Samsung SMART CAMERA

In the last posting(How the NX Extension Tube Came to Birth), we met with Rocky Mountain (Ilhyoung Kim), the producer of the extension tube for NX camera, to listen to the behind-the-scene stories. From today, I will cover how the extension tube was made in detail. Check out the exciting story of how the extension tube for the Samsung NX camera came to birth!

Designing the AF extension tube for the Samsung NX camera

I was able to jump start by slightly modifying the design of the universal AF adapter for the NX camera, the project preceding this one. The first design was done as shown in the below image, and the body tube will use PVC pipe, and the mount parts will be printed out using a hobbyist 3D printer.

I designed the contact point and mount pins for the lens and the body (as seen below) to extend the contact point between the NX camera and the lens.

<Contact for two different versions of lens mount>

<NX body pin made with lathe>

Making parts using professional precision 3D printer

Using the 3D printer I had for hobby purposes, the designed product had some issues creating greater errors than I expected. Also, quite heavy amounts of additional works on the parts printed out by the printer are required. For a better quality outcome, I ended up buying a commercial RP (Rapid Prototype) machine and the results were truly satisfactory. The video below shows the sample product and its testing.

<DIY : NX AF Adapter : Test Sample Part printed by uPrint SE Plus>

Reengineering the AF extension tube of the Samsung NX camera and finalizing the detailed design

With the new RP machine, I needed to redesign the extension tube. During the redesign process, I discovered a core component that can simplify the whole structure, which is called Pogo Pin (or Pogo test probe).

Pogo Pin was originally designed for electronic circuit board testing, but I get the feeling that it will come extremely handy in making this extension tube. Using the socket, the basic design was modified, which has the benefit of making an extension tube of desired length simply by extending the body tube without having to change the two ends (body, lens mount).

Each part in the above plan will be made using ABS plastic largely in two parts, and will be combined with a screw.

The below image is the front and the back side of a 14mm close-up tube after rendering with the above design. Rendering is the process of making a 3D object out of an image.

<Front Side>

<Back Side>

Now, the detailed design of the extension tube is finalized.

I hope you had fun reading the ‘ideation and design’ of the extension tube for the Samsung NX camera. The next posting will cover printing and the sample image. See you next time!