Turret Style Widefield Triple Imaging Rig

[Gina]

Thank you

Now printing a test mounting plate on my large Titan 3D printer.

[Gina]

Finished printing and cooled enough to removed from print bed.  Measurements are slightly out so some adjustments needed to the model.  I'll sort that out tomorrow - had enough of noisy 3D printers for tonight   Plus I want the laptop that iI use to drive the Titan for my all sky camera - some clear sky forecast for tonight.  Sometime I'll set up a Raspberry Pi to run the printer.

[Gina]

I'll check the calibration of the printer tomorrow before trying another mounting for the imaging rig - I think it might be a bit out - one or two % perhaps.

[Gina]

A 200mm square test print measuress 199mm in X and 195mm in Y so X wants +0.5%  and Y +2.5% correction.

[Gina]

Calibration done and new test square printed - accurate within 0.2%.  Now printing another test mounting plate. 

Time for coffee

[Gina]

That printed fine but the holes for the cameras are a smidgen too big - maybe half a milimetre or a bit less.  But the holes are nice and round now.  I'll do one more test print and try and get the fit better and if that's alright I'll go for a final with more thickness and denser fill.

[Gina]

A couple of photos.  With the cameras so close together I have decided to point the ventilation slots outwards so that one doesn't heat the other.  The images can be oriented correctly when combining after stacking.  This is shown in the second photo.  The difference is lenses is due to one being a Super Takumar and the other just Takumar (older).

[Gina]

Test print satisfactory - cameras are a nice fit   The proper mounting plate wants to be much thicker - I'm thinking 10mm - and the fill will want upping for greater rigidity.  This means the print will take several hours so I'll set it to run overnight.  Meanwhile, I'm printing a new ring gear for my epicyclic clock which only needs an hour.

That is the plate that goes at the back, the front mounting plate will fit on the narrower (black) part of the cameras and is 57mm diameter rather than 60mm.  The front plate will be taking the main weight of cameras and lenses so wants to be really substantial.  The third plate only takes the focussing motors so can be much less substantial.

Some might be asking why I don't make the plates out of aluminium - well, I can print things much more accurately than I can make them by hand - I'm none too good at accurate metalwork.

[Gina]

Designed the front camera mounting plate and now printing a test version to check fit.

[Gina]

Titan is playing silly beggars again   Been working on my Pilot printer and hope to have that working again soon.  (Being upgraded with a new extruder and X carriage).  This printer is big enough to print the imaging rig parts now that I have reduced its size.

[Gina]

Having problems with the Pilot printer too   I think I need to get one or other of my two bigger printers working properly before I can do any more to this project.