GoPro Tripod Mount - Slide In Nut

thingiverse

After trying a couple other GoPro tripod mounts that didn't quite work for me I decided to design my own. I found that in my various bits and bobs cases I had 3 different size 1/4-20 nuts, all of them about the same outer diameter but each a different height (thickness). With the other tripod mounts I tried none of the nuts I have fit properly into the cutout. So I decided I wanted to make a more universal design that would fit different sized 1/4-20 nuts, eliminate the need to glue the nut in place, and be securely inside the mount (but without having to embed it during printing). Yes, I totally over thought and spent too much time on such a simple little thing that many other people have created good designs for! But that's all part of the fun, right? There are three different files with the only difference being the height of the opening that the nut slides into. The file names are slightly rounded for simplicity, for example the nuts I have actually measure 4.1mm, 4.85mm, and 5.55mm tall. I have designed the opening to fit the nuts with either a corner or the flat side facing out and I tried to make the fit snug but not too tight so you can push it in with a screwdriver without too much force. Depending on how well your printer spans the snugness of the nut might vary a little, I am able to get the nut about flush with the outer wall by hand before I need to use a screwdriver to push it the rest of the way and it goes in fairly smoothly from there (I also found the first time putting it in is harder than subsequent times). The depth of the nut cavity is such that pressing it all the way in should align it with the bottom hole (which is slightly over sized), and there is a very slight inward angle of the inner walls to help center the nut (did I mention I over thought this?). The small hole in the back is in case you need to remove the nut and it will fit up to about a 5mm wide screwdriver (the exception being the smallest design, which you will probably need to use a hobby size screwdriver). On the side there is a cutout that will fit the original GoPro nuts (I have two different sizes and both fit) which also fits nuts for about a No. 6 size screw. I also added a second cutout to fit larger nuts in case you have lost the original GoPro screws / nuts, No. 10 size nuts fit nicely while No. 8 can also work though are slightly loose (but can still be tightened). I'm not an engineer and I have no 3D education outside of YouTube so please let me know if you have any tips or suggestions. I've tried to make these as compatible as possible but am only able to test the prints with what I have on hand, so if your 1/4-20 nut doesn't go deep enough to line up with the hole or you have other suggestions feel free to let me know.