Meade ETX ARCA-Swiss Mounting Plate
We calculate the final price from your selected file. You review and accept it before payment.
Saved on this device.
Adapter to allow an ETX optical tube assembly to be mounted to a tripod head compatible with the ARCA-Swiss system.
- Rating
- 0 / 5
- Likes
- 1
- Downloads
- 12
- Makes
- 0
- Views
- 159
- Reviews
- 0
Updated at source:
Model information
- Source
- Printables
- Category
- Physics & Astronomy
- License
- Creative Commons — Public Domain
The Meade ETX Maksutov-Cassegrain series of optical tube assemblies (OAT) are well respected for their optical performance, but their fork assembly mechanisms are notoriously problematic. If you have de-forked your ETX, or if you have one of the spotting scope versions of the OAT, you might be looking for a way to mount the tube to a standard photo tripod – the tubes are small and light enough that they make great travel telescopes or useful high-power spotting scopes.
If you have a photo tripod with ¼-20 threaded attachment, you're set – the tubes have two ¼-20 threaded inserts which will allow you to mount it directly. But what if you have a tripod with an ARCA-Swiss head to let you trade out camera equipment readily? Well, here you go. This plate allows you to use two ¼-20 machine screws to attach this printed adapter plate to the bottom of the tube. You can then slot the assembly into any standard ARCA-Swiss adapter.
The part is fairly filament-agnostic. I used PETG to good results; I expect PLA+ would work fine, too (assuming you don't encounter temperatures high enough that the PLA+ would warp), as certainly would ASA or ABS. I recommend using a higher infill percentage – maybe 40-50% – and perhaps four perimeters. It will print without supports if the (wider) dovetail edge is oriented down.