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Rotary Gravity Slide Projector
Karen

Created by

Karen

22. September 2026SE
30
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Rotary Gravity Slide Projector

Straight slide magazines pushed slides sideways and jammed. Kodak's round tray, designed by David E. Hansen, stood the slides on edge in a ring above the projector: each one fell into the gate by gravity when it reached the drop point and was lifted back when the tray moved on, so nothing had to push a slide sideways. **US 3,276,314**, "Automatic slide projector", Herbert T. Robinson, assigned to Eastman Kodak, filed 1. June 1965 (continuing an application of 23. February 1962), granted 4. October 1966: a tray of two relatively movable portions with a passageway "through which the slides are adapted to pass substantially vertically, one at a time, in coordination with relative movement of the portions". **You build the mechanism**: a 12-slot tray turned by a stepper, a servo that lifts each slide back, a torch and a lens to project it.
Advanced
6 hours

Instructions

1

Make twelve slides

Cut 50 x 50 mm frames from black card with a 36 x 24 mm window. Draw or print images on transparency film and tape one behind each window. Number them 0 to 11.

Materials for this step:

Black Card StockBlack Card Stock2 sheets
Inkjet Transparency FilmInkjet Transparency Film2 sheets

Tools needed:

Craft KnifeCraft Knife
Permanent MarkerPermanent Marker
Steel RulerSteel Ruler
2

Build the tray

Glue two 240 mm foam-board discs together. Cut 12 radial slots 4 mm wide and 55 mm long, 30 degrees apart, open underneath so a slide can fall through. Glue a hub on the motor shaft and the tray on the hub.

Materials for this step:

Model Building Foam BoardModel Building Foam Board2 sheets
Stepper Motor - 68 oz.in (400 steps/rev)Stepper Motor - 68 oz.in (400 steps/rev)1 piece

Tools needed:

Craft KnifeCraft Knife
Hot Glue GunHot Glue Gun
3

Base, gate and lift

On a plywood base cut one drop slot under the tray. Below it, build a foam-board gate channel that holds a dropped slide upright between the torch and a 100 mm convex lens. Mount the servo so its arm, raised, pushes the slide back up into the tray.

Materials for this step:

Plywood SheetPlywood Sheet1 piece
SG90 Micro Servo Motor (5-Pack)SG90 Micro Servo Motor (5-Pack)1 pack
Convex Lens Set (Assorted Focal Lengths)Convex Lens Set (Assorted Focal Lengths)1 set

Tools needed:

Hand SawHand Saw
Hot Glue GunHot Glue Gun
LED Inspection FlashlightLED Inspection Flashlight
4

Wire and flash

EasyDriver STEP to D3, DIR to D4, motor coils to A and B, 12 V supply to its power input, GND shared with the Uno. Servo signal D9. Button between D2 and GND. Set the EasyDriver current adjuster low - the tray is light. Turn the tray by hand so slot 0 is over the gate before powering up.
rotary_slide_tray.inocpp
// Rotary gravity slide tray - batch 99, after US 3,276,314
// EasyDriver: STEP D3, DIR D4, motor on A/B, 12 V to PWR IN. Lift servo D9. Advance button D2 -> GND.
#include <Servo.h>

const int STEP_PIN = 3, DIR_PIN = 4, BTN = 2;
const long STEPS_PER_REV = 3200;     // 400-step motor x 8 microsteps (EasyDriver default)
const int SLOTS = 12;
const int LIFT_DOWN = 10, LIFT_UP = 100;   // servo angles: arm clear / slide pushed back into tray

Servo lift;
int slot = 0;
long position = 0;                   // absolute microsteps from the start slot

void stepTo(long target) {
  digitalWrite(DIR_PIN, target > position ? HIGH : LOW);
  while (position != target) {
    digitalWrite(STEP_PIN, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(400);
    digitalWrite(STEP_PIN, LOW);  delayMicroseconds(400);
    position += (target > position) ? 1 : -1;
  }
}

void setup() {
  pinMode(STEP_PIN, OUTPUT); pinMode(DIR_PIN, OUTPUT); pinMode(BTN, INPUT_PULLUP);
  lift.attach(9); lift.write(LIFT_DOWN);
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial.println(F("Slot 0 in the gate. Press to advance."));
}

void loop() {
  if (digitalRead(BTN) == HIGH) return;
  lift.write(LIFT_UP);  delay(600);            // push the shown slide back up into its slot
  slot = (slot + 1) % SLOTS;
  // target from the ABSOLUTE slot number, so the 266.67-step fraction never accumulates
  long target = (long)slot * STEPS_PER_REV / SLOTS;
  if (slot == 0) target = STEPS_PER_REV;        // finish the turn forwards...
  stepTo(target);
  if (slot == 0) position = 0;                   // ...then call it zero again
  lift.write(LIFT_DOWN); delay(600);           // the next slide drops into the gate by gravity
  Serial.print(F("showing slot ")); Serial.println(slot);
  while (digitalRead(BTN) == LOW) {}
}

Materials for this step:

EasyDriver Stepper Motor DriverEasyDriver Stepper Motor Driver1 piece
Microswitch (Lever Actuated)Microswitch (Lever Actuated)1 piece
Dupont Jumper Wire Set (M-F)Dupont Jumper Wire Set (M-F)1 set

Tools needed:

Arduino Uno R3Arduino Uno R3
DC Power SupplyDC Power Supply
Breadboard - ClassicBreadboard - Classic
SparkFun Cerberus USB Cable - 1.8 meterSparkFun Cerberus USB Cable - 1.8 meter
5

Why the steps must not drift

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
6

Show

Load the slides upside down and reversed (a projector inverts the image). Darken the room, focus the lens on a wall, and press to advance. Count misfeeds over two full turns.

Tools needed:

Tape MeasureTape Measure
7

History & Context

**What the patent specifies:** a projector for a tray of two relatively movable portions, slides passing substantially vertically through a passageway one at a time in step with the tray's movement. **Modern build (derived):** foam-board tray, stepper, servo lift and a torch. Kodak made Carousel projectors from 1961 until 2004; a round tray held 80 slides. The limits: bent or thick mounts jam the gate, and the gravity drop needs the projector level.
Step 7 - Image 1

Materials

10

Tools Required

11
Estimated Total
What the maker bought. Materials shown without a price are sourced wherever you buy them.
$29.36

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