Tripod

SummaryI need a strong, stable, non-metallic tripod for RF/EMC work, and commercially-available ones are expensive. This one is inexpensive and rock-stable. I don't need height or tilt adjustments but you could certainly design a tilt head for it. The top of the post sits 36 inches above the floor using the dowel lengths given in the instructions. All plastic parts except the top hub were printed on an Afinia. The top hub is a bit too large for the Afinia so I printed on a Zortrax M200; It could probably be trimmed to fit on the Afinia if needed. The source files can be found and edited at https://tinkercad.com/things/dg7uzMdPeZh InstructionsUse oak dowels, not pine or fir. The center post is 1-1/4" dia, the legs 3/4", and the braces 1/2". The design is highly configurable by the choice of dowel lengths, and it's easy to apply the pythagorean theorem to get whatever you want. In my prototype, the center post is 33", the legs are 21-1/2", and the braces are 9-1/2". The top hub is pinned to the center post (about 16" from the top) by 3 counter-bored #8 x 3/4" pan-head sheet metal screws. The leg pivots, leg straps, and feet are pinned to the legs with #6 x 5/8" pan-head sheet metal screws. Getting the straps at exactly 90 degrees to the top pivot axis is important. For the hinged joints you could use bolts or dowels, but I printed my own dowel pins. They're a pretty good friction fit as-is but maybe I'll solvent-weld them in place once I'm finished. Drilling the braces with 4mm holes for the hinge pins is the trickiest part of the assembly; I recommend a V-block and drill press. The holes at each end need to be parallel with one another or assembly will be difficult. I printed all the parts in ABS. The dowel pins should be oriented horizontally so the layers run longitudinally. The leg pivots should be printed with the pivot axle hole vertical. I printed the feet pointy-end-up, and everything else "flat". My workspace is carpeted, so the pointy feet work great. If you plan to use this on smooth floors you might want to design rubber-grip feet.