Simple Computer STand
The 3rd and final (for now) version of the computer stand. I had trouble with the laser cutter, which caused burn marks on one side of the wood
Project Description
I designed this simple computer stand as a gift for my mom. I wanted it to be simple, elegant, and easy to build. I came up with this crossing panels design after playing with different laser cut pieces of wood. The stand uses 4 wood panels crossing at 90 degree angles to make an inclined rectangular stand that a laptop (specifically a macbook pro) could sit on.
A surprising amount of mathematics went into the realization of this design. I wanted the entire stand to be parametrically defined by four variables: the width, length, and depth of your computer, and the angle at which you wanted it to be propped up. I drew some sketches and used trigonometry to develop functions which I then plugged into Solidworks, and an external equation sheet at Desmos.com. This effort early in the design process made editing and tweaking the design later much easier.
I went through 3 revisions of the current design, settling on a ¼” laser cut model in the image above after testing ⅛” prototypes.
I used a macbook pro model I found on Grabcad for these renders
The calculation for the angle of the laptop involved using trig functions in 3 dimensional space
The laptop fits nicely and is supported by its own weight against the 4 panels towards the front
The panels slot together firmly and overlap in order to lock the stand together when it is in compression
The stand is designed to be disassembled and packed away — if needed.
I added some fun designs to the sides in order to spruce up the look of the stand
When making the first version, I had trouble finding a “good” angle for the loft of the stand
The final version