GoKawiilBambu Lab announced a major collaboration with the camera brand Insta360, featuring a “Let’s Make It” Luna Ultra Design Challenge on MakerWorld. The two companies invite fans to design and 3D print custom hardware to fit the new Luna Ultra, a dual-lens 8K gimbal camera built for vlogging. This is the first camera brand to establish an official presence on MakerWorld, the home of Bambu Lab’s file library and maker community.
Up for grabs are $11,160 in prizes, including Luna Ultra cameras, 3D printers, and gift cards. The most intriguing part of the contest is a “Mystery Grand Prize” that will go to the most inspiring concept and could be selected for development as an official Insta360 product.
Though the Luna Ultra uses AI-powered software, AI-generated designs are not welcome in the contest. Each model entry must be a new, unique, human-created design that is printable on an FDM 3D printer. Designers can download a mockup of the Luna Ultra to precisely fit their creations to the camera without needing to own one first.
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MakerWorld – and other 3D printing file sites – are already full of useful camera mods for all sorts of cameras. Tripods, clips, grips, boom arms, dollies, stands, cases, and storage systems abound for every kind of camera. Type “Insta360” into MakerWorld, and over a thousand files pop up for the company's older camera models. Most files are born of necessity, then shared for free by the photographers who designed them.
Insta360’s decision to embrace the 3D printing community and encourage fan-made mods is a refreshing change from standard corporate behavior. We’ve seen many cases of brands being overprotective of their IP and shutting down the "unauthorized" use of their name and image. Rather than presenting Bambu Lab users with a cease-and-desist letter, Insta360 is leaning into the fandom. By providing official 3D-printable mockups of the Luna Ultra only a few weeks after the camera’s launch, they are asking users to become active participants in the hype train.
“We see a shift where creativity doesn’t stop at capturing images—it extends into building and shaping the tools themselves. This collaboration between Insta360 and Bambu Lab brings together imaging and the maker community for the first time in this way, bringing creators the freedom to push the boundaries of what's possible,” said Max Richter, Co-founder & Vice President of Marketing at Insta360.
The two companies hope the contest encourages users to “move past the limits of off-the-shelf parts” and build custom gear uniquely designed for each photographer’s shooting environment.
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You don’t need to have an Insta360 camera or even a 3D printer to enter the contest. The contest consists of two tracks: one for 3D printed models posted to MakerWorld and a second for creative ideas posted to social media.
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