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PCB phone stand

A project log for Misc. spur-of-the-moment projects

You know how it is, right? Sometimes you have to do something right then and there!

stefan-lochbrunnerStefan Lochbrunner 12/22/2015 at 19:2911 Comments

I felt like I was overlooking my phone's notification light when it was lying flat on my desk so I wanted to build a stand for it. I thought about making one out of wood or designing one and having it cut from a piece of acrylic. Then I thought, why not design it in Eagle and have it be made of FR-4 and that's when it hit me that I could reuse some of the (old) #Pro Trinket USB Keyboard PCBs:

So I cut slots in both boards and from there it's pretty obvious how the stand is assembled:

A piece of wire stops the phone from sliding out to the front.

Discussions

Yann Guidon / YGDES wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:28 point

nice hack ;-)

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Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:36 point

Thanks :)

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Craig Hissett wrote 12/22/2015 at 19:36 point

Ha ha, a great use for the old boards!

I am thinking of making a Pi enclosure from some of mine when I get back to work in the new year. I will wire the top one up and use it as an input device :-)

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Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 12/22/2015 at 19:48 point

That's a really cool idea! Using it as structural and electrical part at the same time, I like it!

What Pi will you be building this for? I think a model B would be a little too big for a case made from these PCBs.

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Craig Hissett wrote 12/22/2015 at 19:54 point

I had though about chopping a few using one top panel, one for the bottom and chop one up to make some sides but you're right - it may be tight.

I have an A+ which could work (I would probably tap the i2c pins for input to keep that USB port free).

Then again I could always stick a Pi Zero to the back of one of these with a small battery pack and hey presto! Ha ha

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Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:12 point

For a model B it's only missing a few mm so you could use some angle brackets along the edges to bridge that space. Or a U-channel to make up the sides and attach PCBs on the top and bottom.

Ha, yeah, a Pi Zero will fit just about anywhere ;)

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Craig Hissett wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:19 point

That's a good shout buddy. I will definitely look at making it so when I get back.

The zeros are just fantastic. I have so many ideas for my two I just don't know where to start!

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Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:28 point

Haha, I should do something with the Pi I have but I can't help wanting a Zero ,just because ;)

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Craig Hissett wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:32 point

Same here - 2 Bs, 3 B+s, 1 A+ and 2 zeros.

Only one of them is in active service ha ha!

The rest are all earmarked for various projects - I just need to stop putting them off and get them built/get others on board to can help!

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Stefan Lochbrunner wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:41 point

That's even more than I thought! XD

I was going to suggest that we start a support group but since a lot of had.io members probably do the same, this here must be it ;)

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Craig Hissett wrote 12/22/2015 at 20:50 point

Ha ha, I managed to get two B+ models for really cheap and I couldn't resist.

I think it is path all HaD members go through :)

I just need to prioritise and get my projects done. If I do them one at a time I'm sure I will get them done a lot quicker ha ha

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