PhotoRobot Hardware: Centerless Table, Cube, Robot Arm

00:00

Intro: PhotoRobot Hardware Systems

00:28

PhotoRobot Centerless Table: Components

02:10

Centerless Table: Machine Frame

02:43

PhotoRobot’s Cube Robot: Object Staging

03:25

Centerless Table: Top Portal

03:56

Lighting Setup

04:26

Background Lighting

05:07

PhotoRobot Robot Arm: Use & Specifications

05:52

Robot Arm Swing Spindle with Cross Laser

06:08

Optional Robot Arm Docking Station

06:25

Robot Arm Height Adjustment

06:48

PhotoRobot Control Units

07:09

Learn More Today

00:06 We take pride in how easy it is to use a PhotoRobot. However, in this video, let's geek out on some technical details and study the anatomy of our hardware, by which I mean those heavy-duty black machines behind me that do their magic in all of our videos. By the way, they don't necessarily have to come in black. For example, Louis Vuitton ordered them in white, while Karl Zeiss got them in a multi-color finish. Let's begin with our Centerless_Table. This is an industrial-grade machine with a glass turntable.

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00:34 The centerpiece of this model is an 850 mm optical glass turntable with an 8 mm thickness, weighing 11.5 kilograms. It can carry up to 40 kilograms of payload and it has no green color tint at the edges as seen on many entry-level solutions. Let's take a closer look at what is under the hood. Here, we have a precisely machined aluminum wheel with a user-replaceable rubber O-ring, which is reading the play position a thousand times per second. Sometimes, competing products do this, too, but at a lower frequency.

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01:05 In addition, there is the optical sensor calibrating the wheel readouts every single turn of the glass plate, constantly recalculating the gear ratio. This allows us to reach unbelievable production speeds. All the pulleys that guide the glass plate are fully adjustable and each has a user-replaceable X-shape silicone ring for perfect geometry. As Murphy's Law dictates, whenever you need to replace a tire, it is a thousand miles away, but you need it now. In this machine, there is a zip-bag under the cover,

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01:34 allowing you to replace the rings immediately, and you can use the information on the cover sheet to order new ones for later use. The same applies to this large driveshaft wheel. By the way, the robust motor behind it, running at 48V and 10A, is controlled with precise S-curves for acceleration and deceleration. This gives you the power of a racing car at your fingertips. This machine can capture an entire spin set in under 4 seconds, but most cameras or lights can't. So in real life, it takes about 20 seconds to shoot a 36 image spin.

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02:10 All of this sits in a massive machine frame. This is important, as we know that the rigidity of the frame prevents product shake in final images, especially when captured at the high speeds we use here. But there are a lot of other clever functions. Here in the front, there is an industrial rack to install not only our 19 inch PhotoRobot control units, but also laser controllers, power distributors, network components, surge protectors and so on. All of this to keep it all perfectly organized. Of course, there are clever paths for hidden wiring inside the entire workspace.

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02:44 Next, we have the_Cube. This one is version 5, but we currently have three different models to perfectly cover various configurations of the workspace according to the client's specifications. This machine can work standalone, but here it is used to precisely synchronize the rotation of suspended items: like a handbag, for example, which sits nicely on the glass surface, but its straps need to be suspended on nylon strings. There's an extensive set of accessories that fit on the snowflake-shaped output shaft wheel to give you extreme latitude of adjustment.

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03:16 If you photograph electric devices that need to be powered up when photographing, there is a model with an electric socket on the rotating part for powering the item while spinning. To make sure the cube is perfectly aligned as well as other accessories, there is a top portal - in this instance with an extended length of the columns, which, unlike the standard length, makes it possible to go all the way to a 90° top view with a camera mounted on a robotic_arm. This portal can carry various holders, such

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03:43 as: pins, sockets, uni-clamps or heavy-duty clamps. This is useful as it is always good to have a third hand to hold some spotlights, reflection boards, or other photography jigs to create the right magic. After all, great photography is all about perfect light. And the system of PhotoRobot hedgehog holders integrated into the portal allows you to have the lights, whether they are LEDs or strobes, always at the right place. In front of the object or evenly illuminating the background, for its easy automated software removal.

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04:15 As the camera comes to the higher angles, we need to make sure that the background is illuminated perfectly at the furthest point from the perspective of the background lights. That is why we have this reflection surface integrated into the diffusion background set, which distributes the light evenly. We have direct background lighting installed here. This may lead to a stronger effect called light wrap, where there is too much light coming around the object into the camera lens, which leads to the edges becoming softer.

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04:43 But we have various ways how to illuminate the background to avoid this. We will demonstrate that in another video. However, the light goes hand in hand with the dark. That is why this machine can hold black flags in the background. These can be placed on both sides of the photographed item or also here, under the glass plate on this nylon string web, which is adjustable in many directions to perfectly meet the required setup. Last but not least, this workspace includes a Robotic_Arm - its 8th generation.

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05:13 This takes care of the correct angle of your camera when capturing stills or spins, single-row or multi-row. This brushed stainless steel seat allows you to mount the camera sensor exactly to the optical center of the machine's rotation, as every camera body has different dimensions. It is at the end of a stiff and light telescopic arm, which is delivered in two different lengths. This makes it possible to use it with robotic tables as well as larger platforms. The entire arm is mounted on a pivot with position micro-adjustment

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05:45 to set the camera to the perfect position, while a set of counterweights allows you to balance the arm for maximum dynamics of movement. By the way, the swing spindle is hollow to accommodate a cross laser for perfect positioning. It is useful not only when placing the object to the center of rotation, but also for aligning the arm and the table together. If doing this frequently, for example, when using the Robot Arm partly with a table and partly with a platform, you may want to order an optional docking station where you just push the arm in and lock it in place.

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06:19 To unlock it and get it on the retractable wheels, you just move this bar from here to here. This is used not only as a robotic swing to capture the exact angle, but also as the height adjustment of the entire machine to the center of the object's height. This functionality is provided automatically by our control software if the information about the height is available. This can be either in the photography list or by automatic measurement provided by CUBISCAN devices. Our 19 inch control units are the heart of the entire system.

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06:53 These controllers are mounted in an industrial rack chassis, which gives you a great freedom of upgrades to the latest generation, or easy maintenance and servicing if required. However, we will take a closer look at these magic computers coming out of our production line in another video. But at the end of the day, all of these technical details are not that important. The only thing to remember is that this is PhotoRobot - a precise, robust, reliable and extremely powerful solution that combines hardware,

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07:22 software and firmware all coming from a single source - us. And all of this can be tailored to your specific needs to automate your imagery production. Thanks for watching!