Introduction: Tertial Webcam

About: I am a remixer of products, a MacGyver of materials, and a Sugru guru.

The Tertial light offered by IKEA has the potential to be much more than just a work lamp. Its adjustable arm and many points of articulation make in an excellent platform for mounting things. In this Instructable, I'll show you how easy it is to combine the Tertial swing arm with a webcam to make an articulated camera.

Step 1: Supplies & Materials

Required materials:
- Tertial Lamp
- Sugru, or all purpose adhesive
- needle nose pliers
- philips screwdriver
- rubber bands (to stabilize the cam while the adhesive dries)
- a few zip-ties for cable routing (optional)


[If you don't already have a Tertial you can get one at your local IKEA for around $9.00]

Step 2: Preparing the Tertial Arm

- Start by removing the shade from your Tertial.

- Remove the two screws holding the switch and socket assembly the arm.

- Take a moment to make sure your lamp is NOT plugged in.

- Now cut the cord, freeing the socket and housing.

- The lamp cord can now be removed, perhaps for use in another project, or just to get it out of your way.

- The springs can also be removed now.  Unless your webcam is extremely heavy, they won't necessary.

Step 3: Choose Your Cam

I managed to find this Logitech C200 on clearance for $5.  Any web-cam will do, so find one that meets your needs.

Step 4: Prepare the Webcam for Mounting

Remove the clip assembly from your webcam.  Mine had a fairly involved clip assembly and despite my attempts to disassemble it properly, ultimately it came down to brute force.  Your model may differ, but mine didn't seem as though it was made to be taken apart.

Now is a good time to look for a mounting point on the back of your webcam.  The C200 has a nice void just below the data cable exit point.

Step 5: Choose Your Glue

There are a few options for mounting the camera. While any all purpose adhesive such as epoxy or super glue would do the trick; I went with Sugru.

Step 6:

I wasn't sure if Sugru would stick properly to this particular type of plastic, but I need not have worried – it has a strong hold.  Apart from being extremely user friendly, I also appreciated the ability to colorize my bonding agent to match the project.    Given the colors of my components and the fact that I had access to black and white Sugur, I opted to mix up some gray.  One packet of white (5g) and a very little bit of black got me the color I wanted. 

I applied  two grams of Sugru to the end of the arm and pressed it into the back of the web-cam. 

I used rubber bands to hold the cam in place, and then proceeded to use the rest of the Sugru covering things up and filling a small hole I made when removing the clip mount.

Allow 24 hours for Sugru to cure, or wait the specified amount of time for your adhesive of choice.

Step 7: Finishing Touches

The USB cable was routed along the length of the arm, zip-tied in place with slack to allow for movement.

Step 8: Finished Product


Step 9: Action Shots

The images and videos were taken with the webcam.