2.7 KiB
2.7 KiB
RickPrompter
A DIY teleprompter built for the Tangent Heavy Industries channel: a laser-cut 5 mm plywood hood, a picture-frame glass beamsplitter at 45°, a tablet lying flat underneath, and a Pixel 6 shooting through the glass from behind.
Short link: https://git.tangentheavy.com/RickPrompter
Also included: SurplusSoftLight, a laser-cut soft light built alongside it.
Files
| Path | What |
|---|---|
CAD/RickPrompt.FCStd |
FreeCAD source model (all panels, assembled) |
CAD/RickPrompt-Pixel 6 Holder.step |
Pixel 6 phone holder |
CAD/STL/ |
One STL per body, exported in assembly position. The model has one side panel; Side-Mirrored.stl is the generated opposite side. |
CAD/Laser/ |
Laser cut files (SVG, 1:1 mm) for every plywood panel |
SurplusSoftLight/ |
The companion soft light: FreeCAD model, laser SVGs, clip STEPs, STLs. Cut two of every SVG in SurplusSoftLight/Laser/ for one complete light. |
Documents/Images/ |
Renders |
All dimensions are in millimetres. SurplusSoftLight/STL/Acrylic.stl is the diffuser outline extruded to the 3 mm acrylic sheet; the model itself only has the sketch.
Design notes
- Beamsplitter: 12x16 in picture-frame glass (clear, not "non-glare"/etched). Acrylic was rejected: the camera shoots through the pane, so any waviness, sag or scratch haze ends up in the footage. Thinner glass keeps the ghost image closer to the main one. Use large type.
- Orientation: 16 in horizontal, 12 in up the slope. The Pixel 6 main lens is wide (~82° diagonal), and width is the binding constraint. Keep the lens close to the glass, roughly 135-185 mm from the glass centre.
- Screen tray recessed ~38 mm below the glass's low edge. The bottom of the camera's view passes through the pane and continues down-forward. A screen sitting in that wedge ends up in frame and shines straight into the lens.
- Measure your camera's real video FOV before cutting. Put the phone 600 mm from a wall, record,
and mark the frame edges:
tan(half-angle) = width / 1200.
Known issues (first shoot)
- The top edge of the glass showed in frame. The fix is to slide the pane 25-40 mm further up the same 45° plane; the hood ceiling and low-edge rail follow. The model does not include this yet.
- Silicone does not bond to painted ply. Mount the glass with printed slotted clips instead, with the bottom clips carrying the load.
- For better framing, tilt the whole rig down ~7° rather than lowering the camera.