Portable 360 Turntable with Inverted Trailer Axle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large turntables used for 360-degree product photography are not portable and require extensive setup, making them impractical for use in various industries such as automotive sales, where capturing high-quality 360-degree images of vehicles is time-consuming and often results in inconsistent lighting and exposure.
Innovation Solution
A portable rectangular turntable system, transported on a custom trailer, that can rotate objects of various sizes and weights, equipped with a triggering mechanism for digital capture, ensuring consistent lighting and background, and allowing images to be compiled into interactive 360-degree virtual reality files.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a large turntable is built into a floor or set up with extensive material, then the turntable can support large objects for 360-degree photography, but the turntable becomes non-portable and requires extensive setup time
Solution Approach 1:
The turntable system is divided into separable components: a portable turntable unit that can be detached from the trailer. This allows the turntable to be transported independently while maintaining its load-bearing capability when assembled, resolving the contradiction between strength and portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The turntable is suspended from the underside of the trailer in a vertical configuration during transport, rather than being fixed to the floor. This dimensional change allows the turntable to be easily attached and detached while maintaining structural integrity for supporting large objects during photography sessions.
2Ease of operation
If traditional photography methods are used with manual camera movement around the object, then the photographer has flexibility in positioning, but the lighting and background become inconsistent and angles may be missed
Solution Approach 1:
A triggering mechanism is implemented that automatically captures images at predetermined angular intervals as the turntable rotates. This feedback system ensures consistent spacing between images and maintains uniform lighting conditions by completing the 360-degree rotation in a single continuous motion, eliminating the inconsistency problems of manual photography.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs the photography task automatically through the rotating turntable and triggering mechanism, eliminating the need for manual camera repositioning. The turntable itself serves the function of positioning the object relative to the stationary camera, ensuring consistent lighting and background while capturing all necessary angles.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple separate photographs are taken and edited manually, then individual images can be adjusted, but the process is time-consuming and requires extensive post-processing
Solution Approach 1:
All necessary photographs are captured in a single continuous 360-degree rotation sequence, with proper lighting and angular spacing established during the initial capture phase. This preliminary action ensures image quality consistency is achieved during photography rather than through time-consuming post-processing adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple individual photographs taken at different angles are automatically combined into a single interactive 360-degree virtual reality file. This merging process eliminates the need for manual editing and assembly of separate images, significantly reducing post-processing time while maintaining image quality.
Data Source
AI summary
A fast set-up and very portable turntable, able to rotate objects up to 7500 pounds at varying revolutions per minute. The modified “H” beam framework creates a low profile turntable with built-in loading and exiting ramp. Heavy duty casters riding on a large plate steel base, provide a smooth, stabile surface for the revolving casters. Proximity switches are used to create a synchronized system, which operate the hydraulic cylinders used for stability. They can also trigger a digital camera every few degrees of rotation, creating a 360 degree virtual reality image. The custom designed trailer carries the turntable on its underside with the use of an inverted four inch drop axle to gain ground clearance. Winches are used to lift the turntable from the ground. Inverted towers with casters at the four corners of the trailer offer protection to the turntable from irregular surfaces or curbs.