MG996R Heavy Pan-Tilt Camera Gimbal

This is a pan-tilt head for a phone, action cam or compact camera up to about 400 g, too heavy for an SG90-scale mount. Two MG996R metal-gear servos provide the motion. The pan servo only turns the head: the weight of the pan platter rests on three 624 bearings running on a flat track under the platter. On the tilt axis the servo drives one side of the cradle, and the other side turns on an 8 mm steel stub in a 608 bearing, so neither servo takes the load on one side only. You can drive it from any servo controller, Arduino, ESP32 or Pi HAT for timelapse panning, tracking or remote-camera work.

The base housing is open at the bottom and holds the pan servo upright, hanging by its mounting tabs from the 4 mm deck. The three roller forks bolt to the deck around the servo. The pan platter screws onto the pan servo horn and rides on the rollers. The two uprights bolt to the platter with M3 screws into heat-set inserts: the servo-side upright carries the tilt servo, and the idler-side upright carries the 608 bearing. The camera cradle is held between the two uprights. It bolts to the tilt horn on one side and clamps the 8 mm rod stub on the other. The camera goes on a 1/4"-20 screw through the slot in the cradle.

Assembly order:

1. Press M3 heat-set inserts into the base deck (6), the platter (4) and the top of the cradle's rod cheek (1).
2. Drop the pan servo into the base from above so its tabs rest on the deck, then bolt it down with 4x M4x16 screws and nuts. Route the cable out through the wall notch.
3. Fit each 624 bearing on an M4x25 axle in its fork, add a nyloc nut, and bolt the forks to the deck with M3x10 screws.
4. Centre the pan servo, fit its horn, then screw the platter onto the horn through the radial slots.
5. Shim each fork with M3 washers until its roller just touches the platter underside without lifting the platter off the horn.
6. Mount the tilt servo in the servo-side upright (tabs on the outside face, spline pointing inward) and press the 608 into the idler-side upright.
7. Bolt the servo-side upright to the platter, then fit the tilt horn and screw the cradle to it.
8. Slide the 30 mm rod through the 608 into the cradle, bolt the idler upright down, slide it along its X slots until the rod turns freely, then tighten the grub screw.
9. Mount the camera and balance it by moving it along the 1/4" slot until the cradle stays put with the servo unpowered.

Tuning notes: Some MG996R dimensions aren't verified (tab-hole spacing, shaft offset from the body centre, and the height from the tabs to the horn face), so every place that depends on them is slotted or shimmed. The Y slots in the servo-side upright set the gap to the horn, the X slots in the idler upright line the rod up with the servo shaft, and the washers under the forks set the roller height. Power the servos from a separate 5–6 V supply rated at least 3 A. Stall current can reset a microcontroller that powers them from its USB supply.