This setup guide shows how to build a steel tube mount for the TouchKit Run. It is best suited for projectors with a throw ratio between 1.1 and 1.4. For details on how to connect the electronics please refer to the Quick Guide. For those of you comfortable working with CAD models we have 3dm and dxf files at the bottom of this page.
If you have questions or feedback please leave a post in the TouchKit Run forum.
For the main structural parts we use 1x1" steel tubes and 1" steel strips. For the screen attachment we also use 0.5x0.5" tubes. The camera and projector mount is made from relatively thin perforated sheet metal. The sheet metal is strong enough to support heavy projectors and pliable enough to bend it into shape by hand and align the projector perfectly.
Building Materials
Finished Mount
Materials and tools are quite standard and sourcing them should not be difficult. For your convenience you will see McMaster-Carr order numbers in parenthesis. While not known to be the cheapest total material cost will still be under $200. Materials are listed as depicted from top to bottom.
As mentioned before we suggest using plastic screw for mounting the TouchKit Run. Metal screws can inflict unnecessary stress on the acrylic and cause cracks around the mounting holes.
Optionally the power cable for the screen can be run inside the steel tube. In this case another drill bit is needed big enough for the power plug to pass through. 17mm should do the trick.
In total the mount is made from 14 pieces and about 20 welded connections. All the particular pieces are listed in the following chart. Some of the measurements are hard to read unless you click on the image and use the high-res version.
The order in which to weld the particular connections is not important and different welders may have different preferences. We like to start with the side profiles first and weld all the non-perpendicular angles first. This way we can best assure left and right sides match each other.
Thereafter we add the cross tubes. In total we have 3 tubes and one strip between the side profiles. The strip is purely decorative and frames the screen at the bottom. The 3 longer cross tubes connect the profile sides at the bottom and the slightly shorter cross tube connects the sides at about 100mm under bottom screen edge.
The screen attachment has a relatively small margin of error. Pay close attention to the distance between left and right support bar. As you can see in the following detail shots we use the 12.7mm (0.5") wide steel tube to support the 25.4mm (1") steel strip. This leaves us with a 12.7mm area to place a 3.5mm hole for the mounting screws.
In the image above we have drilled a 17mm hole for the power cord. The bigger the hole the easier it will be to funnel through the power plug. (We have redundant holes but you really only need one at the top and one at the very bottom.)
Using the perforated sheet metal as the camera/projector mount is quite flexible and forgiving. We bend the sheet into roughly the shape seen in the next image. Then we tap-weld it onto the three cross tubes. Camera and projector we mount onto the sheet metal with large cable binders or string.
NOTE: Make sure you do not mount the board camera directely onto a conductive surface (eg. metal). Put some insulating layer (eg. cardboard or plastic) in between first.
Once all the components are in place we bend the sheet metal peaks until we have proper camera/projector alignment.
The models are quite comprehensive and all the measurements can be derived from them. We have both Rhino and more universal DXF files.
With a bit of skill or professional help you should end up with something along the following. Happy building!
Back to the Setup Guide.
Designed with OpenFrameworks and produced with the support of Eyebeam Atelier.