Canon Rebel T6s (760D) Half Cage

I wanted to use a Canon T6s (760D) along with some software (Set'n'C or Eclipse Orchestrator) to photograph the April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse. Doing so requires the use of a Micro USB cable, which I didn't trust to stay connected while my camera twisted away on an alt-az mount. I needed a way to clamp the USB cable and keep it from wiggling loose.

I looked for a pre-made aluminum cage for the T6s, hoping SmallRig or someone had made one back when it was new, but did not find anything of the sort. Armed with a cheap digital caliper, I jumped into OnShape.

The lens I'm using (70-200mm f/4 L) has a tripod mount, so I used the camera's bottom ¼"-20 screw hole for restraining the cage.

→ Print with the long flat side on the build plate, as seen in the second photo. ←

You will need three non-printed parts:

• One short ¼"-20 tripod plate-style screw for the bottom. Mine came from a Peak Designs standard plate but as long as yours is about 10.5mm long it should work fine.
• One 3/8"-16 to ¼"-20 bushing/adapter. Mine came from the bottom of a Manfrotto 394 plate, but you should have some lying around if you've ever bought any tripods or tripod heads.
• One cable clamp of your choosing. Mine is a SmallRig HDMI cable clamp. Other clamps will probably work, but this is the one I used for testing.

I did make a version of this project with a plastic ¼"-20 threaded hole and it worked okay, but I think the insert is the better solution.