BAT Hat Ping Mount

thingiverse

I've been working on a "BAT Hat" for approximately a year as my side project, which stands for Blind Assistance Technology. This innovative hat offers distance feedback using Ping sensors. Initially, I connected the sensors to vibrating motors for a haptic feedback system; however, the latest version incorporates audio feedback through Arduino and Adafruit Wave Shield. To learn more about this fascinating hat and download related files, visit my blog at http://www.akeric.com/blog/?p=2114. In the process of creating this hat, I faced a challenge: finding a way to mount the ping sensors securely and adjustably on the hat, especially when I didn't have a Makerbot at the time. I started by using Shapelock to create simple brackets, but they lacked the desired adjustability and resembled play-dough. UechiMike's design (thing #19256) inspired the top part of my mount, while the bottom was custom modeled in Maya. This design allows the mount to slip around the hat brim, with a screw holding it in place at the bottom and a nut/bolt securing the top and bottom brackets together. Printing this nifty mount required Taulman 618 Nylon at 240 degrees without hbp. I used a layer height of .2mm, three shells, and 33% infill. The printing process took approximately 25 minutes to complete.