Rotorpixel gimbal for Phantom Vision

[gunslinger]

Weather - unsuitable;
Youngest child - immobile;
Dog - horribly flatulent;
Alcohol situation - critical; too many kitchen table vids;
Gimbal - shiny.

Weather for the weekend looks promising. If I can get a pass out for good behaviour I will try and take the gimbal to somewhere worthy.

Sure... blame the dog...

-slinger

 

[Rotorpixel]

UPDATE TIME!

I'm back in Canada now, and things are moving faster now that I'm around (communicating process changes was difficult with sporadic internet service).

Here is what has happened:

-Once we realized that there was an electrical problem somewhere in our custom "junction board" (which accepts the standard P2V cable, splits power to the gimbal, and sends a flexible cable to the FC200 camera), I made the decision to halt all shipments until I'm back around and can verify that the problem has been resolved. Thankfully, we didn't ship out hundreds of units, so the problem is isolated to order numbers at/below #XXXXX364. We have a very nice looking pile of gimbals here which have now been tested for shorts, and are just going through the last couple of stages of programming before they'll be ready to ship. We should start rolling them out tomorrow. Once all of these go out, we should push well into order numbers in the 400s... but we still want to be careful, and get more feedback before pushing the gas pedal to the floor.

-We have acquired proper professional cable testing equipment, which automatically tests for shorts across all permutations of connections for a given connector. This test is carried out at 2 different stages of assembly, by 2 different people in the assembly line, so the chance of another short circuit slipping through the cracks has been essentially eliminated.

-I've inserted myself into every step of the assembly process now, and have made some minor changes to how things are done, which should slightly increase efficiency and repeatability.

-Prior to this project, I owned 2 industrial 3D printers. One of them is relatively new, and prints out strong "ABSplus" material, and the other prints out a weaker version. The strong material is being used for components that have threads or require the added strength (camera mount, and gimbal control board case), while the other machine is used for printing less important parts. Having only 1 machine printing the main components has caused a bottleneck for the assembly process, since it is only able to churn out around 50 units per week. However, since my return, I've been working on a solution to double the output, by modifying the second machine to accept the stronger material. This modification is going to be tested for the first time tomorrow afternoon, so if all goes as planned, we'll potentially be able to hit the ~100 gimbals per week mark that we hoped. We're also looking into outsourcing some of the printing to increase production numbers even further.... but one step at a time.

-I'm trying to find someone qualified who can take care of customer support questions locally, but if I can't, then I may have to outsource this... anyone interested?

-Now that I'm back and have a proper studio to work with, we're going to be making the installation videos that everyone has been waiting for (we actually shot an entire installation video more than a month ago, but the design changed in a few ways, so we had to scrap it). I'm also working on other supporting materials as well.

With regard to a few points that I recall from previous posts:

-If you can bolt our gimbal to your future airframe, skateboard, helmet, or donkey, it will work (if you plug a battery into it). And, if you want to buy a different gimbal (like a hand-held rig for land shooting), you can pull out the gimbal control board, which normally costs $150, and use it in just about any gimbal out there.
-We already do have a Hero 3 mount designed, which works very well, but we haven't released it publicly yet (although, those who purchased our gimbals last year already have them!)
-We are working on (among other things) a "universal" camera mount, which will accept small cameras which have a tripod mounting hole. Using the same motors on our previous gimbal, we had many users sending their Sony RX100s into the sky, so we know that our motors can take the significant increase in mass.

Let me know if you have any other questions. And, for those of you who have emailed us, and not received a response, please accept my apologies... with everything else that has to get done, it's impossible to keep up with everything.

Thanks,

Keri

 

[Pull_Up]

The magic heels worked!

Thank you for the update. So this week alone 365 to beyond 400 going out? Nice!

Very harsh question but the extra mounts you spoke of... ETA for when they might be on the market? (I know what the current priority is and should be, just wondering if you had a timeframe in mind)

 

[bobomet]

The magic heels worked!

Thank you for the update. So this week alone 365 to beyond 400 going out? Nice!

Very harsh question but the extra mounts you spoke of... ETA for when they might be on the market? (I know what the current priority is and should be, just wondering if you had a timeframe in mind)

Or perhaps the mention of Grey Goose ....
If I pour another, all kinds of goods things are bound to happen!

I read this as fairly good news. But I have to admit I'm a little worried about the "... modifying the second machine to accept the stronger material. This modification is going to be tested for the first time tomorrow afternoon, so if all goes as planned, we'll potentially be able to hit the ~100 gimbals per week mark ..."
I would have thought this factored into the original output equation ...

 

[Rotorpixel]

I would have thought this factored into the original output equation ...

We changed the printing resolution from 0.013" to 0.010", which adds 30% more machine time per part. We were also counting on the parts coming from the second machine to be strong enough to use, but the number of stripped threads that we went through after productions started up made it obvious that the second machine was not an option anymore - hence the upgrade. The new material is arriving tomorrow, so we'll very quickly find out whether or not the mod will work. If not, then we'll go down another route to increase printing numbers (outsourcing, acquiring more machines, altering the design to drop the print resolution back down, etc.).

Simon - the Hero 3 adapters will be aailable as soon as they have proper product shots taken, and uploaded. The universal mount is a work in progress, and I'm not going to say much more than that! We've got experience making universal mounts already though, so we're not starting from scratch. See attached image (that's an RX100, using the same motors, on our previous gimbal frame)

Keri

 

[Pull_Up]

Thanks Keri. And my last question... 3rd axis upgrade? (Duck and cover!).

 

[Venom93corba]

Thanks for the update Keri. I'm glad your back. I have a RX100 that would love to use so I can't for that mount as well.

Phantom 2 Vision, Ragecams 5.4 flat lens, Rotorpixel gimbal (on order #384)

 

[gfredrone]

Nice update. RX100 owner here as well. How can we get FPV and picture taking/movie making control? Is this something RP can provide in a future kit?

 

[AllanVB]

Nice update. RX100 owner here as well. How can we get FPV and picture taking/movie making control? Is this something RP can provide with in a future kit?

+2
Keri, Thanks for the update. I nominate Pull_up to handle all your emails. (of course, between works shifts)

 

[Pull_Up]

I'll do it for the low, low price of $10,000 per month, and as I'll be a contractor think of all the red tape and taxes you'll save versus employing someone local. Of course I'll only be available 8pm to midnight, UK time, not including school holidays or weekends.... oh, or if I've got a Kitchen Table video to do... or there's someone on the internet I need to argue with.... or...

 

[streetcreep]

I have question .. on your website it says to follow these instructions to adjust for the filter . There does not seem to be any instructions listed . Would it be possible to get that answer fairly soon

 

[iResq]

I have question .. on your website it says to follow these instructions to adjust for the filter . There does not seem to be any instructions listed . Would it be possible to get that answer fairly soon

Do you have your gimbal yet? Adjusting the filter is fairly straight forward. There are 4 screws holding each axis motor to the mount. For each axis its a simple matter of loosening the screws, changing position, tightening screws and checking for balance. Pitch requires the camera to be removed, roll can be done with camera in place. 5 minutes, max.

 

[Pull_Up]

I haven't had Keri tell me I've done it wrong, so pending the "official" studio 'how to' I did this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lf5fCWH08A in the inevitable Kitchen Table style.

It has bonus sea-life and Caribbean references just to rub his nose in it when it was all getting a bit tense and he was swimming with whales and having a terrible time of it with the world's second worst internet connection and that terrible, terrible weather.

The key thing is that balancing a gimbal does NOT mean that the camera should always return to level with power off...

 

[streetcreep]

I have question .. on your website it says to follow these instructions to adjust for the filter . There does not seem to be any instructions listed . Would it be possible to get that answer fairly soon

Do you have your gimbal yet? Adjusting the filter is fairly straight forward. There are 4 screws holding each axis motor to the mount. For each axis its a simple matter of loosening the screws, changing position, tightening screws and checking for balance. Pitch requires the camera to be removed, roll can be done with camera in place. 5 minutes, max.

Do I have have my gimbal yet ??!! funny .. of course not . I was just reading that and says adjust need to be made around pitch and roll. I assumed you would have had to adjust something inside the control board for this thing .. guess not

 

[MikeySoft]

I'll do it for the low, low price of $10,000 per month, and as I'll be a contractor think of all the red tape and taxes you'll save versus employing someone local. Of course I'll only be available 8pm to midnight, UK time, not including school holidays or weekends.... oh, or if I've got a Kitchen Table video to do... or there's someone on the internet I need to argue with.... or...

Is that USD or Canadian dollars?

 

[Noël]

Hong Kong dollars!

 

[ResevorDG]

I would have thought this factored into the original output equation ...

We changed the printing resolution from 0.013" to 0.010", which adds 30% more machine time per part. We were also counting on the parts coming from the second machine to be strong enough to use, but the number of stripped threads that we went through after productions started up made it obvious that the second machine was not an option anymore - hence the upgrade. The new material is arriving tomorrow, so we'll very quickly find out whether or not the mod will work. If not, then we'll go down another route to increase printing numbers (outsourcing, acquiring more machines, altering the design to drop the print resolution back down, etc.).

Simon - the Hero 3 adapters will be aailable as soon as they have proper product shots taken, and uploaded. The universal mount is a work in progress, and I'm not going to say much more than that! We've got experience making universal mounts already though, so we're not starting from scratch. See attached image (that's an RX100, using the same motors, on our previous gimbal frame)

Keri

I love the universal mount. I know your swamped but please put that for sale on your web page when you get a chance.

 

[iResq]

Do I have have my gimbal yet ??!! funny .. of course not . I was just reading that and says adjust need to be made around pitch and roll. I assumed you would have had to adjust something inside the control board for this thing .. guess not

I wasn't trying to be funny, I hope you didn't take offense. Once you get it, it will be obvious.

 

[Pull_Up]

Is that USD or Canadian dollars?

Actually, to be honest...

EDIT: **** you Tapatalk image attachment handling, **** you to hell...

 

[bobbo984]

To everyone waiting - You've all just got one step closer... #420 cancelled today!

Sold my vision so no longer needed the gimbal. Definitely think it's still the best on the market for the Vision..

Keri replied to me very quickly and had no problem with the refund.