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3D printed adapters (1 Viewer)

Hi Peter,

CHAnge one variable with parametric design... OpenSCAD ;-)
I normally print a little oversize and then use a strip of gorilla/duct tape to get a snug slip on fit.... sure saves on sanding if you aim for printing an exact fit and miss.....

For my first attempt, I tried self-adhesive felt as used by Kowa's own adapters, but I didn't manage to find the optics-quality stuff they are using:

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=347042

My next attempt was very slightly too wide, which I corrected with a few layers of Tesa film.

I also tried some gripping "ridges" as suggested by Pete from Opticron, but I made them too large, and they seemed to be slightly abrasive to the eyepiece rubber, so I ended up cutting them away. The fit is good enough without them.

You're spot on with OpenSCAD, it's my preferred tool these days. I sort of like FreeCAD, but I should have given up on it sooner when I was told I shouldn't expect to be able to create parametric designs right off the bat. FreeCAD also a deep and as far as I know still unresolved problem ("topological naming") that's at the root of both the difficulty of parametric designs being difficult and the tendency of designs to fall apart on changes.

Anyway, I have a parametric version of my adapter half-finished in OpenSCAD, and will probably upload that to thingiverse too, once it's ready.

Regards,

Henning
 
Henning,

Many thanks and for the detailled information. These things are never as easy as I imagined they would be.

Peter - thanks. I'll get my tape out.
 
Hi DB,

Many thanks and for the detailled information. These things are never as easy as I imagined they would be.

Here's an adjustable clamp designed by someone else:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2567141

This looks quite nice, but I'd say it's limited of eyepieces of a maximum diameter of 53 mm at most.

Adjustability of course makes it easier to match any particular hardware combination, but on the other hand, it introduces complications and opportunities for misalignment ...

Regards,

Henning
 
Henning,

This whole thing fascinates me - in my ignorance I would have thought a Samsung A3 was a Samsung A3 (at least so far as the phone bodies are concerned). But the centre of my camera lens to the phone edge is 23mm as compared to 20mm of yours. Mmmm.
 
Hi DB,

This whole thing fascinates me - in my ignorance I would have thought a Samsung A3 was a Samsung A3 (at least so far as the phone bodies are concerned). But the centre of my camera lens to the phone edge is 23mm as compared to 20mm of yours. Mmmm.

Another option would be to print only the eyepiece adapter ring.

You could then find a cheap commercial case that fits your Samsung A3 that has a flat back, and glue it to the case.

Nanette of Leica suggested using a special adhesive tape normally used to stick car navigation devices to the dashboard, as this allows you to take-off and re-attach the phone multiple times. I haven't tried that personally, but she demonstrated it at the Hanse Bird, and it seemed to work well enough.

Regards,

Henning
 
Henning,

Many thanks - that is probably the way to go. Simple and allows for variation in the phone body. Many thanks for your help.

DB
 
Hi DB,

Many thanks - that is probably the way to go. Simple and allows for variation in the phone body.

You're welcome!

Here's a draft on another idea I had:

Parametric Digiscoping Adapter Ring and Clamps.jpg

It's single printed piece, but each clamp is adjustable with the help of an M3 screw, acting against the "spring" of the material.

That could probably hold the smartphone with no need for an extra case, or glueing, but of course it's an untried idea so far.

Regards,

Henning
 
Interesting design to customise to different phones… need to make with laser sintered nylon for durability of the hinges. May also need a spring in the Hodgetts to ensure the flexing keeps working.

I have one phone (in a case) and several eyepieces to match it to. I have made up the first few, slightly loose to enable me to use a bit of tape to get the perfect level of snugness. I will make another couple if these now. I added notches for phone buttons too. One thing to check is the spacing of the phone above the eyepiece is in the right plane, the 2 I have made suffer in spacing by about 10mm.

Peter
 

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Hi Peter,

Interesting design to customise to different phones… need to make with laser sintered nylon for durability of the hinges. May also need a spring in the Hodgetts to ensure the flexing keeps working.

Laser-sintered nylon is in fact what I ordered from Shapeways so far ... I have no experience with other materials.

I'm afraid I don't understand the comment about the spring ... what do you mean by "Hodgetts"?

I have one phone (in a case) and several eyepieces to match it to.

So the eypiece adapter is exchangable? Neat!

(I accidentally ended up with sort of an exchangable adapter for my first print, on account of that one being deliberately wide and the idea with adhesive felt not working out. I fixed this with an inserted ring instead of having everything printed again, to save some money.)

One thing to check is the spacing of the phone above the eyepiece is in the right plane, the 2 I have made suffer in spacing by about 10mm.

Hm, do you mean the exit pupil distance from the lens?

Regards,

Henning
 
“Hinges”… I think the nylon will stay springy, something to see, otherwise you may need a spring to oppose the screw. Most of the stuff I make using an extrusion machine, but I have got sintered nylon before.
I made one for the papilio, one for a microscope I have and will now make another for a baader zoom I have, all with slightly different eyepiece geometries. One piece of gorilla tape gets the phone fit very snug.
Yes, the phone needs to be on the exit pupil distance. So I need to vary the phone to eyepiece stand-off, on the papilio there isn’t any, I press the phone into the raised eyecup.

Peter
 
Hi Peter,

I made one for the papilio, one for a microscope I have and will now make another for a baader zoom I have, all with slightly different eyepiece geometries.

Do you print the phone holder separately from the eyepiece ring?

Here's another draft for an adjustable adapter ... turned out too complicated for my liking. The design intention was to avoid screws of any kind:

Parametric Digiscoping Adapter Ring Adjustable.jpg

Regards,

Henning
 
Printed in one part, needs supports to print with FDM. One adapter per eyepiece, which is excessive, but avoids complexity and I can store the adapter with the optic. I like your thoughts on making a “master adapter”, maybe you could have a few “flexible” inserts to cover the range of parts... that Nylon is quite stiff, but bendy.

PEter
 
Hi Peter,

Printed in one part, needs supports to print with FDM. One adapter per eyepiece, which is excessive, but avoids complexity and I can store the adapter with the optic. I like your thoughts on making a “master adapter”, maybe you could have a few “flexible” inserts to cover the range of parts... that Nylon is quite stiff, but bendy.

"One piece" adapters have their advantages, too - they can't go out of adjustment, won't rattle, and can be as slim as it gets :)

In my "two piece" adapter, the fit of the insert ring without any catches etc. is quite good, so it would probably be possible to design additional rings for other eye pieces without changing the design. I have no real good application of that at the moment, though.

Here's another "adjustable" design:

Parametric Digiscoping Adapter Ring Adjustable 2.jpg Parametric Digiscoping Adapter Ring Adjustable 2b.jpg

The idea is to adjust on of the sliding clamps correctly and fix it into position with a screw through the rails, then sling a rubber band around the cylinders below the clamps to make sure the other clamp holds the phone, and taking it out just requires a bit of force against the rubberband pull.

(It still needs another adjustable clamp on top to make sure the lens is in the right position, but you get the idea.)

Regards,

Henning
 
I have been away for a couple of weeks and not been able to contribute to the debate. I am keen to try something. I quite like the option of being able to adjust the alignment of the phone by small amounts. I will seek quotes for printing an adapter and give it a try.

- I have had one quote from a nearby printer - £187 (206 euro) - I will seek others
 
Hi DB,

- I have had one quote from a nearby printer - £187 (206 euro) - I will seek others

That sounds excessive ... I've uploaded the (freshly updated) design to my shapeways shop, and the price indicated there is about 40 EUR:

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/enhanced-optics-gadgets

(No profit for me involved, you would get the same price by downloading from thingiverse and uploading to shapeways independently of my shop.)

I'd recommend to choose red clamps as the colour is close to the red Kowa uses for highlights :)

Regards,

Henning
 
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