Phone Stand: 3D Printing
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to use Rhino to design a 3D object and use one of the provided 3D printers to print it. I decided to create a small, angled phone stand because I wanted something to prop my phone up so that I could easily view my phone without having to pick it up or hold it. I often use a timer for practice tests, Facetime with my brother, and sometimes watch Netflix and so this would allow me to do those things handsfree. I sketched some design ideas, designed the 3D model in Rhino, exported the file to load into the MakerBot (3D printer), and printed it.
Design
I started by sketching some ideas and originally wanted to make a 3D puzzle. After constructing the puzzle in Rhino, I realized it was going to take a long time to print the whole puzzle because of the size and intricacy of the puzzle. So I decided to think of some other things I would use and the phone stand idea seemed like it would be the most practical. I sketched some ideas as shown below.
Once I had a couple of sketches, I started modeling in Rhino. I initially had a design that had more of a rectangular shape so I started by modeling that (shown below).
However, once I modeled it in Rhino, I realized I wanted my phone stand to look more minimalistic and softer. So I switched to start designing the rounder design. The project specification required that I use rotate, extrude, and at least one boolean command when building the model. I decided to draw a rectangle and rotate it around to create the cylindrical base. Then I drew the the two shapes I wanted to cut out of the cylinder to make the back pocket and front angled part of the stand. I extruded those and then used the boolean difference command to subtract those objects from the main cylinder. Below is a picture of the model in Rhino.
I exported the Rhino file to a STL file and placed it on a SD card to load into the MakerBot. I tried to start 3D printing but the filament got stuck in the printer I was trying to use. Luckily, I was able to start the printing again when a machine became available later that day. Below are two photos of the final 3D printed phone stand.
Challenges and Frustrations
One of the main challenges I had was using Rhino because I still wasn’t super familiar with the commands when designing this model. I had a hard time making sure everything was connected and making sure pieces lined up where they should. I think this could have been partially due to my SOLIDWORKS background because Rhino seems like it is less technical than SOLIDWORKS but in a way the lack of technicality made it more difficult since I already had experience with 3D modeling software. Rhino incorporates some tools that might be familiar to someone who has used other drawing software but it also has commands and tools that would be helpful after gaining enough experience using them. SOLIDWORKS however doesn’t have shortcuts or commands. It has a toolbar and tools that allow you to do complex things in a way that takes a lot of practice to learn and master. I think Rhino is a better introductory program but the shortcuts still take some getting used to. It is also hard to know what some of the commands do so I think getting walked through designing a variety of objects would have helped me grasp the commands more concretely.
I think the most frustrating part of this process was working with the machines because I had a limited amount of time when I was available to 3D print because of my class and work schedule. I had been told that there was often a long wait to use the printers so I made sure to get there right when they opened to boost my chances of getting a printer. Unfortunately, the machine I selected broke part of the way through so I had to rush back after class and hope that a machine would be available so that I could try printing again. Luckily someone was just finishing up when I got there so I was able to slip the SD card in and get started. It took a little over an hour to print which was actually on the shorter end of the print time range because of the settings I specified and the way I designed my model.
Overall, I think this went pretty well because there were no issues when printing my model and it holds my phone as I hoped it would. Some improvements I might make would be to make a tiny slot to hold the phone without covering the screen so that my phone could stand up more securely. I think it could also be interesting to try and get a cord to slip in either straight up through the bottom or come out of the side of the stand to incorporate charging as a feature of this stand.
