I designed a charging dock for my Leica M11

[Fatih]

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Hi everyone. This is not a commerical project, but a hobby project I've worked myself on the side. I wanted to share it with you. The USB-C port of the M11 is not in a very convenient place. Second, I wanted to have an easy way to charge my M11, without having to constantly plug a cable. 

I modeled a charging dock, and 3D printed it at home. I had many iterations until I found something that works fine. Some todos:

* Wrap the inside with fabric to avoid scratching the surface

* Look into magnetic USB-C connectors

* Add magnets into the housing, so it can stay strong on my library shelves (they are made out of metal)

 

Here are the photos:

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[jankap]

Super!!

[theBear]

This deserves more comments….fantastic work! Really nice design.

[jakontil]

That’s so cool, i like the usb c angled implementation, looks neat, i have the similar cable, it’s robust too by ugreen

it’s a 3D print but made of metal? Or your shelves is made of metal? 

[GFW2-SCUSA]

Get a patent for that fast! very nice work.  Would a magnet have any effect on the memory card? I would assume the magnet strong enough to hold it on the book shelf would have  more ... what do magnets have? pull? Strength? anyway, just a thought from a very unscientific and antiquated mind. 

 

[Leica Filmmatic]

I need this!

[Fatih]

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8 hours ago, jakontil said:

That’s so cool, i like the usb c angled implementation, looks neat, i have the similar cable, it’s robust too by ugreen

it’s a 3D print but made of metal? Or your shelves is made of metal? 

The print is made of PLA plastic filament. My shelves are made out of metal. I'm looking now into how I could create a metal version of it. 

[Fatih]

5 hours ago, GFW2-SCUSA said:

Get a patent for that fast! very nice work.  Would a magnet have any effect on the memory card? I would assume the magnet strong enough to hold it on the book shelf would have  more ... what do magnets have? pull? Strength? anyway, just a thought from a very unscientific and antiquated mind. 

 

The SD card is vertical to the magnets, so I thought it wouldn't harm the battery. I also don't know what effects it would have honestly

[Fatih]

Here is a video on how the magnets work with my metalic shelves:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d651OUxX2AItbGWLi4FurzLw

 

The magnets are embedded into the housing. I put them during the print: 

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[Fatih]

Here is a video that I uploaded to YouTube if the link above doesn't work or is expired:

 

 

[Al Brown]

The best part is the USB-C cable can be interchanged if broken. Good job, Sir!

[keeping_a_balance]

Awesome. Would buy one.

 

[Robert Blanko]

It's the first time I regret that I don't have an M11... 😄

[Kiwimac]

Nice idea. 

 

I don't really like the idea of charging in camera but this is a smart way to do it.

[Timeslip]

How much would you charge, if we were willing to pay for it (along with the supported cable)?

[DenverSteve]

Excellent job. Congratulations. 

[m410]

Quite clever design.  Love to see people make things for themselves...seems a rarity these days.

[Fatih]

Hi everyone,

 

I added another improvement. You can now see the charging status easily via the led indicator. I built a custom light channel that reflects the led from the bottom of the body. It works as expected. See the video that shows it in action. Finally, many of you have asked if they could purchase or get it. I'm working on a middle ground, maybe at least to recoup my expenses for the 3D Cad software I used to develop it. I'll share more soon.

 

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[wizard]

Am 28.6.2023 um 03:52 schrieb GFW2-SCUSA:

Get a patent for that fast!

Too late, at least regarding most countries of the world (the US is one notable exception), as the device has been disclosed to the public here, and so no longer qualifies for patent protection. Good idea anyway!

[Fatih]

Thanks to anyone for their kind words. Initially, I didn't think about commercializing it. But I had to buy 3D CAD software to design this model, which cost me $299 (It's Shapr3D if anyone is interested). So I thought I could sell some to recoup at least the money for the software. However, the logistics of selling this design are also not easy. I don't live in the US, and it looks like most of you live in the US. I could provide the 3D STL/3MF files, and there are many online 3D printing services. 

So I decided to provide a way for people to purchase the 3D model:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1503331554/leica-m11-charging-dock

You can print it at home or from a 3D print service. Some you could use: https://i.materialise.com/en , https://www.hubs.com/3d-printing/

For the cable, purchase a UGREEN branded 90-degree USB-C cable: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Charger-Compatible-Matebook-Nintendo/dp/B07PLYZ7J3 (they are also available in other countries' Amazon stores, such as Amazon.de, or Amazon.co.uk). Order at least two if you want some redundancy for future usage.

I don't know if the pricing is good, low, or high. It's an experiment. Please let me know what you think. Note that I'll pay up to %20 commission, so I'm left around ~$55 (just an estimation). So I have to sell at least 6 copies until I can make the money I paid for the 3D software.