Edelkrone, cutting-edge maker of motion-control systems for filmmaking, has announced an innovative new tripod head aimed at keeping costs low and quality high.
The FlexTILT Head 3D is the first release from the newly-launched ORTAK line. ORTAK is a co-manufacturing approach, in which consumers with 3D-printing capabilities can purchase the materials and plans for a product, print them at home, and save money in the process. This gives consumers the ability to customize designs and color to suit their needs.
The FlexTILT Head 3D is the 3D-printable version of the Edelkrone’s best selling FlexTILT Head 2, a tripod head with pan and tilt capabilities for a wide variety of applications and configurations.
The ORTAK method is a step into a future where more and more people will have 3D printers, and with them, the ability to manufacture many aspects of products at home. “Edelkrone will manufacture the critical parts, such as CNC machined aluminum joints (or possibly electronic components in the future) to minimize cost, while making sure the end product works flawlessly,” says the company.
You can purchase the FlexTILT Head 3D, download the 3D model files, and watch an assembly video all on Edelkrone’s website.
All images used with permission from Edelkrone
Nifty. Sadly I don't have a 3d printer. What I need is a 3d printer to make one. But I don't have a 3d printer for that either. So I need another. It's 3d printers all the way down.
I just finished the assembly of my FLEXTILT HEAD 3D. Here's my initial assessment: 3d print was done on a Prusa MK3 in PETG filament as I was worried about strength, they advised using PLA; however, PLA can deteriorate in sun over time so I opted for PETG. Fitment was pretty good out of the box but as my 3d print was a different material I had stringing which added time cleaning up parts especially joints that are intended to move. It is very sturdy as well as the parts were 90-100% suggested infill, I personally did 100% infill as it only added 30 min of print time. The 3d print took 16 hours to print at quality detail, I think that they could have cut the time in half if they had infill at 50%. The head itself feels fairly steady but you have to tighten every screw very tightly to make it secure. I would like thumb screws to tighten on the fly without an Allen wrench though. All in all I think it'll be a good piece of equipment for me. I would guess that the cost of the filament would be around $3.00 to print if you don't include printer cost. So total cost of the head for me was about $40.00 vs $150 for the all metal one.
Nice idea but I would pay extra and print it on professional equipment. I think that https://anisoprint.com/ 3d printer would be perfect to create this tripod head. Continuous fiber 3D printing seems to be a good alternative to metal printing.