I'm half Czech (Bohemian) by birth. I can confirm it would be news to that side of my family that (the old) Czechoslovakia was undivided! The Czechs were not Slovaks and now certainly are not. :D
Printable View
what does 3d printing this provide over machining the aparatus, seems like a box with a lens board to me =)
Fair question best answered by the original poster. And yes, it is a box with a lens board and a back.
3d printing requires less investment than, e.g., injection molding and less machining/assembly than starting from, say, ABS sheet. In any case, the OP is the one making the investment and doing the work. If he succeeds commercially, fine, wonderful, if not it was an interesting exercise from which the rest of us might learn something useful.
I think another advantage of 3-d printing is that changes to the design may be made with a faster turnaround time over injection molding or machining. For example, a lens cone for a odd focal length could be made for a customer as a one-off.