P1P / P1S Tapo C110 v2 "internal" camera mount

*** Please read the project's updates at the end of the description ***

As a proud owner of a P1S, I've always hated the integrated camera. And it's not so much for the resolution (720P is descent), it's just the ridiculous refresh rate of 0.5 FPS!

There are many interesting mounting options for the affordable Tapo C110 out there, but they are always positioned outside the printer and most of the time require moving the camera when you want to open the door or the top lid.
I wanted an internal solution just like the factory one, but faced the truth in the end and came up with this “compromise”.

An external positioned camera, but with all of the benefits of an internal :)

Kudos to the original designer "ExpiredTapWater" for his work. Excellent nickname by the way :D

https://makerworld.com/en/u/3249684767

What you will need:

• Power tool
• 3mm drill bit
• Step drill bit that goes up to 16mm
• 2x M3x6 screws
• 4x M3x8 screws
• 4x M3x3 threaded metal inserts
• 2x M3 nuts
• Some measuring and common sense ;)

Optional but highly recommended steps, these will improve video quality a lot:

• Better lighting that illuminates from the top, e.g. any of the risers with LED that exists out there
• Turning off the integrated LED, to reduce reflections

Instructions:

Please have a look in the photos I've taken, they are self explanatory.

I have removed the side panel to measure and test everything. Believe it or not, this involved removing 44 screws of several sizes !!!

I've done this procedure and documented it so you DON'T have to do it. Just measure from inside of the printer with patience, drill in place and mount the camera. That's it.

• Strip the camera from it's housing! Just insert a screwdriver between the black and white plastics and brute force open it. Disconnect the speaker and remove the IR LED board, we will not use them.
• Using a soldering iron, insert the threaded metal inserts into the top mount part, into the appropriate holes. Just make sure that they are inserted straight and stay flush with the rest of the body.
• Assemble the top and bottom parts along with the camera using the 4x M3x8  screws and test if everything sits fit and snug.
• On the printer's right side panel, measure 9mm from the right side and 23mm from the bottom side of the frame. Please review the photo I've attached.
• Drill a small hole from the inside, using a 2-3mm drill bit.
• Using the step bit, increase the hole up to 16mm, from the outside. Please be careful not to reach the metal frame on the side, it will be close. Drill with patience and always look from the inside too, to see where you are going. 16mm is exactly enough for the 14mm lens to be inserted in an angle. If you discover that it's not enough for you, you can go to 18mm taking caution not to hit the frame. It's purely for aesthetic reasons.
• Test fit the camera and take a look at the video stream to evaluate it's position.
• Level the camera to it's final position and drill the final 2 holes on the side cover with a 3mm drill bit.
• Secure the camera with 2x M3x6 with the appropriate nuts.
• With the printer off, move the extruder to all dimensions to make sure the printer head doesn't hit the camera or it's screws.
• Enjoy!

Q&A:

- How can I view the camera's stream from a computer?

- You can view it with VLC. There other dozen of instructions out there for the Tapo cameras, but you can have a look at this Reddit thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/homeautomation/comments/yytrmi/viewing_tapo_cameras_on_rtsp_stream/

- Hey man, nice idea. But, what about these ugly uneven “brackets” that secure the camera to the printer?

- I've tested numerous designs and every time something inside the printer was in the way. This is the most effective solution I could think of…

- I've got a v1 instead of your v2. Will this thing work?

- I really have no idea. Maybe, the design is near identical. Just try it out and please provide feedback. Just, don't take it out on me if it doesn't!

- Well, is the refresh rate of the video stream actually any better with this camera?

- The FPS bump up from the integrated camera's 0.5, to a staggering 15! That's what I call a good improvement. And don't forget, 1080P.

- I see that the bottom part of your design is solid, but when I slice it, it acquires holes.

- Correct. This is achieved by using 0 layers for top and bottom for this object, with a honeycomb infill. I've done it for 2 reasons. Mainly because the camera produces heat and I wanted it to be as cool as possible and secondly, it looks more fancy this way ;)

If you like my design, please leave a comment and some rating. It will help me gather some points and get some free filaments which for some mysterious reason, always keep running out :D

*** Update 1:

Just a few hours after I started using my camera mount, i discovered that I was not satisfied with the image quality.

After some thinking, I discovered that (of course) it was not designed to be operating in 15 cm of object distance. In short, the focus length is set from approximately 40 cm to infinity. Is there a way to fix this? Fortunately yes, have a look at the following video:

Just follow the suggested steps without printing a focus ring. Then, just install your camera to the mount and start turning the lens by hand, until you can see better detail on the middle of the plate and also on the letters that are engraved on the front side of it. Please take a look at the photos I've uploaded for comparison.