3D printed lens mount

[SZRitter]

Has anyone used a 3d printed lens mount? I am currently working on adapting a film enlarger to duping negatives, and one thing I am having issue with is the mounting of the camera to the bellows. Currently I am going to be using a two part epoxy to glue an f-mount adapter to half a negative carrier, which should work fine, and I have all the parts, but I am thinking a 3d printed version would be nicer and wouldn't have the weak spot of the epoxy. I just didn't know how well the materials from a 3d printer would hold up to being mounted and removed from a camera.

[Alan Smallbone]

It would really depend on the 3d printer. I have played around with 3d printing, and it is not very accurate, it is laid down in layers so depending on the material used in the printing it can delaminate under a lot of use. I looked into getting some more accurate stuff printed at Shapeways with stronger materials, but the costs were extremely high with no real gain in accuracy, so it was more cost effective to machine it. It would really depend again on the accuracy you need. For me the mount spacing is critical, I would probably machine it, but that might not be practical.

Alan

[SZRitter]

Outside of the accuracy of the camera mount, accuracy isn't a huge issue. Using an enlarger, the lens is on a bellows, so I am not worried about precise depth of anything else.

The material itself was one of my biggest concerns, as I wasn't sure if, with wear and tear, it would leave a residue or something else on the camera's mount that could damage it. I haven't worked with it before, and don't know anything about plastics like this. I also doubt one off machining would be cost effective for this.

[Alan Smallbone]

The plastic I have used in 3d printers is soft, so it may not work that well. Shapeways as the ability to produce the part with a more rigid plastic.

Alan

[viewfinder]

3D printing is essentially a dead end technology in the manner of it's current 'fad' use.    It really comes into it's own in the realm of printing wax masters for investement casting process using designer steels.......the 'computer' prints multiple wax masters on a 'christmas tree' construction which is sprayed with ceramic and then ovened to make the cavities for the metal.....

For what you wish to do, epoxy two part adhesive with aluminium alloy components offers a vastly better method,...however, some provisos;

1)  Use a high quality epoxy exactly as instructed by maker.   Obtain the epoxy pack from a good (and preferably industrial) supplier.........Even well known packs sold in high street outlets in Europe are from separate production facilities to the 'real stuff' and have poorer efficiency.    In Europe and US, Dow Corning offere excellent epoxy.

2) Select the 'hard' epoxy type....this typically takes 30 minutes or longer to harden but offers superior results for what you intend.........ie, do NOT use 'five minute' epoxy packs or 'flexible' epoxy etc.

3) Use good technique.......carefully clean parts and then do NOT touch with bare fingers....use a final swab of parts with methylated spirit and allow to evaporate.    Havwe clamping to hand and rehearse how parts will be assembled with adhesive.

Used properly epoxy is a very reliable process which is used widely for artisan and industrial bonding.

[SZRitter]

That is what I ended up doing. I epoxyed (JB Weld two part) an F-Mount adapter to the bottom of a negative carrier. The biggest trick was to smooth the epoxy a couple of times before attaching the pieces together. This gave me the flatness I needed to maintain to make the system I'm working on work.