Slaying the Inon-330 strobe Bastard Button with 3-D printing!

[TTPaws]

Will do. I will wait a month or so until I've used and possibly refined the design further. So far I have made 4-5 dives with the part and it's working well.

Thanks.
I just went and looked at both my type-2 from last nights dive and the "bastard button" was raised on both. Now I have to figure out what the difference is. I dive a TG-6. But I have travel (work) and then shoulder surgery so I only have 4 more dives left for the next 2 months which sucks cause I'm used to 2-4 dives a week, year round.

 

[James79]

Really cool solution! I'd just recommend a material other than regular PLA, due to the low glass transition temp. Sitting in a car on a hot day is enough to have PLA soften and deform... PLA plus has a higher temp resistance, or PETG or ABS would also be suitable but not as easy to print.
And welcome to the design and print journey!

Respectfully,

James

 

[davehicks]

Thanks.
I just went and looked at both my type-2 from last nights dive and the "bastard button" was raised on both. Now I have to figure out what the difference is. I dive a TG-6. But I have travel (work) and then shoulder surgery so I only have 4 more dives left for the next 2 months which sucks cause I'm used to 2-4 dives a week, year round.

I think the TG-6 supports TTL so the setting of the pre-flash button is a bit more complicated. I don't have any firsthand experience with that camera so I will defer to others on the question. I did find this that might be helpful. It refers to the Inon s-2000 strobe but it's basically the same as the 330.

Setting the Inon S-2000 with Your Camera | Mozaik UW

The S-2000 has been one of the most popular strobes in the market since it was released, in 2009 by Inon. Setting it up is fairly simple, but you do need

www.housingcamera.com

 

[davehicks]

Really cool solution! I'd just recommend a material other than regular PLA, due to the low glass transition temp. Sitting in a car on a hot day is enough to have PLA soften and deform... PLA plus has a higher temp resistance, or PETG or ABS would also be suitable but not as easy to print.
And welcome to the design and print journey!

Respectfully,

James

Yes, I've read about that heat issue with PLA but it's not clear to me how much of a problem that is in the real world. How hot is too hot? And would I want my camera sitting in the sun in a baking car for hours anyway?

I just ordered some Duramatic PLA+ on your suggestion and will give that a try. The PLA that I started with seems to work pretty well, and the part does not really have any load bearing on it that the PLA+ does better. The heat issue is interesting but as it's wintertime in Seattle I've not had a chance to test that. Diving to 80 feet in 45f water did not present any problems. I am heading to Southern Australia in a couple of weeks for a dive trip, so I'll get a chance to try it out in summer temps soon.

I'm having a good time getting into 3d printing and learning some new things. I need to make some time to do more FreeCad tutorials, but I keep prioritizing going diving! (plus I've been repairing a couple of leaking dry suits this last week which has taken over more workspace.)

 

[James79]

Yes, I've read about that heat issue with PLA but it's not clear to me how much of a problem that is in the real world. How hot is too hot? And would I want my camera sitting in the sun in a backing car for hours anyway?

I just ordered some Duramatic PLA+ on your suggestion and will give that a try. The PLA that I started with seems to work pretty well, and the part does not really have any load bearing on it that the PLA+ does better. The heat issue is interesting but as it's wintertime in Seattle I've not had a chance to test that. Diving to 80 feet in 45f water did not present any problems. I am heading to Southern Australia in a couple of weeks for a dive trip, so I'll get a chance to try it out in summer temps soon.

I'm having a good time getting into 3d printing and learning some new things. I need to make some time to do more FreeCad tutorials, but I keep prioritizing going diving! (plus I've been repairing a couple of leaking dry suits this last week which has taken over more workspace.)

As an example of how low of temps can soften PLA, I resized the rail bracket on a Nerf sight printed in PLA by dipping it in hot water to soften it (like freshrewed coffee hot, not boiling). I've had parts soften in the car in the summer pretty quick.
As to FreeCad, it's also my tool of choice for designing parts. It's finicky on some stuff, but you sure can't beat the price!
Best,

James

 

[davehicks]

Update on this project:

As promised, I have uploaded my design to the Thingiverse library.

You can find it at: Inon 330 UW Strobe - Button Lock by AwkwardSwine

I have used my Inon Button Locks on a few dozen dives now, including a couple of 5-10 day dive trips where I did at least 3 dives every day. Both warm and cold climates. It worked great and performed exactly as designed. No pre-flash buttons popped up and not shots were ruined by errant strobe settings!

It also held up well with repetitive dives. The presence of the lock did not result in any salt build up on the controls of the strobe. Normal post dive-day rinsing was enough to keep things clean. I'd suggest removing it once in a while, maybe at the end of a long dive trip for a deep clean. But it definitely does not need to be removed after a day of diving to avoid salt buildup.

I have printed in PLA, PLA+, and PETG. They all worked the same. For long term best results I would suggest PETG as it will stand up to UV exposure better than PLA. PETG is a bit more flexible, but it did not impact the functionality.