EQ6R Pro Counterweight Adapter for Change Plates

If you get into astrophotography with a mirrorless or DSLR, the next advised upgrade is a tracking mount. If you know you're going to be in it for a while, the EQ6R Pro is a very reliable option. But while you're saving for an OTA, and using your camera on the EQ6R Pro, the included counterweights are going to be way too heavy to balance your load.

I used my weight lifting Rogue change plates to figure out the right counterbalance for my camera, and realized I should just use those plates instead of investing in more counterweights (which would be too light once I add a real OTA to the mount). This adapter should fit any olympic-sized change plates.

Enter this adapter for change plates. So far as required materials, it uses three M5x0.8 socket cap head screws (two 12mm length, one 20mm length), and three M5 threaded inserts from CNC Kitchen. It was designed for easy printing, so no surprises there.

For the position locking screw, I suggest adding the “Soft end cap” so that you don't scratch the counterweight bar on the mount. Thread the locking screw into place, and once it pokes through the inside of the inner hole, use your finger to hold it still while turning the screw clockwise. This should tighten the soft end cap onto the screw. Don't back out the locking screw too far, or this cap is likely to pop back off. There is a recessed section to store it in a flush position while sliding the adapter onto the mount's counterweight bar.

Also, I show a thumbscrew cap here. It's from@DavidHBrown_24313, link here. The link is for an M3 cap, so just scale the model in PrusaSlicer to ~159% for an M5-sized version.