Maker's Logbook by Stefan Herndlbauer

Week 005 (Aug 25–Aug 31): 3D-Printed Camera Mounts, Drone Telemetry Progress & LoRa Plans

✍ Week’s content, if you missed it

• No new blog posts or social updates this week — sometimes the job and the workbench win over the keyboard.

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🛠 This Week at the Workbench

• Reworked a 3D-printed smartphone holder arm. Instead of the clamp from the original set, I wanted to use my standard iPhone clamp with a camera mounting screw. That meant redesigning the head part so I could fit a threaded insert for a 1/4” screw — the standard for camera accessories. (Header photo)
• Made solid progress on the drone telemetry project. Updates will go live in next Tuesday’s podcast episode.
• Ordered a LoRa breakout board in preparation for the next stage of my telemetry system — can’t wait to integrate it into the electronics.

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💡 Things I Learned or Noticed

• Tried designing the electronics enclosure in SolidWorks, but after wrestling with some stubborn bugs I couldn’t resolve, I switched to Autodesk Fusion. Knowing both tools pays off — sometimes you just need to pick the one that works.
• Ever since I got my new 3D printer, it barely stops running. The queue isn’t just mine — my daughter and wife keep adding requests, so we actually have to agree on a print schedule.
• A personal highlight: my post from last week was mentioned in Adafruit’s newsletter, which so many electronics enthusiasts and makers read.

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📸 Snapshot of the Week

🔗 Inspiration & Resources

• ​Not An Engineer – YouTube — Inspiring video about building a mechanical counter in a very different way.
• ​SALTGATOR: Desktop SoftGel Injection Molding Machine — Interesting Kickstarter project, I might even back it.

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🚀 What’s Next

Next week, I’m planning to design an enclosure for the electronics and start wiring the breakout boards together.