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