So Fr Robert Ballecer, SJ after watching you build a PT camera mount with stepper motors I was ...

[G+_T Nohands]

So Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ after watching you build a PT camera mount with stepper motors I was wondering if the same setup could be a solution for a setup I have been trying to find with no luck :( My mother and grandmother like to hang potted plants from the overhang of porch/patio problem is they use large/wide baskets with water reservoir and can weigh 40 to 60 lbs. Since they have other people hang them the issue is giving balanced daylight :/ Can you mount a stepper motor to a truss in the overhang and rotate the planter from 4 to 8 full revolutions per day? Would steppers be the way to go, can arduinos/ras pi operate multiple motors using high watt AC/DC, can these motors be IP controlled from outside the network by a vpn tunnel, and where would I find the components and codes? I know it's a lot but it would be my first maker project using controller boards like arduino/ras pi, and it looks easy on the show but it starts to get confusing when I start looking for components online not sure where to look, buy, and start with what controller?

[G+_Jason Perry]

I have seen a project like that only it wasn't hanging. They took a lazy Susan put the plant on it and used gears to turn it. There was also a self watering portion to it.

[G+_T Nohands]

A platform using gears would not be an option due size and height I'm looking for a compact solution and a stepper motor looks like it might work better

[G+_Stede Bonnett]

If you can find a free spinning mount and make a right-angle gear setup to get some torque advantage a smallish NEMA17 stepper would work. Maybe $20-25 for the stepper and a driver board (12V). You would mount it with the shaft horizontal and transfer the motion through the gears (vs suspending the plants from the shaft assembly which would kill the bearings pretty quickly).

Controlling them remotely vs just letting a microcontroller free-run would be mostly a software problem.

[G+_T Nohands]

Stede Bonnett Where could I find a free spinning mount and the right angle gears and how much space would that take up? My mother/grandmother won't want anything bulky ugly or hang too low plus I wouldn't want to give them something unclean or unattractive.

[G+_David Wiggins]

I'd think something like http://www.shoupparts.com/FD209RA/ (found by Google image search) to attach the wires to the planter, attached to a vertical support shaft. Attach gears to the bearing , connect the motor. At least that's the image your post spawned in my mind. I'd love to see what you do either way.