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Balanced Handwheels - where?


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Where on earth can I get balanced handwheels. For the life of me all the handwheels I can find are very heavy in the direction of the rotating knob. GearNex, Arri, the motion control guys etc all seem to be able to find them..

Edited by thomas-english
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Where on earth can I get balanced handwheels. For the life of me all the handwheels I can find are very heavy in the direction of the rotating knob. GearNex, Arri, the motion control guys etc all seem to be able to find them..

 

They don't exist. It's just something you have to deal with. You could take off the knobs but what would be the point? The worse thing is a bent shaft. That can drive an operator crazy and makes the wheel feel more unbalanced. Obviously the most critical thing is a balanced camera but once you tilt down or up the balance changes in either direction.

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Often, I would put the gear head in neutral and put the knobs at the bottom, 6 o'clock so they would never move on their own. I just don't see the need for any real changes because you always seem to have your hands on the wheels and that pretty much takes care of any unwanted movement.

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Thanks,

 

Yeah I have thought about trying to drill out unbalanced ones or bolting some balancer to the other end. It just seems to me that this is such an obvious industrial need I can't believe they aren't more freely available.

 

These are more for friction free remote head controllers where when you do let go with unbalanced ones the head just bobs.

 

Do they really just cast their own? The Varizoom one looks quite well designed:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/626391-REG/VariZoom_VZCP_T11_VZCP_T11_2_Axis_Hand_Wheel.html

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Thanks,

 

Yeah I have thought about trying to drill out unbalanced ones or bolting some balancer to the other end. It just seems to me that this is such an obvious industrial need I can't believe they aren't more freely available.

 

These are more for friction free remote head controllers where when you do let go with unbalanced ones the head just bobs.

 

Do they really just cast their own? The Varizoom one looks quite well designed:

http://www.bhphotovi...Hand_Wheel.html

 

Ok, I dont know if they cast their own exactly - but I work for a mechanical effects/motion control/gripping outfit at the moment and the wheels we have were designed in house and cast locally - its not that hard really, especially with the facilities those companies would have or have access to to once the budgets are taken into consideration...

 

The one in the photo looks like it might just have a counterweight on it smile.gif. I for one wouldn't look at your bored out/balanced wheel no matter how cruddy your finish and think anything but 'cool, the guy is thinking'.

 

I'm building a CNC mill at the moment (VMC style, no poopy gantry for me) - might get some stuff cast then machine out the bits that require the tolerances - get in touch in about a year if you want one ! (I'm thinking old school hammerite in british racing green)

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I'm building a CNC mill at the moment (VMC style, no poopy gantry for me) - might get some stuff cast then machine out the bits that require the tolerances ...

 

Didn't the old manual Bridgeports have balanced handles? Not wheels, though.

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

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Didn't the old manual Bridgeports have balanced handles? Not wheels, though.

 

 

Not sure if they are balanced - the ACME lead screws and the sliding dovetails on the bed have so much friction I would have thought there was no need... Even a nice ballscrew running the load on a linear bearing (CNC) has a heap of preload which would stop them falling under gravity - but yes I agree, they do have a certain symmetry about them wink.gif

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Where on earth can I get balanced handwheels. For the life of me all the handwheels I can find are very heavy in the direction of the rotating knob. GearNex, Arri, the motion control guys etc all seem to be able to find them..

 

Hotgears makes some very nice ones. Van Nuys, CA

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