Years ago I made a fixed angle version similar to An0b1s' model. It worked great for holding up my device but its fixed angle made it less versatile compared to adjustable models. Printables now has a lot of cool adjustable designs featuring gears and linkages to adjust the stand to any specific situation. However, there is one thing that I think can be improved on with most of these designs.
In a lot of cases there are multiple steps required to set the desired angle. Geared designs either need a lot of turning or unlocking/locking features depending on the mechanism. Linkages may require loosening/tightening a screw or manipulating several parts into position. The goal of this design is to improve the simplicity of changing positions.
I laid out the objective for this project below:
- Must hold phone horizontally or vertically
- Phone can always connect to charger
- Angular adjustments do not require additional locking steps
Originally I had played around with helical gears, but there were already some good designs available. This also did not solve the simplicity question I was after. Eventually I decided to scrap all the gear ideas and tried something new. A while back I had made a simple fidget toy using a spring and a steel ball. The spring and ball made a plunger mechanism that would slide into a dimple on the other part to keep them locked together.
I took that same concept and put it into this phone stand design. The plunger mechanism is strong enough to keep the phone platform and base locked together until it is adjusted by hand. Then the spring will retract and the platform can be moved with little effort. There is no action needed to lock the stand once it is adjusted, just let go and keep using it.
Dimples are spaced out on the back of the phone platform so you can adjust in 15deg increments.
Future Developments:
Obviously this is a site for 3D printing first and foremost. The most accessible projects on here are the ones that can be built 100% with a printer. The biggest improvements to the model are removing the hardware components in the model and replacing them with 3D printed versions.
I believe the screws can easily be replaced with a fully 3D printed latching mechanism. There is a low enough force from the springs that some printed screws could do the trick.
The ball bearings could be replaced with some printed version. The movement may not be as smooth but I think it would provide a similar effect.
The feet are already an optional add-in but you could easily set up some TPU feet for the base. These could even be combined with the 3D printed screws to reduce the overall number of parts.
Lastly, the springs are the biggest challenge. I know there are some cool 3D printed springs people have made. For this model I had the hardware already so I did not try to replace these with plastic parts. I thought the added time and worse performance was not worth it for what I wanted to make.
I had the hardware laying around so I wasn't concerned with trying to streamline the design for printing. If anyone wants to take that challenge on, you can use the .step file here to create your own version.
