3D Printing · RC · Reusable Mechanical Architecture
Folding · Indexed · SMUT™-Powered
A compact desk and simulator stand for the Spirit WAVE transmitter, adapted from the proven SMUT™ side-mount pivot system and rebuilt around a reusable mechanical core instead of another one-off bracket.
How this escalated
What it is
The Spirit WAVE stand mounts around the transmitter's existing round metal carrying handle without drilling or permanently modifying the radio. It folds against the back, preserves normal handle access and uses a spring-loaded ball plunger with a replaceable keyed detent ring for positive indexed positions.
The WAVE needed new handle cases that follow the actual round metal handle path. Two identical common caps clamp those cases in place while independent left and right retained pivots provide the motion.
The stand side of the design was separated into a standardized 46 mm-center Header Mule. That interface carries the keyed pivot geometry and mounting locations while leaving the visible stand body free to change.
SMUT™ architecture
The iX14 project proved the side-mount pivot concept. The Spirit WAVE adaptation pushed that idea one step further by separating the mechanism into reusable layers instead of baking every decision into one stand.
Reusable Header Mule
At the center of the stand is a physically validated mechanical header that locks into the two SMUT™ pivot stubs. The Spirit-S outline, red perimeter and raised logo treatment are decoration around that interface, not the interface itself.
The current Header Mule preserves the geometry that matters: 46 mm mounting centers, keyed left/right pivot interfaces, screw locations, header thickness and the pivot/rotation clearance envelope.
The underside is intentionally flat. Chamfers, bevels, logos and stand-specific shaping get added only after a new stand body is built around the core.
Import the frozen Header Mule geometry, model a completely different stand body around or through it, merge the body into the header and leave the mechanical interfaces alone.
The STL is the canonical reusable geometry. The SCAD preserves development/reference information and still points back to the original iX14 donor geometry, so it is not presented as a standalone parametric generator.
Actual build
This was never approved because the CAD looked convincing. The cases, pivots, Header Mule and Spirit-S stand were printed, assembled and exercised on the actual transmitter.
Real-world fit
A stand that works on a desk but makes the transmitter annoying everywhere else is not finished. Handle access and transport fit were part of the physical validation.
Things to know
The repository has the full assembly instructions. These are the WAVE-specific details worth knowing before the heat-set iron and hex drivers come out.
The M4 insert opening can print a little rough because of its location. Lightly clean it with a reamer; do not unnecessarily enlarge the bore.
There is no left and right cap. Install each one with the beveled edge facing away from the radio.
Tighten the cap screws until there is a good bite on the handle. Do not keep tightening just to force the cap flush to the case body.
The WAVE will not fit in the stock Spirit case with this stand installed unless the case is modified.
AI-assisted iteration
AI helped translate measurements into printable geometry, adapt the WAVE handle-path cases, preserve the proven SMUT™ pivot system, separate the Header Mule into a reusable core, refine the Spirit-S stand and keep the documentation organized. Physical fitment decided what survived.
Build resources
The public repository is the authoritative source for the current printable geometry, ready-to-slice Bambu projects, hardware requirements, assembly instructions and safety information.
Same acronym, reusable architecture. The sacrificial prints did their jobs so the final parts could keep theirs.
Arroyo Cooperative
The Spirit WAVE project took the proven SMUT™ mechanism and turned it into a reusable stand platform: radio-specific cases on one side, a standardized mechanical header on the other, and whatever stand body you want in between.