It is tempting to obtain one of these precision sliding tables, but I am strictly trying to stay on a budget, so will try to be creative.
I suck in 3D CAD and don’t have a 3D printer either, so sketched something together with a pencil and it will be based on simple MDF plates and screws:
Raspi Cam, Extension and lens on top (tripod screw on the left not drawn yet). The C-Mount Adaptor has a 54 mm diameter and fits perfect into a pipe clamp from the hardware store. It is mounted with a M8 screw with the 22mm “brick” underneath. This screw and the 1/4" UNC 20 tripod screw shall alow me to level the optical part perfectly, lock nuts should hold it in level.
The batch of MDF plates is supposed to bring the optics on to projector gate level. Also, for Z- and X-Axis adjustments, there will be two knobbed screws going into drive nuts, fixable with lock nuts. The MDF plates are sliding between 10x10x2mm aluminium profiles.
Let’s see how this holds up. Cross your fingers