Desktop Mini Easel

Found I needed a stand for the mobile while video conferencing, but the stand I had was a little too small for the weight of the phone.

The result is something which is substantial enough to also be able to hold a tablet/ iPad. It features a backplate which helps stop the phone from falling down the back.

It comprises 5 parts, held together by 3x sets of M3 nuts, bolts and spring washers. Total printing time is just over 7 hours, if using the gcode files provided.

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Prusa

Printer:

i3 MK3

Rafts:

Doesn't Matter

Supports:

Yes

Resolution:

0.2mm

Infill:

15-25%

Filament:
Generic PLA Colour to suit

Notes:

I used brims as always with large print areas and Dimafix to make sure the ends of the prints stay put until completed.

The legs are best left attached to the printplate until cooled/ rigid. (This is where a second flexible magnetic printplate comes in very handy!)

Included are a couple of combined build plates (x2) to save on having to set up printing each element separately, if multiple units are to be printed.

As a low-profile collapsable design, it's relatively easy to fit into a side pocket & flatpack with a tablet etc. for taking to a cafe (e.g. in a ladies' handbag) or outside on a garden table. Being a tripod, it will also sit more easily on an uneven surface.

Update 25-28 July '20:

• Added legs, shortened at the apex to reduce the effect of how the top of a mobile or tablet is tilted forward when the middle leg is swung backwards.
• Added a couple of deeper rest-plates, 15mm & 16-17mm, which allow for tablets/mobiles with covers still attached, to be used. Recommended for use with these, is 9mm wide clear gel tape, using the same method of reducing the stickiness on the upper side of the tape.

  Post-Printing

Assembly

The CAD image is self-explanetary really.

Needed for fixing, will be:

3x 30mm to 35mm M3 round-head pozi/cross-head machine screws
2x M3 flat washers (for front of rest)
4x M3 spring washers (1 each either side of the apex)
3x M3 Nyloc nuts

Small amount (3-5g) of glue: Superglue, E6000, 'Serious Glue', 'Fantastic Elastic' or similar clear flexible glue. (Applied with the pointed back end of a pair of teezers, or a narrow flat screwdriver.)

The backplate is secured with glue between the two front legs, to the rear underside of the front rest, the long side being vertical.

To avoid the phone or tablet sliding sideways and off the stand, a strip of clear 6-8mm (I used 6mm for the original 10mm-deep rest) gel tape can be used, its stickiness suitably weakened (with talc or wetted) to enable easy removal of the tablet/ phone!

Finally, to help keep the stand from slipping on a hard surface, the bottom ends of the legs have 8mm diameter flat surfaces onto which self-adhesive 8mm 'bumpons' can be attached.

Bumpon feet and Nyloc nuts in place.

Backplate glued into place.

Category: Tablet