Hi I'm Ranon, Autodesk intern at Public Lab for the summer

[Ranon Pritchard]

Hello all,

My name is Ranon and I am an Autodesk student expert interning here at Public Lab in Portland for the summer. I will be doing work in editing and making new rigs for kite, balloon, and pole aerial photography rigs.

Last week I started off by remaking/editing the Redstone and Saturn V Kaptery rigs by Chris Fastie using Autodesk Fusion 360, which I have posted to thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/ranon/. These models are now in a .step file format, which can be edited by anyone by downloading Autodesk's free 3D modeling software, 123D: http://www.123dapp.com . 

This week I will be working on some silly putty rig solutions, as well as revising the CAD models I worked on last week, based on community feedback. Some questions to address in these models include: 

1. How do we make leg brackets stronger (less likely to crack), and also, should they be incorporated into the upper frame?

2. What other methods of manufacturing would community members like to see available for these rigs besides 3D printing? 

3. Can we make a single camera tray that is compatible with all kaptery rigs (Titan, Saturn V, Redstone)?

[Jeffrey Warren]

Hi, Ranon - welcome! - you might want to cross-post on the grassrootsmapping list, as most of the mappers are over there! https://publiclab.org/lists

Thanks!

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[Chris Fastie]

That's a good idea to let the grassrootsmapping group know that we might be discussing aerial mapping rigs here. But most of the discussions might be pretty specific and boring (how to make a part stronger) so even the members of this group might want to change your subscription settings. The three topics Ranon mentioned deserve more thought, but here are my first impressions:

1. The leg brackets are currently separate from the frame because the two parts print better that way. The leg bracket should be made more sturdy, and at the same time it could be made with a flat side which will be in the plain of the build surface. Then it will print without support and two problems are solved. So the leg bracket becomes a solid block of plastic with holes passing through it for inserting legs (or bumpers). The only sacrifice will be the option to fly a super lightweight rig with no leg brackets. This is especially true with the Titan 2 Rig because there is a better way to attach legs to that rig and the leg brackets on the main frame are generally not needed. Which means that the leg bracket might survive as a separate part only for the Titan 2 Rig. Or not.
   
2. The key issue here is whether something like injection molding can be done cheaply enough to reduce the price of these rigs. The sales volume would have to increase a lot for that to be true. The 3D models of KAPtery rigs are intended for 3D printing (FDM). If a goal is to use some other manufacturing process, many features of the models should be changed to accommodate that process. So the models will probably fork which requires some thought and planning.
3. I now print four or five different camera trays for the Redstone and Saturn V rigs. If the standard tray has a tiny modification to the bolt holes for attaching to the upper frame, that tray will work with all rigs (Redstone, Titan 2, Saturn V). The modification is a countersink to fit the servo horn. It's not really a countersink, I guess it's a recess.

So the single tray model would be wide, have a lip on both sides, and have a choice of three bolt holes (for front-back camera balance) all with the counter sink.

Chris

[Ranon Pritchard]

I have cross-posted the intro to the grassroots mapping list and linked it back to this conversation. 

Chris, would the standard tray you're proposing be the roughly the same dimensions as the XL camera tray? Also, would the three bolt holes be for 6-32 bolts on both sides, or should the bolt holes on one side fit the M2 bolts for the servo horn?

Ranon

[Chris Fastie]

Yes, the XL tray with lips on both sides. I think all the holes should be the same so people can't assemble it wrong. So both sides should have three holes with recesses, and the holes should be just big enough for either machine screw.

Chris

[Ranon Pritchard]

Ok I've made a tray that might work. I've attached it as a .step file in this message and I'll upload it to thingiverse once it gets to the point where it can be universal. I put a chamfer on the holes to give it a bit of a countersink, is it too much? Also, do you think the hole size will work for the smaller M2 bolts?

[Chris Fastie]

That's a very nice looking model. Some dimensions of the tray that are important so it works with the different rigs:

1. The bolt holes should be 3.5 mm diameter
   
2. The diameter of the recess is 5.0 mm
   
3. The recess is 0.9 mm deep (If the recess is a chamfer, the outer diameter and depth will have to be bigger which will weaken the part, so a recess is probably best.)
4. The center of the holes should be 3.3 cm above the bottom (outside) of the tray.
   
5. The centers of the three holes should be about 6 mm apart (not critical)
   
6. The bottom of the tray should be 5.5mm thick
   
7. The lip should be 4 mm high (above the inside bottom surface of the tray) (not critical)
   
8. The overall length of the tray should be 14 cm