Star Trek TNG Tricorder

thingiverse

**Update: 12/17/18** Added new base with the hinge modified. The pegs which plug into the body side are now 0.7mm long instead of 1mm on each side to allow for an easier fit. Both sets of hinges do work in PLA (original worked in PETG as well), but you may need some needle-nose pliers to help coax them in a bit. **Update: 12/16/18** I printed out a set of the original parts, but the hinges were too stiff and instead of slipping together the pegs meant to hold them together were deformed. New versions of all the bodies and the base have been uploaded. I printed the hinge sections of the base and flat body (via cutting in netfabb) and they will go together. Don't be too forceful or you may shear off one of the hinge pieces. *All of the bodies have been fitted with the modified hinge* **12/15/18** I liked [vesperk38’s](https://www.thingiverse.com/vesperk38/about) tricorder [model](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1739621), but I could never get the hinges to work before they broke. Therefore, I set out to find another option. I imported vesperk38’s models into SketchUp and remade them from scratch. I started this over a year ago, but I could not find a practical replacement for the hinges until I saw a video from Maker’s Muse on building and printing [hinges](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JhjhgjchfM&t=162s&index=11&list=PL200oQ4rzPIaZiC7yRZ1332BY2h3KGgsa) which sparked me to finish what I started. **The Files** There are three variants of tricorder available to print: <ul> <li>Flat</li> <li>Slider</li> <li>Wheel</li> </ul> *The flat variant is for utilizing stickers/decals while the other two are physically detailed. The slider and wheel variant are the same except for the single aspect on the bottom left of the model. Vesperk38’s model, I believe, is based on the Playmate tricorder toy with a “wheel” like detail. I’ve seen a “slider” detail on some decals floating around so I decided to create a version with that as well.* For each variant above there are two versions: <ul> <li>Sensor</li> <li>Without Sensor</li> </ul> *When I originally printed Versperk38’s model the sensors lost some of the detail at increased layer heights (as the top is actually sideways), so I’ve created an option with a blank top which you can then fit a separately printed sensor bar into so the details are preserved.* For the “without sensor” version there are three sensor bar options: <ul> <li>sensor</li> <li>sensor 0.2</li> <li>sensor 0.3</li> </ul> *The 0.2 and 0.3 models have had their overall base dimensions (length and width) decreased by 0.2mm and 0.3mm respective to the size of the blank top to help them fit (hopefully) without the need to scale the model in your slicer.* **This is a work in progress.** I have not printed the models with the new hinges as of yet, so I may need to tweak them a bit to ensure they can snap together without breaking. I have tested the hinges separately and they have worked great. I do plan to split the models so that all rounded edges can be printed accurately (unfortunately if printing the model whole the rounded edges closest to the bed tend to be deformed due to the limitations of FDM 3D printers). **FYI** The model is not completely accurate to TNG early models. The screen is slightly longer on the horizontal than Vesperk38’s model, and the sensor bar at the top is derived from the later Voyager tricorder which has more details than the earlier TNG props / Playmate’s toy line. These were personal choices as I liked the look of the slightly bigger screen (also lines up with other details on the face) and original sensor bar left a lot of excess space which left me underwhelmed. Also, check out [Neworbit’s](https://www.thingiverse.com/neworbit/about) tricorder [model](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2583737) which is another great take on the topic.