3D Printable GoPro Mount Compatible Iphone Case

Intro: 3D Printable GoPro Mount Compatible Iphone Case

     This is a step-by-step guide to creating your very own custom phone case. This guide will allow your phone to utilize any GoPro mount or accessory as a stable platform for taking photos or videos. In this instructable, I will be showing you how to design the phone case, GoPro mounting bracket, and finally how to assemble them. I will be using Autodesk Inventor (free trial available at: http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-inventor-family/free-trial); however, other AutoCAD software can be used to the same effect. If designing your own case is not appealing to you, then smart phone case designs can be downloaded for free at websites like www.GrabCAD.com. You can then assemble the downloaded phone case to the GoPro Mount below. This can be printed at home for a low cost or can be printed online at  www.shapeways.com for around $30. 

NOTE: Steps 1-7 are for designing the phone case. Steps 8-11 are for designing the GoPro mount. Steps 12-13 are for final assembly of the GoPro compatible phone case. 

STEP 1: Creating the Iphone Case

• Make a rectangle that is the size of your phone. Don't forget to add .12" to length and width, to account for the actual phone case.

• Extrude the rectangle the depth of your phone, again, adding .12".

STEP 2: Filleting the Corners

Find the corner fillet radius of your model of Iphone online (for Iphone 4/4S: .375), then shell the solid body of the phone case to a thickness of .06". 

STEP 3: Cutting Holes for Charging Port, Headphone Jack, and Power Button

Cut a hole for the charging cable of the Iphone, by drawing a rectangle on the bottom of the phone case and use the extrude feature (direction 2) to remove the material. Next, draw two smaller rectangles over the headphone jack and power button, once again use extrude (direction 2) to remove the material inside the drawn rectangles. 

STEP 4: Creating the Lip

Draw a .06" width rectangle along the top inside edge of both sides of the phone case, then draw a .06" width rectangle along the top inside edge of the piece inbetween the headphone jack and power button holes.  Then extrude all drawn rectangles .06".  

STEP 5: Cutting the Camera Hole

Draw holes for camera and LED light. Now use "hole feature" to cut the drawn holes out. 

STEP 6: Cutting Volume Control Port

Draw a rectangle to allow access to volume control buttons. Then use extrude feature (direction 2) to cut the hole. 

STEP 7: Customize

Draw a point at the center of the phone case. At this point you can customize your phone case by drawing shapes and then extruding them by 0.01".

STEP 8: Creating the GoPro Mount

Draw a 1"x1" square. Then, extrude it by 0.1". 

STEP 9: Extruding the Pegs

Now, draw two 0.563"x0.094" rectangles and dimension them 0.344" from the side of the square and 0.219" from the top of the square. Extrude both rectangles by 0.713".

NOTE: Each rectangle must be extruded separately. In other words, you must make one rectangle first, then extrude it, and finally create the second rectangle and extrude it. If you try to extrude the rectangles at the same time, the software will delete one of them. 

Next, fillet the top two corners of each rectangle by 0.26" 

STEP 10: Cutting the Hole

Draw a 0.198" diameter circle diminsion it 0.283" from the top of the arch and .282" from the side of the rectangle. Then, cut out the circle in both rectangles using the "hole" feature. 

STEP 11: Placing the Center Point

Place a point in the middle of the square for use in assembly.

STEP 12:

Place both the Iphone case and the GoPro mount in an Assembly .ipt. Then using "constrain" feature marry the two objects together. 

STEP 13: The Final Case

The Phone case is now ready to be 3D printed! 

Comments

[Jared G]

Sure!

[topkara]

Hi Jared,

Could you please share the final STL file as well?

Thanks!

[Jared G]

When taking a picture with a phone in the mount you do in fact use the front facing big camera. The mount is not seen in the picture though.

[Jared G]

I created it so that you can connect your phone to a gopro mount, allowing you to then take stable pictures on your phone with your gopro mounts.

[Zaphod Beetlebrox]

Oh sorry I see now. But then wouldn't you want the big camera to face forward, not the small one(front facing). Would be neat if you could have a piece that is normally on the back but then flips and locks placing the go pro mounting point in front of the screen leaving the powerful camera of the phone facing forward.

[Zaphod Beetlebrox]

I'm just wondering why you would want to attach a go-pro to your phone?

[craftclarity]

Looks like he's using the mounting system that GoPro developed for their cameras to mount his phone to things. Actually quite a clever hack.