A Tale of Two Phone Stands! (Patreon)

I love simplicity.  But I also love gratuitous complexity!  It's a fun thing to juggle, and there are definitely positives in both extremes.  I set out to make a new, simple phone stand, and things went in two quite different directions.

Well, I should start by saying that I already had a nice, simple, robust design I could use, namely the Hex Sweep Phone Stand, which would have served my purposes perfectly well.  And that one is about as simple as things get!  But, why print an existing design when I can just design something new, right?!  

I figured I'd make something that started out relatively flat, with some kind of movement to turn it into a more effective stand.  Adding a  screw thread with mechanical linkages seemed like the obvious next step, as I'm sure you'll agree.  Spin the integrated handle nestled into the end of the frame, and the support platform gradually rises to position while two feet pivot into position underneath.  Simple!  

One of the inevitabilities of multi-part linkages with generous tolerances is that the results will have a reasonable amount of play in it when there's no tension on the bolt.  In the photos, I'm pushing the parts upwards with my hands from the original flat position!  

Now, I mention this because you'll need to actually do that before turning the handle, or else the screw will just try to pull all the hinges apart instead.  I did explore some mechanisms for having a turn of the thread automatically push the assembly upwards, but that introduced problems with jamming things up when things were wound back down.  So, push it upwards while you turn the handle initially.  Or hold it upside down and let gravity direct things.

So, that was where I ended up, and it's really the kind of phone stand you need when you also need to tell the world that you like 3D printing.   Sometimes, though, you just want to prop your phone up, so I did circle back and make something simpler, too.

Some people might remember a model from, somewhere in 2019 that was a flat-folding phone stand.  I like that model, but phones have increased in dimensions and weight dramatically in four years, so it really was not in any way practical anymore.  So here's a new design that's inspired by it, but much larger, thicker, and has more magnets!

Yes, the Refolded Phone Stand is a double-hinged flat-printing model that turns into a kind of tetrahedral shape, ready to cradle a modern phone.  Well, modern as of 2023 at least!  It'll be interesting to see how this one fares in 2027!

Optional Magnets

The Refolded Phone Stand can take two 6x3mm magnets to let the two sides neatly clip together.  It's not essential, but it's very satisfying.  You'll notice the magnets are in little pockets rather than pushed in from above, to avoid the situation where glues wear down and magnets pull out.

Print Description

These are articulated models so ensure your bottom layers are nice and neat and that you don't have print issues such as stringing or overextrusion that might bind moving parts together!

Print Dimensions

The Convoluted Contraption Phone Stand  occupies 98mm x 139mm on the print bed and is 24mm tall.

The Refolded Phone Stand is 212mm x 89mm on the print bed and 11mm tall (though most of it is 6mm tall)

Supports Needed?

Not at all!  Designed for straightforward printing!

Scalability

The Convoluted Contraption Phone Stand might be scalable, though the linkage behaviour might be affected in some negative way.  As usual, try it, for science!

The Refolded Phone Stand could be scaled up or down as long, and the main concern will be any binding of the hinges if it was scaled particularly small.  Of course, any scaling will impact the fit of magnets, too!

Print Orientation

The Refolded Phone Stand prints flat.

The Convoluted Contraption Phone Stand prints closed and flat, base-down. 

File Location

You'll find these two at:

551 Refolded Phone Stand

552 Convoluted Contraption Phone Stand

Link to dropbox post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31697592

Further Thoughts

Oh, and you might have noticed some little indents in the Refolded Phone Stand base - these are for o-rings or similar to easily add a bit of grippiness for use on slippery surfaces!

Happy printing!

xoxo

Sven.