Phone Stand Tutorial

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This tutorial will walk you through creating a custom Phone Stand using Onshape, a free browser-based CAD program. This Phone Stand is a perfect beginner project for learning Computer Aided Design (CAD).

Finished Project

Originally created for the 4H Students by Christopher Hoffman for the 4H Visit in July 2018.

Prerequisites[edit]

No previous CAD experience required! An Onshape account is necessary to follow along, as well as a computer or laptop with a modern browser. Chrome or Firefox is suggested.

Finished Project[edit]

The finished Onshape project can be found here. The Onshape document contains 3 tabs at the bottom, the first is the Stand itself, the second contains a simple phone model, and the third tab is an assembly showing the phone resting on the stands in two orientations.

Feel free to use it as reference to see step-by-step instructions, or make a copy of it and modify it.


Tutorial[edit]

Instructions Visual
  1. Create the Base Sketch
    1. Create a new sketch by clicking on Sketch button in the top toolbar.
    2. Make sure the Sketch Plane is the Right Plane.
    3. Using the Rectangle Tool, create a new rectangle with one corner at the origin.
    4. Use the Dimension Tool and make the box 50 mm wide and 20 mm tall.
PhoneStand Step1 BaseSketch.PNG
  1. Extrude the Base
    1. Create a new Extrude feature using the extrude tool in the top toolbar.
    2. Select the base sketch created in the previous step.
    3. Select the following options:
      • New: to create a new part
      • Symmetric: extrudes the part equally in both directions
      • Depth 83mm: the total distance extruded
    4. Click the Checkmark to save the extrusion
PhoneStand Step2 ExtrudeBase.PNG
  1. Sketch the Back
    1. Select the left face of the base, and click Sketch to make a sketch on the side of the base.
    2. Using the Line Tool, create a trapezoid shape to act as the back rest.
    3. Use the Dimension Tool to give the lines the dimensions shown.
PhoneStand Step3 BackSketch.PNG
  1. Sketch the Front
    1. Select the left face of the base, and click Sketch to make a sketch on the side of the base.
    2. Using the Rectangle Tool, create a box that is 7mm by 5mm.
Step4 FrontSketch.PNG
  1. Extrude the Back and Front
    1. Click the Extrude Tool and select the two sketches we made in Steps 3 and 4 (the Back and Front sketches)
    2. In the Dropdown, select Up to face. This will allow us to extrude up to an existing side of our part.
    3. In the Up to face box, select the right side of the base
    4. The two sides should now be flush with the sides of the base. Click the Checkbox to save the extrusion.
Step5 ExtrudeBackAndFront.PNG
  1. Sketch the back cutout
    1. Create a new Sketch on the back face of the stand.
    2. Using the Rectangle Tool, make a box with the bottom line on the bottom edge of the stand.
    3. Use the Dimension Tool to make the sides of the box 20mm from each edge, and the top 15mm from the top edge
PhoneStand Step6 BackCutoutSketch.PNG
  1. Cut out the back
    1. Click on the Extusion Tool, but instead of New or Add, select Remove instead.
    2. Select the Back Cutout sketch as the Faces and sketch regions to extrude.
    3. In the dropdown, select Up to face to allow us to cut up to an existing side of our model.
    4. In the Up to face box, select the back side of the front lip.
PhoneStand Step7 RemoveBack.PNG
  1. Adding text to the front
    1. Create a new Sketch on the front of the stand.
    2. Use the Text Tool to add text to the front.
    3. Use the Dimension Tool to make it 10mm tall.
Step8 AddText.PNG
  1. Centering the Text sketch
      • We want to center the text in the front of the stand.
    1. In the sketch where we added the text, select the Line Tool.
    2. Click on the Construction tool to make our lines become a dotted construction line.
    3. Make two construction lines, one connecting the top of the text to the top of the front, and one connecting the bottoms.
    4. With both lines selected, click on the Equal relationship in the top toolbar. This will force the two lines to be equal length, centering the text.
PhoneStand Step9 CenterTheText.PNG
  1. Extrude Text
    1. Select the Extrude Tool, and select the sketch containing the front text.
    2. Create a Blind extrusion of 1.7mm
PhoneStand Step10 ExtrudeText.PNG
  1. Round over edges
    1. Select the Fillet tool in the top toolbar.
    2. Change the Radius to 2mm.
    3. Select as many edges as you want to round over to give a nice smooth appearance.
PhoneStand Step11 RoundEdges.PNG

And you are done! Congratulations!

Bonus Goals[edit]

  • Modify the overall Height and Width of the model to fit the height/width of your phone.
  • Split the 2mm fillet into multiple fillets of different radii, to achieve different appearances.


Where to go from here[edit]

Now that you have a custom 3D Model, you should make it! 3D Printing would be the best way to go!