ALLSKY ENCLOSURE

3D-Printed AllSky Camera Head

A modular, weatherproof housing for an all-sky camera — and a browser app, Ouachita SkyForge, that generates print-ready STLs for it. Pick your camera, turn a few knobs, download, and print. Built for dark-sky sites and hands-off operation in the Ouachitas.

Download SkyForge 2.8.10 Download screen shape templates Go to SkyForge Online Parts List Watch the Walkthrough

Two bodies

Standard Ø120 · Tall Ø140 (254 mm)

Cameras

ASI533 · ZWO pucks · Player One · RPi HQ

Joints

3-start threads + O-ring / TPU seals

Material

ASA (UV + heat); PETG in shade

The head is designed around a handful of non-negotiables: it has to survive the weather, keep the dome clear, fit whatever camera you own, and come apart by hand for service — all while printing on a hobby-sized machine.

Requirements checklist

Weatherproof: threaded cap with an O-ring face seal and a rain drip-skirt
Dome kept clear with a screw-on dew-heater ring near the glass
One housing, many cameras — a drop-in cradle per camera family
Tool-free assembly: everything screws together and apart by hand
Prints within a 254 mm build volume, mostly support-free
A sealed, no-vent option for cold / snowy climates

Standard is the compact Ø120 body for a camera and a couple of small stick-on boards, mounted on a 2″ pole. Tall is the belled Ø140 tower — the full 254 mm limit — sized for a camera plus a whole equipment stack (Raspberry Pi, power board, thermostat, buck, PWM, and a 60 mm fan) riding inside.

Dimensions

Standard body

Ø120 outer, Ø113 bore, 2″ pole socket

Tall body

Ø140 barrel → Ø120 collar, 254 mm total

Cap

dome hole Ø98, dome seat Ø110 × 2 mm, drip skirt

Thread

3-start, 8 mm pitch — about half a turn

Cap gasket

Ø120 OD × 3.1 cord O-ring (or printed TPU)

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Each camera drops into a collet cradle sized for its body. The key number is the lip height — the rim above the seat your lens must clear to see out. Measure from the back of your camera to the front of the lens and make sure it exceeds the lip. Other vendors with round cameras can be used by adjusting cradle grip bores in the designer.

Cradles

ASI533MC-Pro

grip Ø77.7 · lip 35 mm · tall dew tray

ZWO puck (676 / 585 / 178)

grip Ø61.7 · lip 30 mm · side-USB channel

Player One (Neptune-C / Mars-C)

grip Ø65.7 · lip 28 mm · corner collet

Raspberry Pi HQ

flat plate, 30×30 M2.5 standoffs, C/CS lens

The stack

Cap — twist-off dome cap with an O-ring seal and a rain drip-skirt that hides the vents.
Tube — the body: a matched 3-start thread up top, and the pole socket (Standard) or a threaded bottom insert (Tall).
Cradle — the drop-in camera holder; screws into the tube and carries the camera up to the dome.
Dew Ring Tray — screws onto the cradle top and holds the dew-heater ring near the glass. Two heights: a common one, and a taller one for the ASI533.
Seals — stock O-rings, or print-your-own TPU alternatives.

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The default head breathes through hidden vents under the drip skirt, with a dew-heater ring keeping the dome clear. For cold, snowy sites there's a Ventless unit option that closes every vent and instead adds a Gore/PTFE breather. I have not pressure tested this build, so I cannot say that it is air tight.

Sealed-unit notes

All vents removed; a downward M12 breather boss added on the base (fit a Gore/PTFE plug — e.g. Bimed MBVPG-13/23-WNL)
A plain M12 cable gland for a single sealed power cord
Run it with the dew-heater ring + a desiccant pack; the tall build runs without the fan
Print enough perimeters (or a thin epoxy wash) since FDM layer lines are slightly porous

Recommendations

Tube & cap

ASA (UV-stable), light color

Dew ring tray

ASA (holds heat from the resistors)

Shaded / internal parts

PETG OK; avoid PLA outdoors

Orientation

tube rim-down, cap dome-down, cradle floor-down

Supports

mostly support-free in those orientations

Instead of editing in CAD, SkyForge is a browser app: pick a tube system, pick a part, turn a few plain-language knobs, and hit Generate. A live 3D preview shows the model, the app checks it's watertight, and you download a print-ready STL. Fields that don't affect the selected part hide themselves, every knob shows its default, and the app blocks impossible values before you build.

Workflow

Choose Standard or Tall
Pick the part — cap, tube, your camera's cradle, dew ring tray, or a seal
Adjust any settings (length, camera seat, dew-ring height, sealed unit…)
Generate → confirm watertight: yes → Download
Print — and remember to match a tube and its cradle at the same length

Open SkyForge

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Open SkyForge