Housing for VL53L0X Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor

thingiverse

### Description **If you print in the orientation provided, you shouldn't need supports.** **Also included in the photos is my [Case for ElectroCookie Mini PCB Prototype Board](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5320880).** This housing is designed to accommodate a [VL53L0X](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XXTMRR2) Time-of-Flight (TOF) Sensor and a [4 wire cable](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089SH47MS) (with 4 pin [JST-XH](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082234HSS) connector). This sensor is used to accurately measure distances and appears to work up to about 1.5 meters. The back of the Sensor Body (and **optional** Sensor Back Clamp) have a 42mm diameter arc. I used this to attach to my stairs bannister. It shouldn't hinder you from using wherever, just use some double sided foam tape to attach. Additionally, the Sensor Front and (and **optional** Sensor Back Clamp) have a recessed track in case you want to install using Zip Ties. I didn't find it necessary to (super)glue the Sensor Body to the Sensor Front, but you can. I'm using Foam Tape and a Zip Tie to attach to my bannister, which seems good enough. Use short [M3 screws](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CYNKLT2) to attach the VL53L0X to the housing. I used [Bondic](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018IBEHQU) to help secure the i2c cable to the ToF sensor. ### What is the optional "Sensor Back Clamp" model for? In case you are using a Zip Tie to attach to something like a stairs bannister, I added this optional second piece to keep the Zip Tie front digging into the back of the bannister. ### How I'm using it I'm installing Stair Lights. I initially used a motion sensor at the top and bottom of the stairs to trigger the LEDs. Since I'm already using Home Assistant to control the automation, I decided to try using ESPHome running on an ESP8266 D1 Mini with a VL53L0X Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor to detect motion. ### Want to use a VL53L0X ToF sensor as a Break Beam sensor with ESPHome? [Check out my code](https://gist.github.com/kdorff/245ff51463b4845de6239deaaa21445e). **The benefits over a standard motion sensor** * Motion sensors have a "cooldown" period. This would not, and should not need one. * I believe this is less sensitive to ghost triggers and can more easily be placed to avoid pets triggering it. **The downside compared to a motion sensor** * Cannot easily be run from batteries and bulkier.