Eye Glass Mounted Microphone Project

With working on various video projects from time to time I am constantly looking for new ways to mount the microphones that I use for whatever video that I am working on.  This does not include the standard mic that I rarely use that is on the camera itself. Simple because the sound quality from a mic half way across the room tends to be poor at best when it comes to what I really want it to sound like.  I use a very good Audio-technica desk mic for narration and a lavalier mic that I clip to my shirt when I have to be holding something up to explain how I build certain projects.  

  So to the point here.  With all of this in mind I thought I would combine several tasks that I wanted to learn and needed to do all at the same time.  These being upgrading my Makerbot 3D printer to keep it up to top operating condition, learning more about using Fusion 360 CAD software and of course a new way to mount another microphone for video productions.

This is my latest creation that I put together using Fusion 360 and my Makerbot 3D printer.  It is a eye glass mounted boom microphone.  The black components that are mounted to the frame of the glasses are 3D printed as is the mic mount at the end of an aluminum shaft.

The mic is my lavalier mic that I made a mount for the end of the aluminum shaft.  I simple took a  five inch long 1/4 inch diameter aluminum rod and made a 45 degree bend in the middle of the piece. 

The aluminum shaft was then fitted into a "D" shaped opening in the eye glass clip by filing down one side of the rod to make a mating "D" shape. This keeps the rod from spinning in the opening. The red piece in the images above is a simple part that slides in a grooved slot and is wedged into place to hole the eye glass clip to the glass's frame.   The wire for the mic is fed through a contoured slot in the side of the eye glass clip to hold it securely in place while being used. 

  The reasoning behind the project was to get the lavalier mic much closer to my mouth  while I am filming.  This will keep the mic out of the way and still be able for me to use both hands  in the process of showing off any other project that I want to. Also the sound quality will be greatly improved as the mic will pick up my voice that much better. 

The entire assembly only weighs 0.8 of an ounce so it is very lightweight and should be no problem to use.  With the photo above you have a much better idea of the size of the boom mic assembly. 

  In this process of making this small project I learned a few more tricks in designing with Fusion 360 CAD, upgraded my 3D printer to continue making beautiful parts as usual and now have a new way to get better sound quality for my video presentations.  That and the fact I think the mic setup should look pretty good when I use it to shoot my next video. When I can scratch three things off my to do list in one project I call that a good day in the shop to be sure.