Fixed-yaw Raspberry Pi camera mount for Printrbot Simple Metal

thingiverse

This is a mount for attaching a Raspberry Pi camera to the bed of your Simple Metal. The yaw is fixed so that the camera points exactly at the center of the bed, while the pitch is adjustable, making it possible to aim the camera down towards the bed for small prints or higher for tall prints. The rigidity of this mount eliminates camera shake caused by bed travel, resulting in sharper time lapse videos. It was also designed to have a small footprint, allowing you to put your Simple Metal into the smallest enclosure possible. This mount is compatible with my Digital Thermometer Addon. A demonstration video showcasing footage from this mount can be viewed here. I highly recommend using this mount over my Tough RasPi Camera mount due to its advantages explained in the "How I Designed This" section. To assemble and print: 1. Print 1x Bed mount from this project 2. Print 1x Camera case from this project 3. Print 1x CaseBack.stl from Jerware's camera mount Materials required: - 2 × M3 screws - 2 × M3 nuts - A small wide-angle lens designed to attach to a mobile phone (a recommended type is included) A long RPi camera cable is also highly recommended for added flexibility. Print settings: - Printer brand: Printrbot - Printer model: Simple Black - Rafts: No - Supports: No - Resolution: 0.2 mm layer height and 0.4 mm nozzle diameter - Infill: 10-20% Notes: - Do not use a brim as it may fill the nut trap holes on the underside of the bracket part. - The overhang of the attachment arm on the camera case is 65°, which can be printed without supports for any well-maintained printer. How I Designed This After using my Tough RasPi Camera mount for a month, several shortcomings became apparent. Most of these issues arose due to printing parts from Jerware's camera mount in PLA: - The swivel arm would relax over time and lose its ability to grip the camera case, causing it to "flop around" when moving. - Because the camera was not level and pointing at the center of the build plate, capturing clear images became difficult. - Due to the mounting arm's position, the camera poked out in front of the printer and often rubbed against the door or got dislodged from its set position. - The movement of the bed would cause a little shake on the camera image due to the movable design of the original mount. Therefore, the specifications for this object were: - MUST hold the camera at a fixed angle and height, suitable for capturing images without distortion. - SHOULD resist camera shake from bed movement. - LET's build it! Highlights of the Build This is actually a remix of my old mount and Jerware's camera case. I solved some interesting problems during its construction, such as finding the correct angle for the camera case and adjusting the holes inside the arm without needing supports. To achieve this, I measured the angle using a feeler gauge and protractor. For better judgment on tolerances for holes, my rule of thumb is +0.4 mm outside diameter (OD). Version history: 12 Jul 2016 - Redesigned camera case.stl to add adjustable pitch to the camera. Removed vestigial holes from Jerware's old camera case design and resized the lens mounting hole. 23 Nov 2015 - Initial release. Tinkercad source document is here.