The 3D printed components have now been received from the i.Materialise 3D Printing service.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น:
The selected process was ๐ ๐๐น๐๐ถ-๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐ ๐๐), utilising a rubber-like material. This material is a ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ (๐ง๐ฃ๐จ), exhibiting excellent shock-absorbing capabilities and a ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฌ. Its tactile properties genuinely emulate rubber. Additionally, I had the parts dyed black to match the camera.
๐๐ถ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ท๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐บ ๐๐๐ท๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐-๐ฒ๐ต๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ (๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ):
โข ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ: Achieved a perfect fit. This enables secure lens detachment for transit and safeguards the camera body from environmental ingress.
โข ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ: Similarly, a perfect fit was observed.
โข ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ: Initial fitment was excessively tight. This was attributed to either an overestimation of the materialโs flexibility or a CAD design discrepancy. A successful remediation was performed by trimming approximately a 2mm wide strip from the opening using a scalpel, resulting in a satisfactory fit for both lens caps.
โข ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ : This component achieved a perfect fit, with the lid demonstrating designed-in friction locking. This was the second iteration of the design. The first version, validated via paper templates, contained a fitting error. The improved second version benefited significantly from the integration of a digital mass model representing the viewfinder, which facilitated more effective clash conflict detection (see original LinkedIn post for images & animation of CAD model).
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด:
This practical exercise further substantiates the original conclusion: ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ (๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ต๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐) ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐น๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ณ๐น๐ผ๐. For scenarios involving high-volume additive manufacturing and stringent first-time fit requirements, future design initiatives would necessitate advanced reality capture techniques (e.g., laser scanning, photogrammetry, LIDAR) of the physical camera body and lenses.
