3D Printed Phone Stand: Fathers Day 2026 Revisited

 

Challenge: To produce a unique gift for Fathers Day 2026 that was created, designed and modified by a nine year old student.

Background: Earlier this year in New Zealand we celebrated Fathers Day.   While we focussed on producing a range of Fathers Day themed coasters we also had selected students who choose to work on other designed themed around this, although with time pressure and demand on the printing machines we also were unsure that we could realistically print all of the designs.

This design was in this category which had some inspiration from an earlier phone stand for Mothers Day from a different student.   The student worked off a basic seat or couch based design which included features such as a hole for the charging cord at the base of the design, was personalised with the name of the student who created the project shown on the base of the design (left) and then had further elements added to it, like the lip holding the phone in place.  All this was developed independently by the nine year old student.

Resources used to complete this print: iPad, Tinkercad App, Bambu H2D, Bambu Bronze regular PLA.

Size: The print measures 100mm across the front and was 60mm wide.   The print was 60mm tall at the front of the design and 90mm tall at the back.  

Cost:  The print used 123g of PLA filament to complete - there was no support rafting for the print (in the photos with the font you can see the additional PLA that needs removing but it is a small amount, the lettering is essentially correct as it stands).  This meant that the project had a price point of $2.47c to complete.   This was one of the reasons that this item was featured as a business by one of our groups from our 2025 Auroa School Market Day.  We were able to create similar sized and designed models that were highly personalised and that we were able to produce and sell as a viable product.

Timeframe: To complete this print the printer was operating for three hours and two minutes.  This was at the standard default settings with the machine and Bambu Studio Labs. 

The dimensions of the print was ideal for holding a regular phone securely.

What we would do differently/Next steps for the students:   There could have been some adjustments to the lettering on the reverse of the design and potentially the student could have added some additional details to the print however the student was extremely pleased with the overall look and the functionality of it.   We have a multitude of designs that can be searched for with this theme on this blog if you search for 'phone stands'.