3D printed/metal accessories

[Pryce]

Hey guys!  I'm wondering if anyone here have a 3D printer that they use to make custom accessories?  I have a few concepts I'd like to try out and I was hoping that someone here would have a 3D printer and that they'd be willing to lend a helping hand. 

 

I'd happily pay for materials and shipping of course.

 

Edit:  metalwork is also fine! Should be easy enough for someone with the right tools as it would just be bending some edges

Edited November 3, 2020 by Pryce

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Do you have any drawings to at least give us an idea of what you are after ?? 

[Pryce]

I can do you one better.  I made a cardboard model!  Its supposed to be a mounting platform for various accessories. 

 

The other item I'd like is just a bracket that fits in a sky watcher finder shoe, with a hole in it so I can fit a bolt and mount a camera in it. That was I can do some wide field at the same time as using the 150PDS

[AstroTim]

Is this the sort of bracket you are after (mini dovetail bar)?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SVBONY-Bracket-Base-42mm-UNC-1-4-20-Dovetail-Mount-Optical-Telescope-Finderscope/362517375434?hash=item5467b829ca:g:

I have seen the mini dovetail bars sold separately.

Tim

[Pryce]

14 minutes ago, AstroTim said:

Is this the sort of bracket you are after (mini dovetail bar)?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SVBONY-Bracket-Base-42mm-UNC-1-4-20-Dovetail-Mount-Optical-Telescope-Finderscope/362517375434?hash=item5467b829ca:g:

I have seen the mini dovetail bars sold separately.

Tim

Something like that yes!  But they dont ship to norway and I cant find anything like it on FLO

Edited October 20, 2020 by Pryce

[PeterW]

I’ve printed some dovetailed bits for attaching GPS and lasers to things. Cheap 3D printers tend to stop at around 20cm size prints. The bigger the part the longer it’ll take to print. What sort of size is the part you’re after?

Peter

[Pryce]

Just a small "brick" to mount in the finder scope shoe. About W20mm/L30mm/H10mm I guess

One that I can drill a hole in and attach a DSLR to. 

 

The larger part that I made a cardboard model of I'll probably have to use a metal sheet.  Makes it more sturdy as well 

Edited October 21, 2020 by Pryce

[wormix]

12 hours ago, Pryce said:

Just a small "brick" to mount in the finder scope shoe. About W20mm/L30mm/H10mm I guess

One that I can drill a hole in and attach a DSLR to. 

 

The larger part that I made a cardboard model of I'll probably have to use a metal sheet.  Makes it more sturdy as well 

You mean like one of these?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:972117

 

If so, i'll print it out for you and send it across 

Cheers

[Pryce]

38 minutes ago, wormix said:

You mean like one of these?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:972117

 

If so, i'll print it out for you and send it across 

Cheers

Yeah exactly like that!  😁 

 

Hit me up with material and shipping cost 😀

[wormix]

Material costs may break the bank!

 

PM me your address and I’ll look into shipping

 Cheers

[Pryce]

As you can se above, @wormix was kind enough to print out the finder shoe part and it's arrived safe and sound!  Many thanks to him!


As for the other part I was talking about;

I opted to go for a 2mm thick stainless steel plate which I bent at a 45* angle at about 7cm in on each side.
I then drilled holes matching the existing scope rings and bolted it to those. I did have to use a few risers between the scope rings and the bracet plate as the thumbscrews to tighten the scope rings was slightly in the way.

I removed the finder shoe from my scope and then drilled a hole between the two existing holes and fastened the finder shoe here.   After that I mounted the ZWO 60mm finder scope at the top, attached the dew heater conroller and wrapped all the cables around the guide scope base as you can see here.   I will look into shortening the cables, but for now they're tightly secured so I don't see the need to fiddle too much.

Hope you like the mounting plate idea and the new setup! 😁

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Pryce

[PeterW]

You could have used a 3d printed former to help the bending and drilling.... plenty useful for jigs and fixtures too... nice rig!

Peter

[Pryce]

The best part though, is that I never have to disassemble the setup!  It all fits neatly into a pelicase! 

[Doug64]

Hi,

I've done similar using 3mm Aluminium plate bent over the top of my scope to mount all my equipment onto it.  I can then pack it away with everything attached and it is quick to set up.

Doug

 

 

[Pryce]

I've considered switxhing it out with aluminum to decrease weight myself.   But as I run a EQ6-R it's not that much of an issue.

 

I'll definitely use aluminum for the newtonians though