Dyne's Wanhao X-Carriage C920 Camera Mount

thingiverse

There are mounts that attach a webcam to the Wanhao D3 Z axis and also to the Y axis, but none have ever been designed for attaching the webcam to the X axis - until now! Disclaimer: The previous statement may be an "alternative fact." Zero research was done to determine its accuracy. Your mileage may vary. Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate. After installing a rear-mounted fan duct, the bracket that held the stock part cooling fan became available for other purposes, so I decided to experiment with attaching my Logitech C920 webcam there, giving it a close-up view of the nozzle. This was an experiment because the weight could have been problematic for the print head. While there are many ways to reduce the weight of the C920 for mounting, I did not want to dismantle mine (it still gets used away from the printer), so this design makes use of the tripod attachment in the base that already comes attached to the camera. My mount works, but it is a bit awkward and may increase ringing and other issues due to the weight on the X carriage. Here's a timelapse recorded with this mount. I believe this was while printing the V2 part. Edit: Added a V3 mount with a 50-degree angle (to improve the ability to fine-tune the angle of the camera) and a slightly longer arm (to increase the camera's clearance to the print bed). Print Settings: Printer: Maker Select V2 Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.2 Infill: I used 75% Notes: I printed this in eSun Black PETG, but ABS would probably work just as well, as long as the layers bond well. Many of the enhanced PLAs, like eSun PLA Pro, can support the weight of the C920 too. Plain old PLA may be more sensitive to your infill percentage. I would recommend at least 50% infill, especially with regular PLA. I used supports on the mount when printed as shown for V1 because PETG doesn't like the overhangs on the printer side of the mount. V2 can print without supports, but this is not the ideal orientation for strength. Note that this thing does somewhat block the view of the extruder lever from the front (the lever can still be used, it's just harder to see). Makes filament changing a bit more awkward. Additional Info Other Hardware: M3 screws and nuts (2 each). Nylon locknuts would be best. My screws are 10 mm long. One 1/4 inch UNC (coarse) screw to attach the camera's tripod mount to the bracket. The one I had on hand was too long, so in the photo I am using a stack of washers as spacers. A zip-tie or velcro can secure the camera's USB cable to the top of the printer. Just make sure it has enough slack to travel the full width of the build area and doesn't interfere with the filament. You may also want to zip-tie the camera's base together to minimize vibration Installation and Configuration Use the M3 screws and nuts to attach the bracket to the print head. The plastic bracket should sit on top of the metal bracket, not underneath. Use the 1/4 inch screw to attach the camera to the bracket. The camera should be upside down and facing the nozzle. Route the USB cable over the top of the printer. I just strapped mine to my filament guide arm. Make sure the bottom of the camera sits higher than the nozzle. Octoprint has an option to flip the camera output. With this mount, you will want it flipped both horizontally and vertically. Adjust the target by tilting the camera up or down, or rotating it slightly around the 1/4 inch screw. To-do If the camera proves too heavy with its base, I may make an alternate version that allows you to use something akin to ps915's C920 universal mount.