Phone Stand Project

Overview:

A compact cell phone stand I created using CAD undergoing several design iterations, improving on stability, convenience, and reliability while focusing on limiting size and weight.

Cell Phone Stand MK I

The Mark I is a rudimentary proof-of-concept prototype focused around simplicity and compactness. At 8.5 centimeters long, 3.5 centimeters wide and 7.5 centimeters tall, it has a very small footprint and is easily stowed in a bag. Although the Mark I boasts few frills and is not designed with visual appeal particularly in mind, it is decorated with an embossing along the side containing the name of the creator and the year of creation, as well as a hole beneath the phone's resting place where a charging cable is designed to fit. And because the phone stand's sides are all on one plane, the design is easy to 3D print.

MK I Design Flaws

I gave the Mark I to a focus group (my family) for testing, and they provided their feedback.

The Compact nature of the Mark I proved to be a double-edged sword. Although the stand's width of 3.5 centimeters allowed for a slim profile, it also caused the phone to be unstable when on the stand. Even a light application of force would put the phone and/or stand in jeopardy of tipping over. In addition, because modern cell phones have a significant surface area, the centre of gravity of the phone would actually extend past the top of the stand, causing it to slip backwards and slide off the front. As a stopgap, sticky strips were placed on the phone's resting place to increase friction and prevent slipping. However, this issue would need to be remedied in a future version, as temporary sticky strips would not be a viable long-term solution to this design flaw.

One request that resulted from testing was that compatibility with larger devices such as note-sized phones and tablet devices. In addition, because of the small profile, the charging slot was cumbersome to use, and cables of insufficient flexibility were incompatible with the phone stand, as they would tip the stand over while returning to their original configurations. Lastly, the embossing on the side was designed too small, and did not come out clearly in the 3D print.

Cell Phone Stand MK II

The Mark II was based around the shortcomings of the Mark I, with stability and compatibility coming to the forefront. In order to do this, some compactness had to be sacrificed. Some improvements include:

  • Increase in width, height, and length, to increase stability and remedy issues caused by the compactness of Mark I.

    • to compensate for the overall increase in size, cutouts were added to reduce weight.

    • The overall increase in size makes it more compatible with

  • A lip and groove were added to the phone's resting place. This way, the device is at a greatly reduced risk of slipping due to its own weight.

Some additional features include an enlarged slot for the charging port, a more refined design with filleted edges and corners, and a simplified embossing on the side, simply reading "MK II".

The Mark II is slated for prototyping and testing in the near future.