Miniature 3D-Printable Turntable

As seen on Ali/Potent Printables’ Twitter feed, his latest project presents an interesting option if you want to spin small projects for display or photography purposes. Two options are presented — a very small turntable that employs a mini continuous rotation servo to revolve things around, and a less small fixture, sized for a standard servo.

Electronics-wise, the setup is fairly basic, using an Arduino Uno with an Adafruit Motor Shield to spin things around at various speeds. If you need more details on the controls, this part of the build is outlined in the linear actuator design highlighted here in October 2018. The project’s simplicity means that with a few prints and purchased parts, you can get one of more of these little spinners up and running with relative ease. One could see these even being expanded to include such features as an automatic shutter release function for photography use, the ability to work with standard servos, sensor inputs, and more.

Besides simply rotating, the other neat feature of these turntables is that they feature interchangeable top plates to the fixture with magnets. In the video below, you can see a few possible configurations — a flat table, one with mounting holes, and even one that is compatible with LEGO bricks. Print files are available on Thingiverse, and links for purchased parts are in the video description.