HTC Vive Base Station 2.0 Wall Mount (Updating...)

thingiverse

**** Lots of text and important updates below! **** I just added some updated files (04/27/19) which are tentative, and which include 2 fail safes in case the mount adhesive fails. I am still considering if I should make any changes to the design in the meantime, so nothing is final yet, but I am feeling more confident about these updates. Based on other people's reviews/experiences with 3M Command Hook adhesive strips, it seems that the adhesive may only last temporarily - understanding this is key to setting the correct expectations when deciding how to use, check, and maintain a setup like this regularly. With regards to the anchor, I will likely attach a zip tie to the power cord to prevent the cord from sliding out of the anchor and photograph it so the intended setup is shown. I'll also work on updating this summary text soon, when I across some more free time. 05/01/19 Update: I am considering redesigning the Anchor to allow the power cable to loop and pass through the anchor more than once, to be secured in 3 places, which should prevent the need of using a zip tie on the power cable next to the anchor unless the power outlet/cord distance from the mount comes into play. The TL;DR is: I am in the process of updating this part design due to my own concerns about the 3M adhesive (Command Hook strips) - these concerns have all come about due to my recent experience with an Oculus sensor mount in which the adhesive strip detached from the print and ended up falling onto the floor (I found the Oculus Sensor mount on Thingiverse and printed it, as well as mounted to the wall with a Medium size 3M Command Hook Adhesive strip, which it's designer had intended). Currently, 2 months after securing the Vive Wall Mount based on the instructions below, my own HTC Vive Base Station 2.0 Wall Mount adhesive feels strong and I trust it will stay put - so I have yet to experience issues with my design/base station falling from the wall - but you can't be too careful, and I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone's VR equipment, home, belongings, or especially persons. Also, since these new Base Stations have rotating parts which are likely to become damaged if they fall, so I am in the process of updating this part for want of preventing any issues that could potentially come about. I am working on designing extra anchors that surround the existing design, and also an anchor that grabs the Base Station 2.0 power cord - you could zip tie the power cable to the metal rod of the base station, and if the adhesive failed on the mount then the anchor would hopefully be able to grab it. I encourage anyone who has printed this part to check for updates (which I'll post here as they come about), and to ****** regularly check your mount to ensure it feels secure ******. I gently tugged on the 2nd and 3rd of my Oculus sensor mounts and they detached from the wall easily, so it was a quick test that revealed that the adhesive was no longer fully grabbing the sensor mount. Currently when I tug on my Vive Base Station Mount, it feels reliable and solid. Anyone who is wanting to print this part should to check back shortly for the new hardware I am working on designing/testing, which should help you decide if you want to print any of this, or seek an alternative method for mounting your Base Stations otherwise. The updated design uses an additional 5 Large Command Hook Adhesive strips per Base Station. If you don't trust the Command hook adhesive strips, keep in mind that all of this can be avoided by using the included hardware with the Vive system (but still, I hesitate to put holes in my wall - especially with VR equipment since sensor tower placement affects performance/tracking, and personally I dislike the idea of drilling a bunch of holes in my wall, discovering it wasn't placed correctly, and then moving it, drilling more holes, etc - to determine the best sensor placement, or attaching it to the wall otherwise.) Some of you may even want to consider using this mount temporarily, which would allow for a person to test their sensor placement before putting a few holes in their walls. Possible helpful tip for those with tracking issues: Base Station 2.0 sensors can become confused by reflective surfaces - I have some prints hanging up on my wall that have glass covering them, and my tracking glitches out if my Vive controller is visible to the Base Station through the air (line of sight) and through a reflection from the glass on the picture frame. Apparently glossy surfaces like a TV screen / computer monitor can cause the same effect too. *UPDATE 04/24/19 @ 5:58pm* I have prototyped a redundant set of hardware for this part in CAD, I am now going to print these and test them to make sure everything fits and prints correctly. I uploaded a couple screen shots into the photos, but still need to print them myself to verify everything works. If you have already printed the original part I posted (Base Station Wall Mount by itself) then I recommend you consider printing these extra anchors (if they turn out to be successful) - I'll post the file/s once I verify everything. The way I designed it would allow the original mount to fall 0.050" or so, with small gaps in between parts that will close if the wall mount adhesive fails - this should hopefully secure the wall mount from falling, and also provide a visual indicator if the adhesive has failed. I also want to design an additional anchor that will attach to the power cord of the Base Station - which could capture the base station if the adhesive failed. FOR ANYONE USING THE ORIGINAL FILE BEFORE THIS UPDATE/DATE: Please check your mounts periodically to make sure the adhesive still feels strong. *UPDATE 04/23/14@ 11:58pm* I have been using 3M Command hook adhesive strips for my Oculus Rift sensors (I've had the Oculus 4 months before picking up my Vive Pro), along with one of the Oculus sensor mounts available for download here on Thingiverse, and the adhesive on one of the 3 sensors failed, causing the Oculus sensor to fall onto my floor - I checked the 2nd and 3rd sensor mounts and it took very little force to remove them from the wall - this was using the Medium sized strips from Command Hook. My best guess is the extruder head direction may have something to do with this - consider the small ridges between the Z Axis layers of a print, for which there are likely to be small air gaps - this may have been what caused the adhesive to gradually let go of the print. The Oculus sensor mount allows the sensor to lean forwards away from the wall by a considerable amount as well, and positions the sensor above the mount, which may have also contributed to the adhesive letting go of the print. This design I posted is somewhat similar to the Oculus sensor mount that fell - mainly in the sense that the adhesive attaches to a 3D printed surface, therefore, I ADVISE YOU NOT TO USE THIS PRINT UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT IT WILL STAY ADHERED TO YOUR WALL. PERFORMING POST PROCESSING TO ENSURE THE SURFACE FOR THE ADHESIVE IS FLAT/SMOOTH MAY HELP. IF YOU ARE USING ONE OF THESE MOUNTS - PLEASE TEST IT PERIODICALLY TO ENSURE IT FEELS SECURE. I just tugged on my Base Station 2.0 mount and mine feels secure, but being that I've only had it on my wall for 2 months to test, I cannot say for certain if it will last. I will work on this design some more to see if I can perhaps design a secondary anchor to secure the Base Station from falling if becoming detached from the wall - otherwise I may remove this print from Thingiverse entirely for want of preventing any mishaps. I didn't want to put holes in my walls when installing the HTC Vive Pro base stations, so I designed this wall mount for my HTC Vive mounts to slot and slide into, and figured I would share it here on Thingiverse if anyone else had interest in such a mount, which acts similar to a dovetail in function. I printed mine in ABS plastic since I happened to have some around that matches the color of my walls, although I should suspect PLA would likely work fine as well. I printed this at 0.3mm layer height with Simplify3D software. I suggest a wall thickness of 1.6mm to make sure it is durable ( 4 shells if using 0.4mm extruder ) , and I used a honeycomb infill at 15% density, rectilinear pattern for the shells, but feel free to use whatever settings you're comfortable with. Secure the mount perhaps 3 inches below your ceiling, which will give the HTC mount enough clearance to slide in and out of the 3D printed mount. The base station 2.0's have a considerable amount of weight (although HTC does not list the specs, and I do not have a scale to verify the weight unfortunately), and as such I currently have six of 3M Command Hook M/M command hook adhesive strips attached to my mount, which appears stable and reliable in my opinion - on my other mount I decided to use 2 large and 4 medium strips which makes better use of the space on the back of the mount (and the large strips offer higher weight capacity, 5lbs vs 3lbs per strip if using a Command hook). You might even want to use more than six, but that is up to your own discretion. I used four strips on the upper portion of the mount (see photos), and two strips at the bottom, since I figure the top of the mount will have the larger pulling force applied to it and therefore mandates more adhesive at the top. I did my best to determine what was appropriate for my setup, although your setup could certainly vary from my own. A typical command hook that sits very close to the wall will hold 3lbs of weight with one of their M/M strips, however since the base station is out and away from the wall, I suggest using a minimum of 6 strips to hang this up since this has worked well for me thus far, especially considering that HTC currently does not sell replacement base station 2.0's on their site, so it is very very important that you use plenty of these strips, which sell 9 strips for $2.50 on Amazon - this is not an area that you should want to skimp on if it saves you $350 from a replacement 2.0 on eBay, and please use good judgement when installing everything or if deciding to use this mount, be mindful of the placement of the base station and mount should it happen to come loose, take care to ensure it cannot potentially hurt someone, use this design/setup at your own risk - I shall not be held liable for any mishaps or damage regarding use of this design. For reference, Command also makes a shelf that mounts to a wall with 2 strips, and protrudes from the wall in a similar manner to the base station, and state that this shelf has a 2lb capacity, so using 6 Medium strips could very well be overkill - that being said, I'm recommending you use enough adhesive to be able to trust your own setup. Nothing built too strong ever broke. I highly suggest hanging a test load of similar weight to your base stations on the end of the threaded rod to make sure you can trust the mount to stay put. You may also consider setting up a Command hook to support the power cable of the base station, which could also be setup in such a way that if your mount happened to fall, the command hook could capture your base station and prevent it from falling. Redundant systems are awesome :D! Enough of all that, please let me know if you have any questions/concerns/recommendations. Happy VR-ing!