3D printing cartridges for Viscawide 16mm camera

[Kino]

Viscawide 16mm film cassette by LFPMarc

Cassettes for the Viscawide 16mm panoramic cameras are rare - so here's a model you can print in black PLA. All you need to add is some thin flocked adhesive paper for the film entry.

www.thingiverse.com

Printed nicely with SunLu Black PLA, 200 degrees C and bed temp @ 60C on Sovol SV06+ after slicing in Cura with support included. Still working on it (trimming, sanding) to try to get the roller to engage with the advance pin. Seems to not drop down enough to engage the slot in the roller when inserted into the camera, but a bit of sanding on the outer edges of the cartridge might do it.

 

[Kino]

I have found that if you print this cassette with supports, you have to really be careful and clean out the little bumps left behind within the apertures of the cassette.

The bottom of the cassette, where it pushes down over the horizontal driving key for the internal spool in the cassette, is either slightly undersized and/or deformed a bit by the need to print supports. Once I took a half-round mini diamond file to the bottom of the cassette, it now pushes down over the drive key and engages the spool when advancing film.

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

These are the same types of issues I've encountered when printing various submini cassettes. The tolerances are so tight that extensive 'finishing' or tweaks to the model geometry are generally required.

That said, anything that will get a Viscawide shooting again is a good thing so congrats on the print. 16mm cameras have way too much character with modern films to be languishing in a box due to lack of cassettes.

If you have a knack for modeling you could convert the design to one using a dedicated feed & take-up cassettes. The feed side doesn't need a spindle at all and the take-up only needs the spindle exposed on one side. Simplifies printing and probably helps with light-tightness.

Edit: eliminating the spool on the feed side could theoretically lead to film flatness problems due to less tension but who knows.

 

[Kino]

These are the same types of issues I've encountered when printing various submini cassettes. The tolerances are so tight that extensive 'finishing' or tweaks to the model geometry are generally required.

That said, anything that will get a Viscawide shooting again is a good thing so congrats on the print. 16mm cameras have way too much character with modern films to be languishing in a box due to lack of cassettes.

If you have a knack for modeling you could convert the design to one using a dedicated feed & take-up cassettes. The feed side doesn't need a spindle at all and the take-up only needs the spindle exposed on one side. Simplifies printing and probably helps with light-tightness.

Edit: eliminating the spool on the feed side could theoretically lead to film flatness problems due to less tension but who knows.

I haven't really learned enough or gained enough experience on how to tweak existing models in CAD, but I hope to someday.

For now, I will just scrape and sand to fit. I would have to assume that small things like Z axis "squish" would impact tolerances, not to mention the other dozen or so adjustments that can be fine tuned in Cura or whatever slicing program you choose to use.

I bought 2 non-functional Viscawide cameras for a reasonable price and have fixed one, so I am looking forward to shooting with it. They are fairly simple cameras, but the rubber covering on the lens pivot disc can deteriorate and cause 1/60th of a second exposure problems engaging the slow speed escapement.

Otherwise, as long as the lens is clear, just clean and re-lube the moving parts. If the lens has serious issues, it's not worth repairing in my book; simply too complicated to remove.

The point on eliminating the spool is well taken. I am surprised and leery of how the film takes a sharp turn after entering the film cassette on the take-up side cassette. The only thing I can guess is that it is also related to film tension across the gate, as there is nothing to keep it in place other than tension between the cassettes. Going to try to find some real fine-grained felt to put on the cassettes, as it looks like a real scratch hazard there.

Maybe once I learn CAD, I can mock-up a pressure plate to fit in the back of the camera and keep the film flat against the curved aperture plate. That should eliminate the need for a spool on the feed side, I would think...

 

[Cholentpot]

Now, to find a working Viscawide...

 

[xya]

Now, to find a working Viscawide...

You name it...

 

[xkaes]

Well, there are more than a dozen of them listed on EBAY right now, and if you have any success with these -- and want to make some money -- I can list your details on the SUBCLUB.

 

[Cholentpot]

Well, there are more than a dozen of them listed on EBAY right now, and if you have any success with these -- and want to make some money -- I can list your details on the SUBCLUB.

Ebay might not be the place to get one if you don't know how to work with cameras.

A while back one of them popped up on APUG and the guy selling it never got back to me. I'd rather buy here than Ebay.

 

[xkaes]

I have the one sheet user manual somewhere. I sold mine a while ago. Worked great. Using the camera is pretty standard -- assuming you have cassettes. Loading the cassettes is the only odd thing, but instructions for that are in the DARKROOM at the SUBCLUB.

 

[Kino]

With the exception of one Viscawide in non-operating condition in Canada on Ebay, I only see cameras starting around $150 USD + shipping and up from Canada, Austria and Japan.

That's a bit expensive in my opinion, but depends on your "want" factor. If you pay that much, it should be in immaculate condition with magazines included at a minimum.

 

[Cholentpot]

With the exception of one Viscawide in non-operating condition in Canada on Ebay, I only see cameras starting around $150 USD + shipping and up from Canada, Austria and Japan.

That's a bit expensive in my opinion, but depends on your "want" factor. If you pay that much, it should be in immaculate condition with magazines included at a minimum.

Agreed. That's quite a bit for a 16mm stills camera.

 

[charlotteRF]

Hi, sorry to revive an old thread, but I've owned one of these cameras for a little bit, I always filed it in the "too hard" category.

Now that I'm pretty confident in my home processing skills, I'm looking to actually shoot this thing.
However, my camera seems to have been modified by it's old owner, as far as I can tell, it doesn't utilize a takeup cartridge.

Its a clear hard plastic glued in place, when the lid is shut, I'm assuming it creates a space where the film can't go up, but rather just spool in on itself.
And the plastic on the bottom middle means no cartridge can actually be inserted.

As long as it is loaded in a dark bag, and unloaded in one, would this actually work? I mean, I can't see why someone would do something like this unless there was a reason.
The plastic is fairly smooth, as is the metal surrounding it, so I don't think the film would be scratched.

What do you all think? The other side has the cartridge in it, and is unmodified, by the way.


Edit: I'm very silly, that plastic bit glued up is where the film would normally go, the takeup cartridge is the one not like this
Now I'm extremely confused.