Solidoodle 2 PS3 eye camera mount

thingiverse

If you've got an old PS3 eye camera collecting dust on a shelf or in a drawer somewhere that just happens to be compatible with your Raspberry Pi and solidoodle, then this project is perfect for you. I recently needed a camera since moving my printer away from where I do most of my work. Luckily, thanks to the outstanding efforts put forth by the talented folks over at Octoprint (you can check out their website at http://octoprint.org/), I was able to find an ideal solution. To give you a better idea of what's involved, let me walk you through the process of modifying the camera. First off, since it has fixed focus by default, we'll need to disassemble the lens assembly and place it in a vise. Next, use some vice grips to gently twist the lens while applying pressure with the vise. Be careful not to apply too much pressure, as you can easily break the glue holding the lens in place. I've done this myself before, and I'm sure many of you have as well. Once we've modified the camera and reassembled it without its front shroud, we can now manually adjust the focus by twisting the lens to get the desired shot. The zoom feature still works beautifully, and we can even use the browser on our iPad to take photos from anywhere in the house. When printing this standing up, make sure to include some support for the top overhang – it's not necessary, but it does help ensure a smooth print job without any issues. I've used my printer with this design before, and I can confidently say that it works like a charm every time. If you'd like to try out a different mounting method, I've attached the DesignSpark Mechanical file for your convenience. This one's worked perfectly for me, and the camera base snaps right into place in the mount.