Building my own tripod head

[Badabinski]

That's great. That should aid your build very well

Your photos are massively helpful too, since they show a ton of detail left out by this exploded view. I'll probably post a link to my OnShape doc once I have some more info so folks can see my design live. My CAD skills are... well, I learn entirely new design paradigms every time Clough42 posts a Fusion video, so take that as you will

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Your photos are massively helpful too, since they show a ton of detail left out by this exploded view. I'll probably post a link to my OnShape doc once I have some more info so folks can see my design live. My CAD skills are... well, I learn entirely new design paradigms every time Clough42 posts a Fusion video, so take that as you will

I learn something new every time I open fusion, and I've used various CAD programs for decades

 

[Badabinski]

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d...leTablePanel&uiState=635313ec0f1288770144d2a9 Here's my OnShape doc. I'm trying to incorporate variables here as much as possible so I can change aspects of the design easily based on feedback. Each component will be a parts studio, and I'll throw them all together in an assembly.

 

[Badabinski]

So it looks like Manfrotto opted to use something like UHMW thrust bushings. That might be a wise choise given UHMW might provide smoother rotation. Worst case, I can use Delrin for now and then switch to UHMW or something else if I'm short on that stock.

I do see that they machined a groove into the base plate for the thrust bushing. I'm guessing they did that to prevent the bushing from squishing out the sides (that's a point for bronze, it's maybe a liiittle less squishy). I can try that, but I'd have to do it on the mill with a rotary table. I don't have any face grooving stuff, and grinding a HSS tool might be... bothersome. I think I'll design for a bronze bushing for now. Redesigning for a grooved UHMW bushing should be easy.

 

[Badabinski]

So I'm unsure about what thread size to use for the actual clamping screws. My first inclination is 1/4"-20 or 10-32 since I have taps and dies for both of those. Do I want to use a finer thread pitch though?

 

[Badabinski]

Here's the stock situation, by the way. I've attached some pictures with rough measurements and alloy types. I also have a 1.75" piece of what I believe to be PTFE, which should make an awesome bearing material (although it'll be quite squishy).



There are no markings on it, but the color is right and it sinks quite quickly in water (the density of PTFE is 2.2 g/cm³, so it should drop pretty quickly).

The big-ol block of 15-5 PH doesn't have any measurements, but it's quite large and it was too annoying to get my scale back there.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Here's the stock situation, by the way. I've attached some pictures with rough measurements and alloy types. I also have a 1.75" piece of what I believe to be PTFE, which should make an awesome bearing material (although it'll be quite squishy).

View attachment 424173

There are no markings on it, but the color is right and it sinks quite quickly in water (the density of PTFE is 2.2 g/cm³, so it should drop pretty quickly).

The big-ol block of 15-5 PH doesn't have any measurements, but it's quite large and it was too annoying to get my scale back there.

those parts are not under much compression, so I dont think that PTFE will be too "squishy"

 

[TorontoBuilder]

the threads look to be 1/4-20

 

[Choiliefan]

Do all Arca Swiss plates share the same specs?
I have an Arca-style Chinese ballhead and would like to purchase a few cheap plates but dimensions are never listed.

 

[Ischgl99]

Do all Arca Swiss plates share the same specs?
I have an Arca-style Chinese ballhead and would like to purchase a few cheap plates but dimensions are never listed.

In theory yes, but in practice, the tolerances between different brands may make one incompatible with what you have. If you have a cam lever clamp, it would be best to have all the components from the same manufacturer, but if you use screw clamps, it shouldn’t matter which brands you have.