3D Printed Steadicam | 3D Printing | Page 1

stark trench Mar 31, 2025, 5:34 PM

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Continuing from #3d-printing
work in progress revision of the previous design in attempt to increase strength at possible points of failure.

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I've made a 2nd version and thickened around the hinges as I was advised. Any ideas for how to further improve this? I intend to prototype in PETG and finalize it in ASA.

pearl furnace Apr 1, 2025, 5:17 AM

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same thing on both sides, thin metal plate top and bottom (or washers) and threaded rods with nuts

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Or a long bolt

split sentinel Apr 1, 2025, 5:19 AM

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yeah not much I can say since modeling isnt really my thing, but yeah turning down cooling will show significant layer strength improvements

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Print orientation also matters

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 5:20 AM

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I'll have to try that then, before figuring out how to integrate metal plates and bolts without having too many things jutting out of the model

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I'll be orienting most of these for better strength, but the hinges are the biggest issue I'm told

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Since they'll be loaded on two different axis

pearl furnace Apr 1, 2025, 5:23 AM

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Yeah 3D printed hinges are not the strongest

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 5:24 AM

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I suppose I just have to finish the model for now, and then test things out once I get a 3D printer

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I'll make a model designed with and without steel rods, so I can test with and without reinforcement

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I'll pray that the z axis will be strong enough without reinforcements for a month of stress testing

torn spade Apr 1, 2025, 6:49 AM

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Just a questioncue I didn't see

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What's the scale of this exactly?

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 7:27 AM

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torn spade What's the scale of this exactly?

The size of it?

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It's around 80cm long I think

torn spade Apr 1, 2025, 7:31 AM

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Yeah, cuz some of those elements look thin but if it's 2cm thick IRL than it's far less of a concern X)

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 7:45 AM

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torn spade Yeah, cuz some of those elements look thin but if it's 2cm thick IRL than it's f...

Ye, the thin parts of the hinge before were 1cm thick, now all hinge elements are 2cm thick as was recommended yesterday

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Also started designing the mounting system, which I've changed to mount to 12mm rails on the vest instead to avoid mounting it against a weaker axis of the print

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:04 AM

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hi

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:04 AM

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Hi

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So, additional information I haven't included above yet. I intend to stress test it with 10kg, but I would never recommend anyone I may sell it to, to load above 5kg

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:06 AM

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yes yes

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so like, 10 pounds?

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:06 AM

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Somewhere like that

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The stabilizer that college students like myself might be able to afford would be roughly 1.8kg already, leaving allowance of 3.2kg for camera, lens, and follow focus systems if they can afford that

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:08 AM

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what stabilizer system

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:09 AM

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This kind

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I'm trying to keep costs low enough that college students and hobbyists would not be deterred from it

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:10 AM

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i see

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are you selling the kit as a whole orr

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:10 AM

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I'm going to design the arm and vest, and sell those. I haven't thought about also including the stabilizer

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:11 AM

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you have to have some sort of goal of "3.2kg" because that is very vague, a RED dragon alone weighs 5lb.. are you designing for smaller rigs or larger?

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:11 AM

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Smaller

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The film making students at my college tend to go handheld with mirrorless and DSLR

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So I'm designing with them in mind

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:27 AM

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delicate lotus you have to have some sort of goal of "3.2kg" because that is very vague, a RED ...

An example of the kind of kit I've seen them using for their film making class is a Sony ZV-E10 with the 16-50mm kit lens

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Other times is a Canon 60D with an 18-55 kit lens

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Maybe I should stress test with 15kg instead

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:36 AM

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15kg, always be safe

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:37 AM

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Well, I'll do 15kg stress tests for a month then

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I'll be running around with it more or less every day for a month to make sure it wouldn't break with more normal usage

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Is there anything you would change or improve in the design right now?

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:40 AM

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lightweight=good

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make it less of a hassle to wear, as if it werent even there

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:40 AM

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So, would that come into how the vest is designed?

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:41 AM

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that and the actual arm itself

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:42 AM

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So I have to figure out how to make it lighter if the arm itself is too heavy?

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Like infills and wall thicknesses

delicate lotus Apr 1, 2025, 9:46 AM

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yes

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and also its design itself

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its why a lot of steadicams use metal

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 9:47 AM

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I can try to hollow out some parts of the long sections

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I've considered designing it like a truss for stiffness

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 10:02 AM

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So I've converted one to a truss as a test

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I don't think it's made very well though, I'll do again

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 10:27 AM

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Maybe?

raven cipher Apr 1, 2025, 1:23 PM

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stark trench Also started designing the mounting system, which I've changed to mount to 12mm ...

I have an idea

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 1:24 PM

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Yeah?

raven cipher Apr 1, 2025, 1:25 PM

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You could split the middle hinge in half and then you can have the optimal print orientation for each axis.

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 1:25 PM

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raven cipher You could split the middle hinge in half and then you can have the optimal print...

And then glue and bolt it together?

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That melty kinda glue?

raven cipher Apr 1, 2025, 1:25 PM

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I'll draw a picture but yes basically

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 1:26 PM

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That is so simple that I have no idea why that didn't come up earlier

raven cipher Apr 1, 2025, 1:26 PM

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The weld should in theory be as strong as the layers if done right

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 1:26 PM

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I could also protrude a block from one end and make a cutout in the other so they go in with more surface area for the weld

raven cipher Apr 1, 2025, 1:26 PM

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Mechanically 3D prints are similar to wood working because of the strand orientation

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 1:27 PM

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Like joinery

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If I do it that way, then possibly, it won't even shear at the weld because the layers are going in two different directions, making it strong both ways

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 1:41 PM

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raven cipher You could split the middle hinge in half and then you can have the optimal print...

I've added that suggestion into the center hinge

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I think I could also do it for the mounting point at the end

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 2:21 PM

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Found inspiration for how to design for the spring mountings

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I will model the V3 of this arm with the springs in mind

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I just need to establish everything else first

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I won't be able to design a cam system like that without increasing complexity and cost a lot though

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 3:07 PM

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Another update

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Single spring will be mounted between the 4 arm pieces

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 4:36 PM

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Update

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Used the sketch tool to kinda visualize how I might be able to install the spring

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In the end, it seems I need to use a single cam to add any kind of adjustment to the spring tension due to the length of the part I would need

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The spring installs diagonally in the parallelogram, the circle is where a cam would be installed, and a turnbuckle would be in the shape at the bottom to adjust spring tension

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 4:54 PM

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Decreased hole size after actually finding a grooved bearing and taking the measurements

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I think that will do

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Wait, no, that's wrong, isn't it

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This adjustment system is going to be the death of me

stark trench Apr 1, 2025, 5:25 PM

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This might actually be more ideal for adjustment

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A single spring, and a single turnbuckle

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Current state

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:57 AM

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Started work on Harness

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 11:49 AM

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Waiting for printer to start testing

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:46 PM

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stark trench Waiting for printer to start testing

I see now, hm, I might suggest widening the 4 bar mechanism, you could probably get away with making the top one extend up and the bottom ones extend down so you still maintain the full trave distance.

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:47 PM

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languid ermine I see now, hm, I might suggest widening the 4 bar mechanism, you could probably ...

Extending up and down?

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Like making it thicker above/below the center to center of the hinges?

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:49 PM

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Exactly

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That'll increase there strength.

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:50 PM

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I'll work on that later

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Though right now I need to find a printer with a larger print bed than the Ender 3

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Turns out those arm sections don't fit, even diagonally

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:51 PM

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How long are they?

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:51 PM

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All arm sections are 300mm long

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When laid in correct print orientation, they're also 40mm wide

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:52 PM

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Oh oof, hm, a cheap one might be a Sidewinder X# of some kind, the have. 300 mm bed

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May I suggest something that may be require a total redesign but also be easier overall?

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:53 PM

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That's $900 here in the Philippines

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What would that be?

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:53 PM

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TV mount

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Like a cheap swing atm one

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:53 PM

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That doesn't do what a steadicam does though

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:54 PM

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And then attach a linear rail vertical with a balance to make it steady.

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:54 PM

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https://tenor.com/view/beer-drunk-party-gif-7289847

Tenor

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The steadicam stabilizes vertical movement

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There's a separate one for other axis of movement that you attach to the end

pearl furnace Apr 2, 2025, 3:56 PM

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https://tenor.com/view/tank-beer-leopard-balance-gif-16835281

Tenor

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Same vibes

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:56 PM

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That's what I mean, the four bar mechanism you have goes up and down to stabilize no?

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:57 PM

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Yeah, it does

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:58 PM

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languid ermine That's what I mean, the four bar mechanism you have goes up and down to stabiliz...

It's also designed to have a preloaded spring mounted in the middle to support the weight of a camera

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 3:58 PM

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Yeah, you can do that with this too.

stark trench Apr 2, 2025, 3:59 PM

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I'm not sure how marketable a jerry rigged tv mount would be to sell though

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I plan to sell it to folks taking up film making in college, otherwise I'd have just bought some pipes to make this

languid ermine Apr 2, 2025, 4:01 PM

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Ah, that's fair.

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Hm

stark trench Apr 4, 2025, 3:28 PM

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I will try to design a stronger front end real quick

stark trench Apr 4, 2025, 4:27 PM

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I made two versions off of the latest model of the arm.

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Both the square half tube and the round half tube are more common ways I see steadicam arms made

stark trench Apr 4, 2025, 5:00 PM

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Thinking about it

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There doesn't seem to be a way to print the half tube and still have it be a strong print

languid ermine Apr 4, 2025, 5:16 PM

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stark trench There doesn't seem to be a way to print the half tube and still have it be a str...

If you want it to look nice and still be printable (ie not be blocky) I'd suggest adding a draft to the sides. Not sure how you have it modeled but essentially like so:
/----
| |

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Chamfer would work too. One with two different lengths edges

stark trench Apr 4, 2025, 5:16 PM

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I figured doing it like how existing ones are made might be better for strength

languid ermine Apr 4, 2025, 5:17 PM

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Alright.

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So what's the plan to tension the springs?

stark trench Apr 4, 2025, 5:28 PM

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languid ermine So what's the plan to tension the springs?

A turnbuckle on one end

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Then I have to find a spring that I can tension to support 2-10kg and my 15kg stress loads

languid ermine Apr 4, 2025, 6:42 PM

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Make sure it's one you can consistently get.

#3D Printed Steadicam