Has anyone developed or found any good solutions to mounting camera(s) (rasp pi camera module or other camera) to the gantry, machine outer rails or corners, etc. Would be nice to have an integrated camera setup with the machine.
I used this camera holder, but it was mounted stationary in a corner.
I never did get the camera software running on the Pi though. Octoprint’s camera integration isn’t quite right for the CNC, and when I swapped to the Duet controller, I pulled the Pi.
Mounting it to the gantry (or anywhere moveable) is tricky, because the ribbon cable can reallhy only be so long. I have some that are quite long, but you start getting errors using them. Even the longest one I have wouldn’t go through the drag chain though. I suppose that if I were to run power wires for the Pi through the drag chain and mount it to a gantry rail, I could have a mobile point of view for the camera.
1 Like
Hang the camera off a pi0. That’ll fit on the gantry.
I glued a go pro mount on the back of the core and then used arms to swing it around the back of the gantry to hang the go pro underneath it.
If you want a moving camera I would go with a esp32 cam. They are cheap (like $5) run on 5 v and could be easily set up to run from a battery. They are also wifi & Bluetooth capable so they don’t need any data cable. Lastly they are small, light and you can 3d print a case.
4 Likes
I haven’t tried that for stuff like this. That is a good idea.
1 Like
Did anyone follow up on that? Are there new ideas? 
1 Like
I had a janky USB webcam and lens setup for my line follower, which was kinda awful.
I made a better Raspberry Pi Zero camera setup integrated into the DW660 mount, and it is okay, but then I learned about the ESP32-Cam which is basically perfect, and cheap. I haven’t yet made a mount for the ESP32-cam, but I did buy a few and they look like they will do the job.
3 Likes
Tell us if it works, I want sth. like that as well.
I recently purchased a couple of the ESP32-CAM modules hoping to add one to my 3D printer and possibly my Primo. I would recommend to purchase a name brand module such as WROVER or Ai-Tinker since I had a difficult time getting my knock-off version to work.
Mine came with the ESP32-CAM-MB with the USB to serial chip but I couldn’t get it to work so I ended up purchasing one of these.
The camera needs good lighting so I believe I’ll need to add a light. I was thinking of using one of the ring lights similar to what jeffeb3 posted here a while back.
I still need to design a housing when I have some free time.
Yes, please. I just have too many children and too much work at the moment… Have to grade my student’s finals…
I’m thinking about either printing or designing/cutting a mount out of plywood for a raspberry pi controlled camera…I work from home so I’m thinking about keeping a live feed on the cnc and run some wiring to my office for an emergency kill switch.
3d print:
Plywood (Something like this but smaller, and les articulation):
Camera:
1 Like
I 3d printed a mount and used double sided sticky tape to stick it to the back of the Core on a MPCNC. That way it had a good up-close view of the cut.
My wife picked up some random iphone holder from an overstock store locally that I use. I think it’s meant to clamp on the handlebars of a bike. I use it to clamp my phone to my primo rails as needed.
Not a bad idea… running a kill switch with the camera. I like it, but not sure that’s safe enough TBH. Maybe if you also have a smoke detector in the mix? It doesn’t take long for all heck to break loose when there are vacuums, sawdust, plastic, and wood around a fire.
ESP32 cam idea is cool… I have an “Arducam ESP32 Uno PSRAM” board I could use.
2 Likes
I just opted to use an iPhone boom arm and the Alfred app, the raspberry pi price is prohibitive at the moment. I run four screens while I work I can dedicate one to a live feed of the the cnc. Smoke alarm is a good idea, I’m in the next room so I can kill it and be in the garage in 15-20 seconds if need be