Robust Flight Camera Pan Assembly for FPV Flying Wings by Gigahurtz

Last crawled date: 2 years, 12 months ago

Update on 1/16/2021: Uploaded a newer version (2.1). This version works with more modern FPV cameras, including the Foxeer Falkor 2 as well as the DJI HD FPV Camera! Also uploaded a new "boot" which is useful for a strain relief with the DJI HD camera. Print in TPU and goop in. At the time of writing, I have not tested this setup with the DJI system, but plan to fly it soon and will report back. When using the DJI camera, the metal mount that comes with the Foxeer Falkor series works (others may be compatible as well).
Here's a video of the latest version on the bench: https://youtu.be/ugUoh5DFFRU .
This is a fairly robust yet reasonably lightweight pan assembly for a FPV flight camera. It was designed and intended for a Chimera Flying Wing for FPV, but can certainly be used for other craft as well. Here's a flight video of it in action (Older v1.8, analog FPV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bapxTDwmhos
Required Parts List, in addition to the (4) printed parts:
(1) Turnigy TGY-R5180MG 180 Degree MG Analog Servo. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=65966
(4) M3 nylon lock nuts
(4) M3 bolts
(4) Small screws to attach the servo horn to the top pan assembly. I used some lock nuts with these. I think they are M2 screws.
(1) Mount for the FPV camera. The hole pattern in the above mount was designed to work with the one that comes with the Foxeer Falkor 2.
(1) Longer screw compatible with the servo to secure the top pan assembly.
I cannot guarantee that this pan will work with other servos. I highly recommend the above Turnigy servo as it's inexpensive, provides a smooth pan between steps, and has about +/-130 degrees of rotation if the transmitter endpoints are set to +/- 125% (800 to 2200us pulse width). I tried the RMRC 260 deg servo, and while it had better torque, it was slower and the steps were not nearly as smooth.
Many cameras may work. This was designed for the Foxeer Falkor 2. It happens to work with DJI's camera for the HD FPV system as well when using the mount from the Falkor 2.
Here are the STL files for the pan assembly. There are 4 main parts:

The plane "base" mount. It's designed to be printed with the captive nut holes facing upwards. Use M3 nylon lock nuts in this. I put in a drop of CA glue to hold them in place. This part gets physically bonded to the plane after cutting out foam in the nose. Hot glue works well as you can remove it with isopropyl alcohol if needed. E6000 around the perimeter helps seal even more.


A servo shim plate. It sits between the plane base mount and the base of the actual pan assembly.


The lower part of the pan assembly.

The upper pan assembly. This is intended to be printed with the cylinder groove upwards.
I printed everything in 0.2mm layer height in Colorfabb ngen filament. Others such as PETG probably work fine as long as it can be sanded. I wouldn't recommend PLA due to the thermal limitations. The parts fit very snugly and you'll probably need to file and/or sand them down to get a good fit between the upper and lower pan assemblies. You'll probably want to sand the top of each race flat as well. Once it rotates somewhat freely, clean away the excess grains of plastic with isopropyl alcohol. Then, use synthetic grease in the groove (Tri-flo works well). It should rotate 360 degrees smoothly and without binding.
If I recall correctly, the total weight of the pan assembly (minus the servo and the camera) is 35g. If you want to save weight, you can forego the lower plane mount piece and shim, and screw in the servo to the lower pan assembly using screws through the servo ears. That will reduce the pan assembly weight to around 25g. I prefer the option of being able to remove the pan assembly in case it breaks, though, so it can be replaced without re-gluing it to the plane.
A bit of background:
I designed this because I wasn't satisfied with any of the inexpensive pan systems I found on the market, which typically bear the entire weight of the camera on a servo horn. Such a design, while lightweight, not only results in camera vibration, but the mechanism is prone to breaking where the horn is attached to the servo during a rough landing or a crash. This design is intended to minimize the stress on the servo axis and horn through the use of the larger diameter cylinder which tracks in a groove. It has held up many times in bad crashes. An improvement would be the addition of bearings, but honestly, I'm not sure it needs it as it moves very smoothly after sanding down the surfaces and applying synthetic grease.