Filming my flying sessions is a lot of fun, being able to share the experience of flying is awesome (and I hope inspiring enough to get more folks into the hobby).
For my birthday, my parents very graciously gave me a new GoPro Session 5. I was pretty bloody happy. So I needed to print off a new mount for my mini quad. This time around I initially just grabbed one off of Thingiverse. This model worked really well at first, I used a (semi)flexible filament which meant it wasn’t going to be as prone to shattering in a crash, which PLA is known for (being strong, yet brittle). Upon colliding with a very fast moving tree the enclosure of the GoPro teared at its connection to the base along it’s print lines. I tried some different print settings in the hope of fixing the issue, but when another inanimate object jumped out into my way, I found myself with another torn GoPro mount.
This spurred me to make a new mount, one which had a thicker connection between enclosure and base, as well as a thicker top edge, the most likely point of impact. I once again used Fusion 360, starting with first creating a GoPro Session sized box to be used later to cut out the GoPro shape from the enclosure.
I built the enclosure around GoPro giving 3 mm of protection.
I then cut out the sides of the enclosure, leaving a gap 4 mm smaller than the height of the GoPro, so it could be forced in when using a flexible filament and not be able to come out on its own.
I cut a hole in the front, where the lens is and then built in a more X like shape using some ovals at the edges to offer more coverage on the front of the GoPro, so it doesn’t slip out, yet still provides good protection and doesn’t interfere with the camera.
I built up the top edge in order to provide better protection, using an oval shape and extruding it along.
Once happy I cut the GoPro shape out and began working on the base. I measured the screw holes with my calipers and made the base accordingly giving it 4 mm thickness.
Next I tilted the camera enclosure back 30º, a more aggressive angle than what I currently fly at. I aligned the base and the enclosure along their centres and ensured the enclosure sat neatly within the confines of the base. Using the sketch tools I created two supports to connect the enclosure and base. This was the problem area with the design I was using from Thingiverse, so I made these thicker and wider when extruded.
I went through 4 iterations until I got to a version I’m happy with, but can still see some room for improvement.
