The New Hotness

As far as I can tell, Raspberry Pi cases are a solved problem, so 3D printing an intricate widget to stick a Pi on the back of an HQ camera seems unnecessary unless you really, really like solid modeling, which, admittedly, can be a thing. All you really need is a simple adapter between the camera PCB and the case of your choice:

HQ Camera Backplate - OpenSCAD model — HQ Camera Backplate – OpenSCAD model

A quartet of 6 mm M2.5 nylon spacers mount the adapter to the camera PCB:

RPi HQ Camera - nylon standoffs — RPi HQ Camera – nylon standoffs

The plate has recesses to put the screw heads below the surface. I used nylon screws, but it doesn’t really matter.

The case has all the right openings, slots in the bottom for a pair of screws, and costs six bucks. A pair of M3 brass inserts epoxied into the plate capture the screws:

RPi HQ Camera - case adapter plate - screws — RPi HQ Camera – case adapter plate – screws

Thick washers punched from an old credit card go under the screws to compensate for the case’s silicone bump feet. I suppose Doing the Right Thing would involve 3D printed spacers matching the cross-shaped case cutouts.

Not everyone agrees with my choice of retina-burn orange PETG:

RPi HQ Camera - 16 mm lens - case adapter plate — RPi HQ Camera – 16 mm lens – case adapter plate

Yes, that’s a C-mount TV lens lurking in the background, about which more later.

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// Raspberry Pi HQ Camera Backplate
	// Ed Nisley KE4ZNU 2020-09

	//– Extrusion parameters

	/* [Hidden] */

	ThreadThick = 0.25;
	ThreadWidth = 0.40;

	HoleWindage = 0.2;

	function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);
	function IntegerLessMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * floor(Size / Unit);

	Protrusion = 0.1; // make holes end cleanly

	inch = 25.4;

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	//- Basic dimensions

	CamPCB = [39.0,39.0,1.5]; // Overall PCB size, plus a bit
	CornerRound = 3.0; // … has rounded corners

	CamScrewOC = [30.0,30.0,0]; // … mounting screw layout
	CamScrew = [2.5,5.0,2.2]; // … LENGTH = head thickness

	Standoff = [2.5,5.5,6.0]; // nylon standoffs

	Insert = [3.0,4.0,4.0];

	WallThick = IntegerMultiple(2.0,ThreadWidth);
	PlateThick = Insert[LENGTH];

	CamBox = [CamPCB.x + 2*WallThick,
	CamPCB.y + 2*WallThick,
	Standoff.z + PlateThick + CamPCB.z + 1.0];

	PiPlate = [90.0,60.0,PlateThick];
	PiPlateOffset = [0.0,(PiPlate.y – CamBox.y)/2,0];

	PiSlotOC = [0.0,40.0];
	PiSlotOffset = [3.5,3.5];

	NumSides = 234;

	TextDepth = 2*ThreadThick;

	//———————-
	// Useful routines

	module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) { // based on nophead's polyholes

	Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);

	FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);

	cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,h=Height,$fn=Sides);
	}


	//———————-
	// Build it

	difference() {

	union() {
	hull() // camera enclosure
	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1])
	translate([i(CamBox.x/2 – CornerRound),j(CamBox.y/2 – CornerRound),0])
	cylinder(r=CornerRound,h=CamBox.z,$fn=NumSides);
	translate(PiPlateOffset)
	hull()
	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1]) // Pi case plate
	translate([i(PiPlate.x/2 – CornerRound),j(PiPlate.y/2 – CornerRound),0])
	cylinder(r=CornerRound,h=PiPlate.z,$fn=NumSides);
	}

	hull() // camera PCB space
	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1])
	translate([i(CamPCB.x/2 – CornerRound),j(CamPCB.y/2 – CornerRound),PlateThick])
	cylinder(r=CornerRound,h=CamBox.z,$fn=NumSides);

	translate([0,-CamBox.y/2,PlateThick + CamBox.z/2])
	cube([CamScrewOC.x – Standoff[OD],CamBox.y,CamBox.z],center=true);

	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1]) // camera screws with head recesses
	translate([iCamScrewOC.x/2,jCamScrewOC.y/2,-Protrusion]) {
	PolyCyl(CamScrew[ID],2*CamBox.z,6);
	PolyCyl(CamScrew[OD],CamScrew[LENGTH] + Protrusion,6);
	}

	for (j=[-1,1]) // Pi case screw inserts
	translate([0,j*PiSlotOC.y/2 + PiSlotOffset.y,-Protrusion] + PiPlateOffset)
	PolyCyl(Insert[OD],2*PiPlate.z,6);

	translate([-PiPlate.x/2 + (PiPlate.x – CamBox.x)/4,0,PlateThick – TextDepth/2] + PiPlateOffset)
	cube([15.0,30.0,TextDepth + Protrusion],center=true);
	}

	translate([-PiPlate.x/2 + (PiPlate.x – CamBox.x)/4 + 3,0,PlateThick – TextDepth – Protrusion] + PiPlateOffset)
	linear_extrude(height=TextDepth + Protrusion,convexity=2)
	rotate(-90)
	text("Ed Nisley",font="Arial:style=Bold",halign="center",valign="center",size=4,spacing=1.05);

	translate([-PiPlate.x/2 + (PiPlate.x – CamBox.x)/4 – 3,0,PlateThick – TextDepth – Protrusion] + PiPlateOffset)
	linear_extrude(height=TextDepth + Protrusion,convexity=2)
	rotate(-90)
	text("KE4ZNU",font="Arial:style=Bold",halign="center",valign="center",size=4,spacing=1.05);

view raw HQ Camera Backplate.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The New Hotness

Raspberry Pi HQ Camera Mount