iPhone Stand
[Summer 2017]
A 3D printed iPhone holder/stand I worked on over the course of a few months in 2018. The latest version is designed to either mount to a wall with command strips or stand on its own. I've iterated through a few different versions, each time trying to refine and add new features to the design. Designed with injection molding in mind, although I've only been printing on 3D printers. Modeled with Autodesk Fusion 360. Check out my design process and let me know what you think!
v1.0
I got the idea to create an iPhone stand when I was interning at mHUB Chicago, a coworking space/innovation center, during summer 2017. I saw one of my co-interns looking at phone stand designs to 3D print on tinkercad, a CAD file sharing website, and I figured I could make a better design on my own. I sketched out a few concepts, took some measurements of my phone, and mocked up a quick CAD file within a few hours.
I designed the stand so that it would sit on a bedside table, and added a charging hole and slot so that the cord could be left out in front of the stand, or tucked away, depending on where the cord is plugged in. This first prototype was a bit clunky and I could have cut down on some material usage, but it looked pretty good for a quick side project.
V2.0
There were two reasons I decided to redo the design on the phone stand: 1) I got a new phone case so my old stand wouldn't fit, and 2) I was going to school in the fall where I'd be living in a dorm. Our beds have no nightstands, so there's not a great place to put a phone while you're sleeping. I figured the best place to put it would be on the wall, with something that could be easily hung up with a few Command strips. I created a design with a flat backing, an easier way to insert the phone, and holes for a charger and headphones.
V2.5?
This prototype was a quick iteration between V2 and V3, adding an open slot and charger hook. The 3D print jammed so the prototype didn't fully print, but it still showed the concept of being able to hook your charger in so it doesn't fall. See V3.0 below for the full improvements.
V3.0
There was one big problem with my last prototype, and that was that I couldn't dock my phone while my charger was already plugged in. I had to thread the charger through the bottom hole, dock my phone, then place it in the stand. Not exactly my favorite thing to do while half-asleep in my bed. Also, nothing kept the charger from falling out the bottom of the hole when it wasn't plugged in. I solved both of these issues with two major design improvements in v3.0. I made the charging hole into a slot, so there's no need to unplug my phone before docking, and I added a v-shaped crevice for storing the charger when not in use. Finally, I extended the panel on the back edge of the stand down to the base, making it easy to convert into a bedside stand, rather than a wall mount. Check out some preliminary sketches and final renderings of my third prototype below:
