3D Printed Accessories / Mounts
 

Been fooling around with a new Sony AZ1 Action Cam and wanted a better way to mount it on my seat post. Most of the GoPro mounts use three thumbscrews to hold both the mount and the GoPro. With so many different style GoPro mounts thought I would see if I could adapt something but at the same time keep it lightweight and low profile. Had Shapeways do the actual printing. I have made the latest version of the mount public in both Thingiverse as well Shapeways (link to actual mount).

See Shapeways Store page for latest versions

Of course as a first go it works but could use some improvement, bigger camera would only mount under the arm because of the 73° angle of the seatpost. So I am now waiting for the following to arrive.

See Shapeways Store page for latest versions

I am curious if anyone else has played around with 3D Printers and made stuff specifically for their bicycle addiction?

Really didn't fit in the ROAD forum so that is why I am posting it here.

so the stuff dries hard enough to support a camera?

That's what I'm wondering too. Spec wise their stuff is comparable to typical plastics in terms of elasticity, tensile modulus 1.7 GPa (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%...oximate_values) So if this part can be done in plastic, it can be done on a 3D printer. I'm sure it's good enough to support a camera without bending/breaking, but it might cause visible shaking while riding.

Same as any other material, thick walls will make it more rigid. This is much stiffer than it looks and the Sony Action Cams that I use it with have built in image stabilization. I don't have any issue with picture shake, any more than a standard mount. Besides this, Shapeways uses selective laser sintering not the more common addative method used in hobby 3D printers

The fused deposition modeling (FDM) method produces parts that are plenty strong as well. We use both SLS and FDM machines at work, and while the resolution is better on the SLS machine, our FDM parts are generally stronger (though we do have a good range of stout materials to pick from). Just have to make sure that the part is oriented properly on the print bed, as the FDM parts are much more susceptible to delamination than SLS. Gotta be careful, as the material is isotropic but the structure is not.

This is a great idea, btw. Methinks I might be making a mount for my phone, pending el Jeffe's approval.

Yeah, I am surprised there isn't more people doing some of this stuff with 3D printers. There are just some things that lend themselves to this process, specifically purpose built items. On my mountain bike, I used RAM mounts as well as the Contour mounts. Big, bulky, sometimes wobbly and just plain old heavy. And since it was a conglomeration of pieces attached together, there was a lot of instability. Now I am using the new Sony AZ1's, they are less than half the weight of the Contour and a third the weight of GoPro, much easier to mount and the mount itself does not have to be absolutely rigid.

Here is an image with the original built mount on the bike:
https://opok7a-dm2306.files.1drv.com...799.jpg?psid=1

By rotating the arm so it is parallel to the ground I can use a different GoPro to 1/4" Tripod adapter, which will center the camera over the mount

Yes, I've been printing camera mounts for a couple of years, they're as strong as purchased stuff. You can dial up the strength by increasing infill, but generally I print at normal (20%) infill which is far weaker than full strength and it's still plenty strong even on rough roads. I've got a number of mounts for a variety of cameras up on Youmagine. (I used to post to Thingiverse until Makerbot sold out the OSS community).

By the way, the stuff doesn't "dry" - it's printed in molten plastic and just has to cool. You can pop it off the print bed 5 seconds after the printer stops. It's pretty hard within 3 or 4 seconds, it just has to cool a bit.

A few things, I went to YouImagine, first I heard of this site, not as many things up there are Thingiverse, but I need to browse a bit more. So thanks for mentioning it.

I have used Shapeways to print a few things since I don't have a 3D printer myself, for most prints they use SLS. I find the texture and strength of the SLS parts to my liking. Since home 3D Printers use FDM, have you had a chance to compare similar parts printed using both technologies?

Have you tried "finishing" your parts with an Acetone Vapor Bath? I used to use Acetone on a rag to "finish golf ferrules after sanding them to the proper diameter to match the hosel of the club head. It really smooths and shines up many plastics to make them look as if they come from an injection mold.

Since building the first seat post mount, I modified it a lot by angling the arm 17°. This allows the arm to sit basically parallel to the ground and allows a bit more leeway in which side you want to mount your devices. It is much more useful with the arm sticking straight out. I only made these in 27.2 and 31.6 as it covers the most common sizes and it is the only size seat posts I have on bikes I own. Here is a render of the part.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=428420
GoPro Seat Post Mount 27.2 x 17°
GoPro Seat Post Mount 31.6 x 17°

The other happy coincidence of leaving this on the seat post is that I no longer need something like this.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=428413

I know someone that worked pretty hard on a 3d printed garmin mount

This all started because I am a weight weenie at heart. Just take a look at the genuine GoPro Handlebar mount here.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=428439
It is hideously ugly and way too big.

Most of the third part mounts also clamp on with a very big mechanism, and a lot of needless adaptability. They are also too heavy. They are trying to maximize the uses of a single mount and look similar to this.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=428442

The aluminum mounts that are simple, light and work well generally have the mount rotated 90° and require an adapter to move the mount into the correct orientation. They are generally built for handlebars and are limited in clamp diameters to 25.4 mm and 31.8 mm.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=428451

This is why the need for a simple, sturdy, light seat post mount.

Shimano made their camera mount compatible to GoPro's system. Garmin, even though they decided to create a different mount for their Virb cameras, was smart to include a GoPro adapter with their cameras. There are just so many different types of mounts, there are a ton of adapters for lights, flashlights, other cameras, that all adapt to the GoPro mounting system. That said I would love to see what your buddy has done with his 3D printed Virb mount. Does he have it listed on any of the 3D file repositories? It is generally so much better to use the native mounting system and avoid adapters that could induce camera shake or other artifacts on the recorded video.

There are several threads on MTBR > Videos and POV Cameras that illustrate some creative and very ghetto ways to mount an action cam to various parts of a bicycle.

One thing is clear, with 3D printing now anyone can create a specific mount for a specific application. I tend to look first for a commercially available option. If none exists, this is a perfect opportunity to create something useful. 3D printing is not always the cheapest solution, but it can produce something that works for you and very particular specifications. I would never think to create and print a Garmin Edge mount since there are already so many on the market in all shapes and sizes that there are few circumstances where they wouldn't work. The Virb, GoPro Contour and Sony cameras all have room for additional mounting options.

Looks like the arm between the clamp end and camera mount end is X in cross section. A tube, round preferably, would be stiffer for the same amount of material. An advantage of 3-D printing is you can easily make hollow parts.

Yeah, I was heavily into Thingiverse until Makerbot (who owns the site) decided that they could go closed source and make their fortune on a printer that was still 90% open source derived. Screw them. I pulled all my designs. They're still the biggest repository but I'm not playing with them anymore.

No, I have no need of anything better than what I can get on my own printer.

No, I have no need. It seems kind of counterproductive, since it ruins the dimensional accuracy and it makes the part slippery - for mechanical parts I usually do not want slippery. Also Acetone only works with ABS and I really hate ABS as a print material, I gave all mine away and use only PLA.

I noticed that seat post mount on the site recently. Looks interesting. My problem is that I use a rack trunk bag on my bikes so I can't mount my camera anywhere around there (or my taillight either). I may have to build a reflector bracket mount for the rear camera.

Sample footage using 3D printed GoPro mount.
 

Was finally able to get some real footage using the 3D printed seat post mount. here is a one minute clip from Jan 19, 2015:
As you can see it is as stable as any other commercially available mounts out there. If I had more time I would have made this a bit more than just video. At the fastest section of this clip we are traveling just about 20 mph (its winter after all).

I do know that the rear tire is near the end of its useful life.

awesome what 3D printer do you have?

I don't, I had Shapeways print it. I posted links a few messages above to a 27.2 mm version (the one I use) and a 31.6 mm version. The finished mount weighs only 12 grams with alloy M3 cap screws and nylon lock nuts.

Got busy trying to figure out a way to get my Contour cameras back into service. Decided to go the 3D Printed adapter route. Why spend the money on two adapters (Contour Tripod Adapter + GoPro Tripod Adapter) when you should be able to go directly from the T-Rail mount system the Contour uses directly into a GoPro mount. There are so many more GoPro mounts and they are so much cheaper than anything from Contour. This works on all current and discontinued Contour cameras that use the T-Rail mounts.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=429491
3D Printed Contour T-Rail to GoPro Mount Adapter

I got the notification yesterday that you'd created that object from my original Contour design - Awesome! I love open source designs. Remixes with multiple original sources are especially cool.

Yeah but as you can see there are a bunch of modifications. It just takes a lot of steps when your sources are mesh (.stl) files rather than the actual CAD files. Since I am just a novice, it takes me a long time to get everything lined up properly. I have since modified the piece to make it a bit more robust and streamlined at the same time. I am also using it as a basis for RAM 1" mounts. I use these all in various forms fo that is why so many direct adapters. I like the idea of direct adapters rather than using multiple adapters to accomplish the same thing.

I am trying real hard to give credit to existing creations even if they are just small portions of the original. I try to find them and then adapt them to my personal needs, but figure "If I need it, maybe someone else needs it too."

Odd, I was sure I uploaded OpenSCAD files, I do everything in that package.

Yeah, I did. Seems like it should have taken just a few minutes to grab one of the OpenSCAD GoPro libraries and whack the two objects together. I've slapped GoPro mounts on top of things with one of those libraries in 10 minutes before.

Yeah, I am not an OpenCAD user, so I have difficulties using it. I am much better at FreeCAD.

One thing I thought would be handy is a gopro mount that plugs into a Planet Bike Super Flash mount since I have one attached to the rear rack on every one of my bikes. Though I'm not sure how secure it would be.

I've been using aluminum for custom mounts (plate, square tube, L shape). My primary reason for doing custom mounts is so I can attach a forward camera to the frame instead of the handbars which adds side to side camera movements.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=432357

This one is particularly ugly. It started with two holes spaced for attaching to a bottle cage bosses. Then a hole large enough for a gopro tripod mount attached to a 1/4 - 20 set screw, and 3 holes for a k-edge flat mount to allow mounting in 2 directions. This week I used the 1/4" hole to attach it to a Minoura large camera mount with a wingnut. The Minoura clamp is very secure, just don't forget the protective plastic strip. Tonight I made a longer but more compact version using L shaped aluminum to get the camera out past the shifter cables and eliminate the need for extra plastic mount pieces. No room for the wingnut so I have to go get a 1/4 bolt tomorrow.

@gecho,

Were you looking for something like this:
https://dysvla.by3301.livefilestore....ike.png?psid=1

Of course this was just a 5 minute edit. I would tidy it up a bit before actually making one of these.

https://dysvla.by3301.livefilestore....ke2.png?psid=1

Something like that , though due to the limited pivot range of the housing I'd probably rotate the camera connector upward 90 degrees and extended it to the rear if I didn't want to use extra plastic extenders.

More like this:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=432392

I'm really interested in getting into 3D printing and printing bike mounting systems seem like a great place to start. Is there any sub-$1,000 3D printers that can do a decent job of this?