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Welcome to the wiki of my "scalable large format camera design" project!

This is my attempt to create a scalable large format field camera design.

Project goals:

• of course a 3d printable and usable large format field camera in 4x5" format. The design should be scalable to 5x7" or even 8x10" by just changing a handful of variables.
• Learning OpenSCAD. Learning to use it efficiently. Learning to do good parametric development/design.
• Learning git/github and sharing my code with other people
• Checking out the limits of home 3D printing with a very limited set of available tools

Some technical goals:

• the design is inspired by old and established field cameras like Horseman 45HD/FA or Linhof Technika. But it is also inspired by Intrepid and Standard Camera
• compact and lightweight. Projected weight for the 4x5 version with ground glass but without lens is below 1500g. The "overall package" should be lightweight, so don't expect me to design a rail and front standard for holding big and heavy lenses. for 4x5": usable with lenses from 90-300mm. Shorter or longer lenses are not targeted.
• a small standard lens should be able to stay on the camera when it is closed (e.g. Fujinon-WS 150/6.3 or Symmar 135/5.6, ...)
• rise of about 25-30mm with a normal lens
• fall of about 10mm with a normal lens
• front/back tilt of about 10 degrees
• left/right swing of about 10 degrees
• left/right shift optionally (probably not with first release)
• all movements on the front standard, no movements on the back
• easy switchable from landscape to portrait format
• tripod mount with Arca Swiss type mount
• all parts must be either 3D-printable or easily available.
• no special tools required besides a decent 3D printer and some common tools like little files, screwdrivers, sanding paper, cutter, scissors, ...
• no exotic third party parts/components
• form follows function
• KISS

Early design decisions:

• completely 3D printed rail and front standard mechanism - lots of dovetails :-)
• for the initial 4x5 version I will use a bellows from standard cameras (https://www.standardcameras.com/product/replacement-bellows-v1-0/). For now it's relatively easy available, cheap and already mounted into a frame. For later versions, I will probably switch over to another source and add my own bellows mounting frame.
• for the 5x7 version I will use a bellows from ebay-shop "ecbuyonline2008" which is orginally for a Linhof Technika 5x7 IV or V
• for the focusing rod I will use 6mm rods with 2mm pitch
• due to some printing related problems (first layer), I will avoid printing small holes directly onto the printing bed (smaller than 5mm). If holes are required, they will have a little offset on the Z-axis of 0.5mm. This will allow a "clean" first layer with really good adhesion, while the holes are "pre-drilled" for most of their depth

First findings after finishing the first functional prototype

• PETG printing is somehow okay, but PLA is more rigid. Although I will do further tests with PETG, PLA stays the preferred material. This applies especially to the dovetails.
• completely printed front standard with (more than) acceptable stability is possible
• overall design seems to be a good starting point for further optimizations