Raspberry Pi Camera Mount for MakerFarm Prusa i3v (OctoPrint)

These parts allow you to mount a Raspberry Pi camera with LED illumination on your MakerFarm Prusa i3v to observe the bed of the printer. It's perfect for use with OctoPrint on a Raspberry Pi as a network printer controller.

The bracket mounts to the left bed rail with two M5 screws, washers and T-nuts. My kit had enough extras. You will also need an M3 screw and nut for the finger joint at the top of the mast.

The camera head holds two 1.5W LED corn lights, available from HobbyKing for a couple of dollars: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=26408&aff=624762

In addition to the printed parts, you will also need a piece of carbon fiber arrow shaft. In the US, you can get one at Wal-Mart for less than $4.

Instructions

A few tips:

First, the Raspberry Pi camera module, Rev. 1.3 cannot focus on the bed from this distance. To get a clear image from this distance, you will need to unscrew the lens a little. If you look closely at the module, you can see that the lens is screwed into the front of the camera housing and it's held in place with two or three drops of glue on the threads. I was able to pick the glue out with a dental pick and then break the lens barrel free with a pair of pliers. Once it was free, I could easily screw it in and out to change the focus. I only had to unscrew the lens a little more than one turn.

Second, the holes in the fingers on the camera housing are a little tight for an M3 screw. A quick pass with a 1/8" drill bit (3mm would also work) cleaned them out nicely. I also had to sand between the fingers a little (with sandpaper wrapped around a craft stick) to get the joint to fit perfectly.

Third, the colors output by the camera under the cheap HobbyKing LED lights are a little horrifying. I got...uh...acceptable results using the Horizon and Sun white-balance settings.