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Swiveling Scanner Help?

Started by The14thDr, Oct 02, 2014, 03:30 pm

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The14thDr

Oct 02, 2014, 03:30 pm Last Edit: Jun 23, 2016, 06:35 pm by The14thDr
Since the main source of inspiration for my build is the 2013 console, I wanted to know if anybody has any good ideas for making the scanner swivel around the base of the central column?

Any ideas would be very gladly appreciated.
Kind regards, The14thDr :D
"Would you like a jelly baby?"

timewomble

What are you going to be using as the scanner? How heavy will it be? Will it require connections for power or video?

The14thDr

Oct 02, 2014, 04:39 pm #2 Last Edit: Oct 02, 2014, 04:41 pm by The14thDr
I'll be using my tablet, so that means no connections or wires.

EDIT: The tablet weighs about 370g and has a 7inch screen, with the entire thing being around 10 inches from corner to corner.
"Would you like a jelly baby?"

timewomble

I'm planning on doing the same thing. My plan is a long flexible strip of plastic, gently bent with some heat into a hoop or ring, with fixings running along the center of the inside face, connecting it to the rotor collar. The "trolley" will be made of plastic or wood, with 4 wooden or plastic wheels mounted at the corners. The wheels will have grooves, be fixed on and parallel to the back, and positioned so that the band is trapped between the upper and lower pairs of wheels, running in the groove. That should allow the trolley to move around while remaining attached to the collar. The monitor arm could then, for simplicity, be a fixed piece of wood (no changing of angle/height) ending in a flat panel with a ledge. Not sure how I'm going to attach the tablet to the ledge,mad I anticipate it being constantly removed.

In other words, as far as the rotational travel goes, the current plan is to try and implement broadly the same solution they have, but probably with different materials. However, I am going to have a look at lazy-Susan rings to see if they are cost effective and suitable.

Looking at the original I'm not sure whether the two monitors can go all the way around or whether there are one or more stops. And of course they temporarily added a third trolley for the arm carrying "Handles".



timewomble

These are the kind of wheels I mean:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-Replacement-Shower-Door-ROLLERS-Runners-Wheels-V-Grooved-19mm-Dia-LW19/281049030019

Imagine those mounted at the four corners of a rectangular plate, flat to the plate, with the rail/track passing through, sitting snugly into the grooves of the wheels.


galacticprobe

Oct 03, 2014, 06:37 am #5 Last Edit: Jul 03, 2019, 04:43 am by warmcanofcoke
I don't know if these will help, but here are a couple of grabs of the monitor slides:
MonitorSlide01.jpg
The yellow arrow is pointing to the slot where the monitors' wiring comes out of. Each monitor has one of these slots, so there is one on each side of the column. As far as "end stops" are concerned, those two screws standing proud from the track may mark the limit of travel for each monitor (highlighted by the red arrow and circle).

MonitorSlide02.jpg
And here's the slide from the other side of the console. Again the red arrow and circle highlight the other two screws that stand proud from the track. Also notice how the track has a horizontal gap between it and the column's base (the vertical gap is pretty clear). That gives the slide wheels a free run of the track; that is, until they get to those two proud screws. So at a guess, it looks like each monitor has only 180 degrees of travel around the column, and their cabling slides freely in and out of that slot in the column's base as the monitors move about.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

timewomble

That's fantastic, Dino. Thanks! I hadn't been able to spot how the cables were connected. I imagine there's a sprung reel inside, with enough force to easily pick up the slack as the monitor moves back towards the hole, but not so much that it would actually pull the monitor.

galacticprobe

Oct 04, 2014, 05:22 am #7 Last Edit: Oct 04, 2014, 05:25 am by galacticprobe
I'm glad those images were of help. And in keeping things simple (which I always try to do - as Scotty said "The more you overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain" - I think since the monitors probably only have that 180 degrees of travel - if those protruding screws are indeed the end stops for them - all it would take to draw the cables back into the slot as the monitor was swiveled around would be some small weight on the cables. The friction between the swivel and the track would be enough to keep the monitors in place, and the light weight on the cable would draw the cables back as the monitor was swiveled closer to the slot - sort of like the small weights that slowly pull some garden gates closed behind you so you don't have to close the gate yourself: that sort of thing, if you know what I mean.Some screen doors work the same way. (Or it could also be a light-weight tension spring that pulls the cables back - just strong enough to pull in the cables, but not strong enough to pull the monitors back against that swivel-track friction. Again if you know what I mean.)

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

The14thDr

Does anyone know how the scanner on the 2010 console swivels around. Does the monitor move separately, or does the big wooden circle thing move around the time rotor? Or is it something else entirely?
screen-1-b.jpg

Kind regards, The14thDr :D
"Would you like a jelly baby?"

Vale

The metal (O) thing that the screen hangs from rotates around the rotor. The wooden panels on the rotor column sides are stationary.

galacticprobe

Jun 27, 2016, 07:20 am #10 Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016, 07:22 am by galacticprobe
Vale is right, and there is a great example of how it works in "The Impossible Astronaut" after the TARDIS lands inside the White House. While the Doctor is (not so discreetly) sneaking around, taking notes as Nixon talks with Canton Everett Delaware III, River swings the monitor around almost from one side of the console to the other to get the scanner working again and you can see how that track Vale describes moves.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

davidnagel

Jun 27, 2016, 02:50 pm #11 Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016, 02:51 pm by davidnagel
You need a sexy turntable bearing swively platey: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/16-Turntable-Bearing-Swivel-Plate-Lazy-Susan-New-Great-For-Mechanical-Projects/1875370234.html?spm=2114.40010208.4.63.LltU1q

16-Turntable-Bearing-Swivel-Plate-Lazy-Susan-New-Great-For-Mechanical-Projects.jpg

That way you can mount it on top of your console and swivel, I'm not sure if you need to counterweight it in anyway or if the plate is lubricated enough not to care.
Regards
David