Tension Bar for Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Mount (Rubber Band Alternative)

thingiverse

I've tried a lot of Nintendo Switch Pro controller mounts and the remix by SilkyChicken was my favorite primarily because it allowed a way to adjust tension on the controller using rubber bands. (Try the latest design from SilkyChicken with the flexible controller attachment for easy attachment and removal: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3967024 ) While I am not a fan of the appearance of rubber bands I'm glad there was a solution that offered less wobble on the controller. When you use motion controls on the Switch using a mount like this the first thing you will notice is that you don't have a good fit on your controller. If you play a game that doesn't require motion controls you can get away with using just about any 3D printed Switch mount out there. Why I designed this part: I am primarily a PC gamer and I love playing Overwatch. Overwatch recently came out on the Switch so of course I bought it. While I miss the mouse and keyboard controls it is nice for me to have a way to play Overwatch if I am out of town or anywhere away from my PC. Overwatch on the Switch allows for motion aiming. Meaning you can use the gyro sensors to aim your crosshairs. If you are doing this with a loose Switch controller mount it will get frustrating fast. I really didn't like it at first and wanted to just use joysticks, but I quickly found that I was at a great disadvantage because I would see replays of people killing me and they were obviously using the motion controls and they were already pretty good at it. I learned to love the motion aiming then started more and more to hate the Joy-Con joysticks. So I bought the $50 Hori handheld controllers. They were big and bulky. The joysticks were nice, but the huge downside to those controllers is they don't work with gyro aiming. So that defeated the purpose of me buying them. I returned them back to Amazon. I had the idea to make a Switch screen mount for a Switch Pro controller. Thankfully I found many designs already done online including the remix from SilkyChicken. My design is not as much as a remix as it is an additional part. I made this because I hated the look of the rubber bands and I didn't like trying to find the right size rubber band and using enough to give me the proper tension. I created this tension bar which just uses an M4 nut and an M4*20mm screw to create the tension instead. It looks cleaner and works great. You can easily hand tighten the M4 screw to give the tension you need to eliminate wobble. Now I have a solid Switch screen mount with zero wobble that is also quick and easy to take on and off. Motion Control Re-calibrating - If you are using the motion controls with the pro controller you will quickly notice that the orientation of the screen relative to the positioning of the controller will throw off the way you are used to using motion controls. I figured out a simple solution to this issue. While your Nintendo Switch and your Pro Controller are held together by the 3D printed mount go to the settings on your Nintendo Switch itself (not in a game). Scroll down to where it says "Controllers and Sensors" On the right side of the screen scroll down to where it says "Calibrate Motion Controls" Next click on "Calibrate Controllers" since you are using a Pro controller. Hold the "+" button down on your Pro controller. Then it will ask you to place the controller flat on a table. Again the key here is not to use the controller without the screen attached at this point. What you do instead of placing your controller flat on the table is you hold the Switch screen flat against the edge of the table with the screen facing up. The pro controller should be hanging over the edge of the table by the 3D printed mount. The Switch will calibrate the internal accelerometer of the Switch Pro controller based on the readings it gets when it is held still. The Switch will tell you when it has been calibrated successfully. What this does is it re-calibrates the Switch Pro gyro/accelerometer to be on the same planes and axis of the screen. If you ever used motion controls on the Switch in handheld mode you are used to using Joy-Cons which already on the same plane as the screen so you don't need to calibrate it. Since this 3D printed mount creates a new unique way to essentially play in handheld mode it needs to be calibrated differently. If you want to put your Switch back into its dock and play on the TV you will have to re-calibrate your Switch Pro Controller for it to feel normal again. Basically repeat the steps I mentioned above, but actually put the controller flat on a table with the joysticks facing up. Now you can enjoy playing on the Nintendo Switch in a handheld mode that doesn't have any compromises. Except for being huge and looking funky. Worth it though.