3D Printed Mini iPad/Phone Stand with storage draw

Challenge: Student wanted to create a stand for their iPad/iPhone and include storage in the base of the stand as a feature.   The student wanted to personalize the stand with their name.

Above: Design in profile prior to rafting removal

Background: While this student had not designed this sort of project before, a sibling of theirs had and as a consequence the student was able to call upon them for guidance with the design and the dimensions of the project.   This student had completed a number of projects in the classroom this year and was one of the chief designers for things related to the sound lure project boxing.

The student also needed to consider number of factors that were challenging in this project - getting the balance right was significant between producing a functional stand and having a long term print.

Degree of Difficulty: High - to get everything working in conjunction with the other features is something of an art.   This project will require considerable reworking to be considered successful.  All of the elements need to work together - for instance introducing a draw into the base of the design increases the storage significantly but the trade off is the fact that the base becomings considerably weaker when empty which can cause the base itself to tip with the weight of an iPad.

Above: The internal draw.

Size: The front of the design measured 80mm across, the print was 70mm long/deep and the print was 55mm high at the the top of the backing of the design.   The internal draw measured 70mm by 60mm and was able to sit into the base of the design.   The size of the sides of the draw need to be noted as they were 3mm across.  This would be the minimum size required to produce a stand, and in retrospect these dimensions would probably be increased to be successful.
Time frame: The base of the stand took four and a half hours and the draw took an hour.  This contrasts with some of the larger iPad stands and holders which have been up to twenty hours with the default print settings.  What we would do differently/Next Steps for Students: There were a few things to consider with this design - the weight of the print would hold a basic iPhone or iPad if it was regular dimensions (ie without a case).   However if you knocked the iPad then the stand would fall, so more weight would be required (although this could be addressed by filling up the storage

draw.   The student choose to include thier name and sink it into the front facing side of the stand.   this significantly weakened the strength of the design.   The student would have been bettered served to have printed their name in a separate print run, ideally either in another colour or one that could be spray painted, and then super glue it into place.   When the lettering around the students name was removed a significant amount of detail around the lettering also came out.   This was despite a teacher removing the rafting and taking all the care possible - a student would face particularly more challenge in doing so - with a straight basic print, and the name in a second colour this would be easily achievable.

Given the knowledge and the skill set that the ten year old student has managed to achieve I would consider it to be an easy fix for the student to successfully adapt their design to include these features and re-print the project which the student will do early next year.