Standard Rotary table fixed-increment pan

We have been working with motion control for more than a decade, since Bryan Mumford designed the first electronic interface for the Sherline 4" rotary table. We have developed several motion control systems for use with the Time Machine. These tools use stepper motors to either rotate a camera for horizontal or vertical panning, or pull a camera down a track for linear positioning. One rotary pan head can be mounted on top of another one for pan and tilt, or a rotary head can be mounted on a track dolly for combined panning and linear movements.

Our use of stepper motors allows the motions to be digital and incremental. This means they're repeatable and identical when you need to shoot the same sequence more than once.

There are two versions of the 4 inch rotary table. The "Standard" Rotary Table works with the Time Machine to move the camera a fixed amount between each exposure. This produces a pan with constant motion as shown in the sample movie. The Enhanced Rotary Table allows much finer increments of motion and can be programmed to start a time lapse sequence with no motion, then begin to move and ramp up to a mximum velocity, then slow down, and finish with no motion again.

Miniature Rotary Table ramped pan

Either table can also be attached to a dolly on a track and, using a cable wrapped around a pulley, to move the dolly down the track for linear panning.

The motors run on 12 to 24 volts DC, and an AC adaptor for domestic American use is included. For field work the rotary tables are commonly run on 12 volt batteries.

We also offer a Miniature Rotary Table for portable use when weight is a problem. The 4" rotary tables weigh about ten pounds. The miniature rotary table weighs less than three pounds and is only 2-1/2" in diameter. It's a good choice when you need to pack a panning system off the beaten path. It can be used for fixed increment or ramped pans.

We make a Mumford Motor Driver to go with the miniature rotary table. This driver is smaller than the standard Motion Controller and has several additional features. It makes more efficient use of batteries and will run a motorized system for many hours on eight AA batteries or a small 12 volt battery. It will move in two different step sizes, and has a built-in variable speed pulse generator for jogging the motor or continuous motion.

Finally, we offer a Moco Time Machine to bring the different motion control components together in a convenient form. The Moco Time Machine is optimized for motion control applications. It has jacks for two motor drivers and can drive one with ramped pan programs and the other with fixed increment steps at the same time (two motor drivers are required for two motors). You can run pan programs at high speed to quickly review a time lapse moco project without the time laspe delays. One Moco Time Machine can act as a Master to a second one, to run simultaneous synchronized ramped pan programs on two different devices. You can use a push button to trigger a Moco Time Machine for single frame stop motion projects. 

Brad Kremer has made a very impressive time lapse movie of Japan called "Kayaku" using Mumford Moco tools. You can see it on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/12112529

Mike Flores has posted this movie made with Mumford Moco tools on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/11892211

A short clip from Tom Lowe shot with Mumford Moco tools: http://www.vimeo.com/6686768

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Click on the following links for more information:

Moco Time Machine

Standard Rotary Table / Pan Head

Enhanced Rotary Table / Pan Head

Mumford Motor Driver