you strain them. Still, great project though.

[@TheUncleRuckus]

I think it turned out great, it's definitely nice and Skookum that's for sure. Now the only thing that will cause camera shake is an earthquake lol. The only thing I'd change/suggest would be the addition wing nut or a knob for the pivot point to make adjusting it quicker and easier other than that I think it perfect! 👍👍

[@ED_T]

The short allen key I use now is nice to apply enough force to the screw to lock everything down. Maybe in a later version :)

[@Obsidian369]

You do all that nice machining why the hell do you force it like that... Welds cause a choke point, turn it down! Don't hammer it home wtf

[@ED_T]

Yes that was a slight miscalculation