3d Printing Saves The Day For Time-lapse Photography

Several of us here at Hackaday have discussed how much we’d like to have some tools, like a 3d printer, but just can’t justify the cost. What would we make? Why do we really need one? Why don’t we just bother [Brian Benchoff] who already has one to make us parts instead. That’s usually how the conversation goes.

[Alexander Weber] gave us another little reason to drop in our “list of reasons we need a 3d printer” list with this little hack. He wanted to play with CHDK but found the camera’s battery unable to stay alive for longer than 2 hours. There is a commercially available adapter to allow you to plug into the wall, but the cost was outrageous. At least it is outrageous to someone who already owns a 3d printer. We just need a few hundred more dollars worth of reasons to justify that sweet 3d printer we’ve been pining over.

[via Adafruit]

21 thoughts on “3d Printing Saves The Day For Time-lapse Photography

  1. I guess it’s a matter of perspective. I have a basement full of woodworking tools so that I can make whatever I need: project cases, battery slugs like this particular hack, etc. If wood isn’t good enough, you can either cut plastic with the woodworking tools to the shape you want or you can get some two part resin and mold what you need.

  2. I just spent a bajillion dollarz to make gizmos out of plastic because I don’t have the skill to use a mill or a pocketknife.

    OMG $30 for a wall wart?!?! Outrageous!!!

  3. Sorry but it is ok to use a power adapter that is not the same brand as the one for the camera.

    I can point at 20 different power adapters for that camera for $9.99-$12.99 all over the internet.

    I can see building an item, but spending more for the parts to build a device to replicate a $9.95 item is kinda silly.

    Are engineers today not very good at using google?

  4. I think we see why this person has a 3d printer. More money than sense. Easy to cobble one up from thrift store adapter bin for less than a buck. Maybe I have gear envy or something. I am with Signal7 on the wood though. I have replaced many a proprietary 10 dollar laptop bay door with a properly cut and painted plug of wood. Cheap effective and fun :)

    I’m not trying to be mean to the builder as they actually completed a project, better than me half of the time ;)

  5. I made something similar the other day.. I cut a piece of thin plywood (about the same thickness as the battery) and glued two pieces of wire tape along the wood for the positive and negative terminals. It slots in and gets held in place by the catch, just like the regular battery.

  6. Hummm… look like a n00b with a piece of wood hanging out of your camera, or use a tool that you already have to make it look and act professional? choices choices… you can use your tools, (mill, wood working stuff) or you can use your tools, (3d printer). For those not smart enough to use a 3d printer and computer, use your wood working tools or your $3000 mill… to each his own.

  7. Just because no one has mentioned it yet, you could also use an existing battery for the casing and terminals, and install your jack into it. Some might even have a dying battery laying around.

    Very few of us really *need* a 3D printer/CNC mill. Even fewer need one more than rarely. I’ve tried to justify the expense for myself, and cannot; even the time I’d spend learning to use it exceeds the time I’d save over making the occasional part using traditional tools. That will not stop me from getting one eventually. We all need our toys, and wanting one is reason enough.

    At least Alexander got some good practice. Having a 3D printer and not using it, or knowing how to use it, is by far a worse travesty than needlessly reinventing the wheel.

    1. Just to clarify, if I had a 3D printer that day I’d definitely have used it. There’s so much stuff that becomes possible with such a device. I was just nitpicking on the use of the verb “need” ;-P

  8. Haters gonna hate =)

    Spending a few cents worth of plastic to print an adapter is nifty, and you don’t need to pay for shipping or wait. Does this convenience make up for the cost of the printer? Probably not.

    Buuut, “real men use woodshops” isn’t really much of an argument against using a 3d printer if you have one.

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