CREATE — a laser cut prototype
a phone stand
I’ve always wanted to create videos. Sometimes, I do. Have you ever wanted to record something, yet you couldn’t get your phone to stay up just right? Look no further. A simple phone stand made of .022 inch-thick chipboard, takes up the smallest space in your backpack (or back pocket), allowing you to whip it out at anytime. You just have to assemble and place your phone in the front slot and then you’re ready to record that usability test or, even better, your own type of creative content.
Designing
When taking on this laser cut prototype challenge, I chose to design a phone-stand. I have encountered multiple instances where I sought to set my phone up to shoot videos, leaning the phone against a wall hoping it wouldn’t fall. I decided it was time to change that.
I looked up some ideas of laser cut phone stands, and I saw one of a phone sitting in a chair, which inspired the design of mine. I liked the comfort and chill vibes the design exuded. I went into the MakerSpace and got to working, but I also wondered how could I build this to support a phone with a thin, 0.022 inch chipboard. After looking at my peers designs, I saw them using layers of chipboard — “okay, noted” I thought to myself. I sketched, and then tested out my idea by cutting pieces of chipboard.
I liked the idea, and took it to Rhino. There, I put my sketches to work and designed my laser cut phone stand. As you can see, I initially had two places for inserts. One for the support, which was multiple pieces of chipboard (0.022-inch thickness per piece), and the second for phone placement. After printing, I found that it was not very sturdy when assembling and placing ones phone onto. A peer was near and gave me some advice: add one more piece of support (chipboard) by making a slit in the back of the stand, the legs, to insert the piece there. That I did.
The final product design encompassed 4 rectangular pieces of chipboard (3 for the first slit(0.066 inches)/head placement and 1 for the second slit (0.022 inches)/backbone placement), and 8 pieces of chipboard — which I will call the legs — with slits to insert the rectangular pieces (head and backbone) into. They are to be broken up into two sets of four: right leg and left leg.
Here is a video I created on how to how to assemble:
Analyzing
After designing the phone stand, I brought it to class for critique. Below is a photo of the what my critique station looked like. Through observation and feedback, I learned both what worked and didn’t work.
What worked well
The design was perceived as inspiring. And when it was up correctly with a phone in the slot, it appeared stable, functional and simple. Some noted they liked the angle, while one peer thought a different angle might be better for usage. At some point during our critique walk, the phone stand was no longer stable and the chipboard design had collapsed. At this point the aesthetics/lettering were liked, but the design was no longer seen as functional. There is clearly area for improvement.
Areas for Improvement
While assembling the chipboard phone stand, I noticed that when trying different size phones (ex. 7 vs. 7 plus), there was trial and error in sliding the legs together/apart. I think with marks on the chipboard, indicating placement of legs on the backbone and head pieces, assembling the phone stand would be easier and sturdier (more balanced). Along with this, knowledge of chipboard pieces to put together, for example to create a leg, would be helpful as well as what pieces you put in each slot. Second, in order to make the design more stable, inserting slits into all pieces that are connected (ex. both the legs and the backbone piece) would allow for a more sturdy design. Third, it would be convenient if the angle could allow for more than just holding your phone at a 180 degree angle: various angles.
Overall Effectiveness
Overall, I think this design is pretty effective. With the right sturdiness and ease of assembly, I think this could be a functional and inspiring design— I’ve already used it to make a few short videos. It takes up almost no space, it’s light, and can inspire one to create.
Thanks for tuning in! Next week, I’ll show and tell you about my process creating a 3D print.
