A fully 3D-printable camera tripod — compact enough for any backpack, compatible with standard 1/4-20 accessories, and height-adjustable via a custom-designed stepped-thread mechanism.
Most adjustable tripods rely on friction or a locking lever. For a fully 3D-printed design, neither is practical: plastic-on-plastic friction fades, and a locking lever adds complexity and part count.
The solution: a custom stepped-thread mechanism. As the outer ring rotates, notched teeth on the thread profile resist reverse rotation, holding the height setting loosely without any locking mechanism.
Custom anti-backdriving thread geometry, hand-modeled in OnShape. No off-the-shelf thread profile does this.
Compact snap-fit hinge geometry, iterated through printed prototypes. Documented with a technical drawing for reproducibility in other projects.
A short experiment to determine optimal magnet count for retaining the 1/4-20 bolt — four variants printed and tested before locking in the final design.
Full documentation: stepped-thread CAD methodology, snap-hinge geometry with technical drawing, magnet retention experiment, build notes, and STEP files.