Introduction: GoPro Clamp Mount

By Portfolio
About: I'm an inventor / maker / designer based in Portland, OR. My background is in residential architecture, film set design, animatronics, media arts, exhibit design, and electronics. I use digital design and fabr…

Tripods are limited in functionality and they get in the way in a crowded shop. Enter the GoPro Clamp Mount! I designed this mount to fit on a standard one-handed bar clamp with 4 axes of articulation, making it easy to mount a gopro just about anywhere.

Step 1: 3D Model

I modeled the mount in Fusion 360 because I wanted to learn the program. I found it to be a powerful modeling program, and it exported perfect .stl files that didn't need any repairs before printing.

I designed thumb screws for all the points of articulation to take a standard M5 bolt, which fits the plastic gopro enclosure. The mount slides up and down the clamp bar, and the 4 axes of rotation allow the user to position the camera.

Attachments

Step 2: Tools & Materials

TOOLS

  • hand drill
  • epoxy glue
  • 3D printer. I used the Objet at the pier, but I'm sure a makerbot or other consumer grade plastic extruding printer would do the job.
  • 4-40 tap & drill bit

MATERIALS

  • M5 socket cap machine screws (at least 30mm long)
  • hexagonal M5 nuts
  • 4-40 bolts
  • M4 hexagonal nuts & washers

Step 3: 3D Print

Printing all the parts for 3 mounts took about 6 hours on the high speed setting.

Parts on the Objet 3D printer have a translucent disposable support material that has to be cleaned off. The high pressure spray booth makes it go quickly. TIP: Soak the parts in water overnight to loosen up the support material and cut your cleanup time in half.

Step 4: Assembly

The axes of rotation I mentioned before have thumb screws to loosen and tighten them. I designed the thumb screws to receive a 5mm socket cap machine screw.

Adding Hardware:

I mixed a little epoxy for the inside of the machine screw, then forced it in with an allen wrench. Each machine screw has a hex nut at its opposite side that fits snugly into a pocket modeled into the piece. This trick makes for a much more rigid connection than you would otherwise get by tapping into the plastic.

Tolerances:

All the parts were modeled with no extra space between them, including the spaces for the nuts and bolts.

Step 5: Get Some Video

These things have gotten a lot of use around the shop! They can go just about anywhere; we even tried a Matrix-esque multi-camera 3D shot with them that you'll see at the end of the youtube video. I would love to see someone try this on a consumer-grade 3D printer.