This project is a mounting system for phones and small cameras.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS:
It is designed to be modular to privide flexibility of use. The system has potential to mount most phones and small webcams onto a wide range of objects. Using same parts printed for different purpose is the principle of design.
The included phone clamp can grab phones very firmly. And it is suitable for phones from about 55mm wide to 80mm wide. The clamp hook was angled 45 degrees so it won't be able to reach and accidentally press the buttons on the side of phone.
The modules can be used with GoPro compatible equipment. The bolts and nuts included in the design are standard M5. You can either print them or use metal ones for better stiffness.
With this modular system, I will be developing new add-ons to it. Many of the objects designed for GoPro are already usable for this setup. I uploaded some .obj files for modular parts so everyone can also collaborate for better solutions.
ACHIEVED APPLICATIONS:
Phone mount for Ultimaker 2 monitoring.
Phone mount for Aluminum extrusion printers.
Desk clamp for phone.
Stand for phone.
MAKING:
One of the challenges of this project is making the project entirely 3D printable at a very small scale for such a function. So it wouldn't be necessary to shop online for some tiny little parts which the shipping cost is much more expensive than the product itself.
In order for the bolts to be strong enough to take pulling force, they cannot be printed vertically. Therefore the bolts are oriented horizontally, with the bottom teeth trimmed off, and with 30 degrees step shape (it is usually 45 if printed vertical). With such treatment the bolts are both strong and easy to print with support material even at 0.2mm layer height. The nuts however is best to print vertically at 0.1mm.
Print bolts and nuts at low outer wall speed (15mm/s) to increase accuracy. If the tolerence for bolts and nuts doesn't workout for you, I've attached the settings used to create them so you could make your own with slightly altered values.
It is highly recommended to print with complete support interface for the parts in this project. Support interface would give a flat bottom which result in a better mechanical performance.
The orientation of stl files are already thought through during my testing. Try printing at the current orientation unless you run into problems.
Mirror the arm one after another in order to have knobs on the same side.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The joints are inspired by GoPro design.
The foldable arm is inspired by "GoPro counter balance folding stick. by UltiArjan" (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:433378).
Bolts and nuts are created with the awesome customizer "NUT JOB | Nut, Bolt, Washer and Threaded Rod Factory by mike_mattala" (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:193647).
The knobs in this project are modified from "GoPro knob long by tmorris9"(http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:163883). I made the socket for nut smaller and also made a short version of it.
The desk clamp is modified from "G-Clamp fully printable by johann517" (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1673030). You would need other parts from his page.
Thank you all for your great work so that I could accomplish this project.
UPDATE:
22/03 - The phone clamp knob originally uploaded has issue of screw poping out of knob instead of knob pulling the clamp out. A new knob named "M5 knob for phone v2 tighter" with smaller hole is uploaded for the socket to firmly grab the bolt. "Phone clamp down nongrab" is an old backup version which the clamp doesn't pull out while unscrewing the knob.
02/04 - More variation of arms. Added more tolerance to the arms.
NOTES:
It is not recommend to extend the arm too long. General filament is not strong enough to take that much lateral loads at this size and the arm would be very wobbly. And the arms are optimized to stay still. If you wish to use this design as selfie stick or similar purpose, please be careful with the material strength and use at you own risk.
This is the list to indicate which function of the mount the parts belong to.
MOUNTING BASE - the base to attach the mount to something
Clip UM2
Clip 2020 profile
G-clamp
Flat stand
ARMS - the foldable arms and connectors
Axis change connector
Arm v2 (anything)
M5.0 Nut
M5x25 D
M5 knob short
PHONE CLAMP
Phone clamp down grab
Phone clamp up NO tab
Phone clamp up WITH tab
Phone clamp holder
M5x50 D
M5.0 Nut
M5 knob for phone
M5 knob long
