6 PC Monitors on an IKEA Jerker Desk Using 3D Printed Components

Having used with a triple monitor system at work for many years, I upgraded my home system to use 3 monitors. Them when the COVID-19 lockdown forced working from home, I moved my work monitors to home and combined both setups to produce a 6 monitor setup using additional 3D printed parts to complete the project.

• PLA filament
• 20cm steel rod (about 1/2 inch diameter)
• 2 triple monitor supports
• 6 monitors
• an anglepoise lamp
• a magnifying lamp
• M4 mounting bolts for monitors

In order to slightly reduce the strain on the edge of the desk, I designed and printed a spacing block shaped to fit the lower triple monitor mount which meant the support did not need to be closed to its minimum setting.

The design of this was simply to take the shape of the mounting bracket as a sketch, add a surround, then extrude with a slight slope to the top.

This was printed with about 40% fill to provide extra support.

Once the lower triple monitor mount was in place, it was clear that the central monitor was too far back. The simple solution was to design a VESA mount spacer and use very long mounting bolts to move the monitor so it could better align with the two side monitors.

The top triple monitor stand was inverted and attached to the lower stand by inserting a 1/2 inch steel bar wrapped in a 3D printed shell into the lower mount. This was supported by an additional piece which simply dropped into the bottom of the lower pipe. The upper mount was then slid over the support.

The support was printed in two halves laying flat on the print bed so the printer layers were perpendicular to the main stress direction.

As with the lower central monitor, the upper central monitor was also found to be too far back.

Initially, I couldn't get long enough bolts to move it to the ideal position, so printed a mount which nearly brought it into place and then added extra spacers as I was able to find longer bolts to get it into the correct position.

Since all the weight is to the front, additional support was needed to prevent the entire assembly tipping forward and also to reduce wobble.

Since the original shelves were not being used, the horizontal bar from the upper shelf was removed from the shelf and fitted at 90 degrees to its original position and an adjustable spacer designed and fitted.

The spacer was designed in three parts.

1. The first had a square U-shape to fit the horizontal bat with a connector designed to accept large 'pins' from the second part.
2. The second part had a semi-circular U-shape to fit against the triple monitor support upright. The had two pins to hold it into the first aprt and a hexagonal thread for the third part.
3. The final part was the adjusting ring to hold the two parts at the right distance to keep the monitor mount upright against the weight of 6 monitors on the front. The has a knurled edge to make it easy to grip and was also designed with locking holes which were meant to hold it in position. In practice it was found unnecessary as friction was enough.

Although the parts were printed as 3 separate models, the design in Fusion 360 was done with all 3 bodies to ensures they fitted together.

With the number of cables, additional clips were needed to keep everything vaguely tidy. The end result is still something of a rats' nests, but at least the cables are help in place!

Obviously, running 6 monitors required a lot of cabling! Each monitor has a power lead and video cable; in addition, 5 of the monitors are driven by USB-to-VGA adapters requiring a couple of USB hubs and, in fact, there is a 7th monitor mounted to side. A view of the rear of the setup is shown in the last picture.

In order to provide lights, I added an anglepoise lamp as well as an overhead magnifying lamp which could be pulled down for closer work.

The anglepoise support was designed to fit into the top of the Jerker's side bar, replacing the end cap. This is described separately here.

The magnifying lamp support was designed to fit over the end of the upper triple monitor support with a locking ring to provide extra support.

I've now been using the 6 monitor setup for over 18 months and have got used to having several monitors to display various information.

In practice, the three lower monitors are used for actual work, for example showing a web page on one screen, its HTML on another and the source code on the server which generates it on the third, while the upper monitors are used for displaying reference information, performance data and other dashboards.

I've found this set extremely good for working from home over recent months and would hope this would inspire others to see how 3D printing can assist in implementing projects.