Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted July 2, 2009 Premium Member Share Posted July 2, 2009 I've still got this stepper motored gear head from Ken Stone. He said that it had been one of two heads that shot FX on the original Star Wars. ILM's web site doesn't have an email access address (understandably). I was hoping to find someone by email at ILM who could tell me what stepper drivers they used on these motors. I could also stand to locate the software they used on it. Does anyone here know how to find one of the old-timers at ILM that might know this info? Could you introduce me? I swear this is my real motive. I'm not trying to be a glomber/pain-in-the-butt. If you could make this connection or know an addy, please PM me. I just want to know what's involved in getting this head working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 I've still got this stepper motored gear head from Ken Stone. He said that it had been one of two heads that shot FX on the original Star Wars. ILM's web site doesn't have an email access address (understandably). I was hoping to find someone by email at ILM who could tell me what stepper drivers they used on these motors. I could also stand to locate the software they used on it. Does anyone here know how to find one of the old-timers at ILM that might know this info? Could you introduce me? I swear this is my real motive. I'm not trying to be a glomber/pain-in-the-butt. If you could make this connection or know an addy, please PM me. I just want to know what's involved in getting this head working. I might be able to contact someone who works there now if that might help. I'm not sure exactly what you are asking tho? You want to know what the actual motors used were (the model no and manufacturer?) and you want to get hold of the control software? Does it have some kind of interface with it? Keep in mind it may not have been running on a mac or P.C. so having the software might not be that useful even if it is still out there! love Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted July 2, 2009 Author Premium Member Share Posted July 2, 2009 I might be able to contact someone who works there now if that might help. I'm not sure exactly what you are asking tho?You want to know what the actual motors used were (the model no and manufacturer?) and you want to get hold of the control software? Does it have some kind of interface with it? Keep in mind it may not have been running on a mac or P.C. so having the software might not be that useful even if it is still out there! love Freya Hello Freya, It's like a Worral geared head but with stepper motors instead of cranks. It has precise scales on it to measure motion in the pans and tilts. It really is a lovely bit of engineering. It already has stepper motors. They are monstrous compared to modern motors. Ken said that they worked but he never bought the drivers from ILM. The drivers are control boards either plugged into the expansion slots of the mobo (which would be useless to me) or separate units. Drivers take signals from a controller and convert them into the correct frequency and voltage to make the motors behave precisely. I would have to use a modern control board but would kind of prefer to use drivers made and matched for the old steppers. I guess any freeware CNC software would be okay to use, but, I don't actually know that for sure. I just wanted to get the info from someone who may have used this thing back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Millar Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Hello Freya, It's like a Worral geared head but with stepper motors instead of cranks. It has precise scales on it to measure motion in the pans and tilts. It really is a lovely bit of engineering. It already has stepper motors. They are monstrous compared to modern motors. Ken said that they worked but he never bought the drivers from ILM. The drivers are control boards either plugged into the expansion slots of the mobo (which would be useless to me) or separate units. Drivers take signals from a controller and convert them into the correct frequency and voltage to make the motors behave precisely. I would have to use a modern control board but would kind of prefer to use drivers made and matched for the old steppers. I guess any freeware CNC software would be okay to use, but, I don't actually know that for sure. I just wanted to get the info from someone who may have used this thing back in the day. CNC softs don't usually use time the way we would want to for moco - but I'm interested in finding out if you can get one to work ;) I love this sort of carry on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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