Turkish Professor 3D Prints a Realistic Dummy Security Camera Setup

Dr. Özkal Özsoy is an electronics engineer, product design consultant, and inventor based in Istanbul, Turkey. In his free time, he enjoys working with consumer electronics and toys sector. He’s a full-time professor in the Industrial Design Department of Mimar Sinan fine arts university, and he says he’s been been printing objects with his Up 3D printer since 2011.

Özkal Özsoy

So when it came time to find a security camera to install in front of his apartment, his first thought was to come up with a way to save a few bucks and he turned to his printer for the answer.

“I’ve searched the net for a free dummy security camera 3D model to place in front of my apartment, but I didn’t find a good one,” Özsoy says. “So designed my own. First, I did a search for the camera models on the market and decided on shapes that hopefully will be easily recognized by the potential thieves, discouraging them what they plan to do.”

Özsoy then set to work modeling the camera he had in mind, and he decided to choose one of a smaller size so as to make it printable by most 3D printers on the market today.

“This also saved materials of course,” says Özsoy. “The design has free empty space inside so it is also possible to put a real wireless camera module from Ebay and use it as a real security camera.”

He broke the camera down into four separate parts to allow for easier assembly. What looks like a camera lens is actually a wide angle, LED collimator he found on the web.

According to the designer, the security cam looks “very real” with the addition of the lens, and the design includes four holes sized to take 3 mm LEDs to add further realism.

By using the dummy camera, a user can feel the extra sense of security that comes with knowing that familiar blinking indicator light often deters intruders and other ne’er-do-wells. He’s also made the design files available online for those who’d like to create their own.

And Özsoy’s projects don’t end with the security camera. He’s also created other projects available on Instructables, such as repair parts for an old cornet, a solar-powered Mp3 Player-Headlight device for bicycles, a folding solar panel, and a frame to allow him to drop a PC into a Macintosh Classic Case.

Have you used your 3D printer to create objects to make your life simpler or more efficient? Let us know in the Realistic Security Camera Setup forum thread on 3DPB.com.