This is a bit of a shorter blog post, as it expands on my previous article.
In one of my previous articles, I mentioned that I was going to be using an open-source TVC gimbal that I did not design myself. This, however, turned out to be a rabbit hole that was incredibly tedious, and I ended up designing my own gimbal. Again. For the fifth time.
Now, this endeavor was not all fun and games. This gimbal I designed took me a while to get working, and I believe it’s going to take even longer to perfect it. For now, it works for my use case, and I’ve provided 3D files for the gimbal if you’d like to use it for yourself.
Why did I design this gimbal the way I did?
The concept behind this gimbal is raising the servos above the pivot point of the gimbal. This gives you more control over the gimbal from above, and helps save space. That’s how I was able to design this thing with plenty of tolerance. The entire thing can even fit in a 75mm airframe! I designed the entire thing for 3D printing. I’ll be posting a guide on how to use this TVC gimbal soon. This blog post covers the design process behind it, the decisions I made and why, and the finished product.
This is a two-axis gimbal, meaning it can actuate on two axes (X and Y). I designed the X-axis for controlling by a push-rod-esque design. The Y axis is controlled by a rod that slots through a two-dimensional sketch on the X axis gimbal itself. Both servos can be fixed in place with this design! It was incredibly important to me that both servos be fixed. Not only does this save space, it makes for a lot more reliable builds that are a lot simpler to assemble.
STARLIGHT compatibility is built-in to this gimbal. I built this gimbal with STARLIGHT in mind, as it’s the best way to control the servos. If you’re interested in STARLIGHT, check out my store!
