Hey everyone Patrik CK here with a follow up to episode 4 of 3D Printing with the Monoprice
Maker Select V2.
I guess we can technically call this one episode 4 point 5.
Ever since I got this printer I’ve been trying to find the best way to record the
printing process, because I personally think it’s an amazing thing to see something literally
grow from nothing in a couple hours.
I’ve been frustrated by the fact that both parts of the printer actually move, constantly.
Something I knew I would have to tackle going in.
Due to motion of both anises the footage of the printing process looks pretty awful and
I’ll be the first to admit it.
It’s pretty obvious that the camera has to be mounted in such a way that it and the
print can move together.
Of course this is easier said than done.
You could just stick a mount directly to the surface of the print bed but this takes up
valuable printing space and you will also have to remove it completely every time you
have to calibrate the extruder height.
Not to mention with the bed getting up to 60 degrees C or 140 degree F any adhesive
will probably create a mess of the print surface, not an ideal situation.
So the next logical position is on an arm attached to the bed.
Again easier said than done.
My first idea was to attach a metal bracket to the set screws on one of the corners but
the first and second iteration of this resulted in really wobbly footage.
It was also a pain to take on and off and lastly it had the unintended side effect of
loosening the set screws during printing, something kind of obvious now.
Then I realized, I have a 3d printer, there must be something I can print that would attach
to the bed and provide a solid platform for my old GoPro camera.
I searched online for examples and to my surprise there simply wasn’t much out there, but
then I stumbled on Purkkaviritys’ channel.
He has a video where he shows a simple design for a camera arm and mount that slides onto
the print bed and is basically held on by friction, although in a reply to a comment
I made he did have to correct that fact and say some kind of adhesion would be necessary.
Never the less, I borrowed on his design concept, which was made for a different printer, and
modified it to work with a special characteristic of the V2 design.
Most may not have noticed this, I didn’t until I started looking, but the bottom plate
of the print bed has a smooth round channel about 1.5 centimeters or 0.6 inches from the
edge that goes around the whole plate, I assume for added strength and rigidity.
You can see it clearly from underneath or if you look between the plates here.
I thought I could use this channel as a kind of positioning anchor for the arm to keep
it from moving back and forth while printing.
This inspired the prototype for what I’m calling the monorprice maker select v2 camera
mount system or MMSV2-CMS for short.
This design like the original is made to simply slide onto the printer bed but unlike the
original it will snap into place using these grooves.
As I was designing the arm I did have to go through a couple iterations to fine tune the
fitment.
After the first-round I didn’t realize the arm would have to clear this tiny gap between
the bottom of the bed and the base support.
Another adjustment I made was to make it wider for extra stability and to accommodate more
of the GoPro mount.
The last thing I added, that was really critical for the whole thing, was this arm that will
squeeze between the two plates and hold the whole mount in place.
The final design measures in at 80.7 mm / 3.2 inches long by 16.7 mm / 0.65 inches tall
by 31 mm / 1.2 inches wide.
The easiest way to print it is on its side which took about 2 hours on normal quality.
When it was done I stuck the stock GoPro mount with the original 3m double sided tape a very
slight angle toward the center of the bed.
Then I slid the whole thing into place and done.
I must say there is nothing more satisfying than hearing that snap when the arm locks
in place, one of the added benefits is you can take the arm off and on without having
to undo anything.
Seeing it in action, I think it works great.
It feels pretty sturdy and resists most horizontal movement.
There are still some small vibrations when watching the playback at normal speed but
at high speed you don’t notice it and since no one is going to watch a 3 hour print at
normal speed on YouTube I think we’re good.
Of course nothing is perfect.
The top of arm started to warp downwards from the heat of the bed it was pushing against
but I didn’t see a noticeable impact.
I’ll be fine tuning this thing some more for a while.
I uploaded the design to both the Trimble 3D Warehouse for my SketchUp users and to
Thingiverse if you want to print it as is, links to both in the description.
The nice thing is you can modify it to suit your needs, you can make it taller, or narrower,
or even print a mounting bracket directly to it, pretty much anything as long as you
remember the clearance issue on the bottom.
If any of you peeps have ideas for improvements or a completely different idea for a mount
don’t hesitate to share!
Well this has been Patrik CK, like and share if you enjoyed this content.
Subscribe to get more videos when they come out and hope to see you all next time, thanks
everyone!