The best 3d printable 6"f5 (150/750) portable travel dobsonian telescope as of today
I’m putting this article today as a bit of praise for my friend Raphaël’s work, a 6” f/5 (or 150mm/750mm in non-imperial units) telescope that you can buy on his 3d printing company website or 3d print yourself. I made a few 6” telescopes myself, but his is thought to be easily reproduced, while mine are personal projects.
I actually built one (pictured just above) and other people are currently building or using his model right now. I allow myself to call it the best, because to my knowledge it’s the only 6” f/5 model with a compact/travel dob form factor online. There are other projects, but either unfinished or showing that the author is lacking actual telescope building knowledge.
This project has a few distinguishable features.
- it collapses to a small enough package
- the models are thought to be entry-level 3d printing difficulty
- the BOM is rather contained (m4 and m3 standard hardware, a few springs, a bit of ballast)
- the balance can be tweaked by the user printing it, allowing to choose between ultralight and eyepiece bearing capacity
- it isn’t a first draft but a synthesis of previous scopes by my friend or our group
- it has a regular smooth crayford focuser instead of a clunky noname helical focuser
Is it perfect ? Nothing is. Will it deliver its promise ? Yep. Provided you make or order good quality mirrors and learn to properly collimate a telescope, you will enjoy both the ergonomics and the views.
This summer, a few people were surprised of what you can see in this 6” / 150mm telescope. Used to industrial dobsonians, unproperly ventilated, with below-average mirrors, or unproperly maintained instruments, they never got to see what a good mirror actually is capable of, and how a small mirror is able to punch under a dark sky.*
*The mirror was made by another friend, Paul, who is now a professional optician.
Compact telescopes are enjoyable if you build and balance them properly. Check out this project and enjoy the views :).
See on his site or 3d print it yourself.
If you’re a regular reader of my website, I try to regularly put friend’s or acquaintances work online, or links to projects I believe in. I have a page dedicated to this purpose : https://lucassifoni.info/people/, and regularly post their work on other forums or HN. In our AI and dead internet age, I stronly believe in humans signal-boosting other humans. Consider it for your own site ?