Using TPU for Camera Lens Focusing Rings - Anyone Tried?

I’m fairly new to 3D printing and have so far experimented a little with PLA and PETG. Recently I became interested in TPU and started wondering whether it might be suitable for making replacement focusing rings for camera lenses.

A few weeks ago I picked up a Minolta 135mm f/2.8 Celtic, but its focusing ring is barely holding together. My idea was to design a new rubber grip for it and try printing it in TPU.

Has anyone here attempted something similar, or could share their experience with TPU for this kind of application?

I haven't but I suspect it'd work well. Very curious to see your results

Printed a tab in TPU as a prototype a few years back and its held up just fine, although its admittedly under light use. I still haven't gotten around to printing the final version.

Think your focusing ring should be pretty straightforward

For what it's worth, I made a toothed counter belt for Revox A77 tape recorder out of TPU and it has worked very well. We're talking about serpentine-type belt of only about 1 inch in diameter. Remember, this belt is always movinng and under tension, yet it has done every bit as well as an original Revox part. So I'm sure whatever you come up with for a lens would be much more substantial and would likely work fine.

Encouraged by your posts, I quickly designed a focusing ring in Autodesk Fusion and printed it with a Bambu Lab P1S using a white Bambu Lab TPU (compatible with their AMS). Unfortunately, the TPU I used turned out to be unsuitable for this application. It’s too smooth to provide any grip, and not elastic enough to mount onto the lens without disassembling it.

I also attempted to replicate the textured surface of the original rubber ring, but the details were too fine for the printer to reproduce (since TPU requires nozzles of 0.4 mm or larger).

With the materials and tools I currently have available, I’ll have to set this project aside for now.

Unless you are wedded to a specific texture, you should be able to make something that is functional. I have used TPU for some caps, and the problem was avoiding texture!

I think you will need to print it as a ring of the right diameter, cut it, and glue it in place like leatherette. TPU is flexible, but does not really stretch.

Gregory_Nolan said:

Encouraged by your posts, I quickly designed a focusing ring in Autodesk Fusion and printed it with a Bambu Lab P1S using a white Bambu Lab TPU (compatible with their AMS). Unfortunately, the TPU I used turned out to be unsuitable for this application. It’s too smooth to provide any grip, and not elastic enough to mount onto the lens without disassembling it.

I also attempted to replicate the textured surface of the original rubber ring, but the details were too fine for the printer to reproduce (since TPU requires nozzles of 0.4 mm or larger).

With the materials and tools I currently have available, I’ll have to set this project aside for now.

Click to expand...

In the photo of the minolta lens, the white ring, and a cut focus grip(?) is the latter black item at the bottom the original rubber focus grip that had either split or been cut? Anyway, if I can make a tiny serpentine belt for a Revox tape recorder tape counter that worked so well that a PROFESSIONAL tape recorder service technician adopt my stl file for his repairs, then certainly someone could make a focus grip for a lens, which is much much bigger than my belt, that would not only work, but be nearly indistinguishable from the original Minolta grip. The question is the CAD skills and patience level of the maker. If you make it smooth like that, of course it isn't going to have any tooth on your fingers. Learn how to do step-and-repeat patterns. the .4mm noszle and 95 TPU can handle it. won't be quite as pretty at the original Minolta one, but can still be very admirable indeed.