The Everything Desk Stand

Has the COVID-19 pandemic forced you into working from home? Have you been stacking books on your desk as a make-shift computer stand in a desperate attempt to save your neck? Wondering if you should invest in an adjustable height stand instead? If so, you are not alone. As students who are attending online classes whilst glued to our desks at home, we (quite literally) feel your pain, and decided to design and 3D print an Everything Desk Stand to make this pandemic a little more bearable on our necks and backs.

For better ergonomics and a cooler-looking desk setup, we designed a stand that can be tailored to your needs and preferences. Looking around our desks, many of us agreed that available work space is an issue. We also noticed that, although most of the available horizontal space on our desks was occupied, much of the vertical space above them was not. We thus designed a stand intended to help you make as much use of vertical space as possible. Adjustable gooseneck clamps allow various attachments to be secured to a standard 35 mm rod, in an unlimited number of creative configurations. The base of the stand is capable of supporting laptops, monitors, tablets, or anything else that you may wish to prop up, and is capable of supporting up to 20 kg. The base also contains slots for three small storage drawers, perfect for keeping various odds and ends organized and off the rest of your desk. All necessary STL files for the project are provided below.

We were inspired by the idea that one day we may all have a 3D printer at home to model and print custom tools to optimize our daily lives. We hope you enjoy creating an ergonomically friendly, functional, and stylish desk setup to accompany you for the rest of the pandemic and long after!

• FDM 3D Printer (minimum required build volume (X, Y, Z) is 240 mm x 210 mm x 90 mm)
• Approx. 1 roll (1 kg) of PETG Filament
• PVA Glue Stick (if printing on smooth PEI bed)
• Pliers and sandpaper (for post-processing)
• Gorilla Glue, or superglue of your choice (for assembling the monitor stand)
• 4 Countersunk M4x20 Screws per 35 mm clamp
• 4 M4 nuts per 35 mm clamp

• Length of 35 mm pipe (material & length of your choosing; we used 60 cm of PVC pipe)

All necessary files for this project are available for download below, both in .STL and .STEP formats. If you want to follow our design, simply download the .STL files and print them as-is. If you wish to make your own modifications or additions to this project, feel free to download the .STEP files and get as creative as you like! All parts should be printed in PETG at minimum 20% infill, and at a 0.2 mm layer height. No supports are needed if printed in the provided orientations. Depending on your printer, you can expect all parts to take roughly 96 hours to print (make sure you start the project early!).

List of parts

• 1 Monitor Stand Front Section
• 1 Monitor Stand Rear Bottom Section
• 1 Monitor Stand Rear Top Section
• 1 Drawer Left
• 1 Drawer Front
• 1 Drawer Right
• 12 Gooseneck Connectors (for two arms of six pieces each; you can print more or less depending on how long you want each arm and how many attachments you want to clamp to the rod)
• 2 Clamps - Large Sections
• 2 Clamps - Small Sections
• 1 Gooseneck Phone Holder
• 2 Gooseneck Clamp Attachments
• 1 Gooseneck Pencil Cup

Remove any supports, if you used any. Sand down any burrs or aberrations in each part that might have arisen during the printing process. Wash any glue off of the bottom faces of each part if you were printing on a smooth bed and using PVA glue as a release agent.

The monitor stand comes in three pieces: the front, the top back section, and the bottom back section.
To assemble it:

• Apply a small amount of glue to the connectors of the bottom back section and the front section.
• Attach the bottom back section and the front section. Depending on your printer’s tolerances, you may need to sand down the protruding peg on the bottom back section in order to get them to fit together.
• Apply a small amount of glue to the top back section and bottom back section.
• Attach the top back section to the bottom back section. Again, depending on your printer’s tolerances, you may need to sand down the protruding peg on the bottom back section in order to get them to fit together.
• Finally, insert the rod into the stand of the back bottom section.
• Allow all glue to fully set before placing any load on the rod or base.

There are 3 custom storage drawers that can be inserted into the bottom section of your stand for additional storage space. The provided version is meant to hold small, miscellaneous items such as pencils, pens, erasers, paperclips, etc. as well any spare gooseneck parts for when you want to adjust the height of your gooseneck stands.

Gently slide the domed side of one gooseneck part into the clamp side of another with a gentle wiggling motion while exerting slight pressure to each, sliding both parts until the two snap together.
WARNING: To avoid snapping the clamps, be as gentle as possible. The gooseneck parts should easily snap together.

From your stand can support any item you want to add to your setup (included are a phone holder and pencil cup). The phone holder has been pre-modelled and provided in our Instructable; however, we encourage you to have fun with this part - model and 3D print any new gadgets you want to see floating above your desk! You can clamp your gooseneck stand to the cylinder base stand at any height you wish, and the height and placement of the gooseneck can be adjusted by adding, removing, or otherwise adjusting the gooseneck parts.