Foldable Tabletop Book Stand

I'm a student in Alexis de Tocqueville High School (Cherbourg, France)

I don't know how the school desks are designed in other countries, but in France, they are quite small, flat and horizontal. Nothing is more irritating for students than not having enough space for a paper sheet and a book : I often have to put my maths book on my exercise book, or the reverse, and it is not practical at all.

That's why I choose to design something which could fix this issue: a 3D printable tabletop book stand. It has to be :

• Foldable, so that it could be put in a school bag
• Adjustable, to be easily attachable on any table
• Printable with a conventionnal 3D printer (220*220*220mm)
• Customisable to suit to everyone
• Esthetically pleasing : I'm not a graphic designer, but something ugly is far less attractive

For making this project, you will need :

• Autodesk Fusion 360 (it can be downloaded for free with limited functionnalities here)
• A 3D printer (minimum print volume of 200*170*60mm)
• Filament for 3D printing
• A 3D printing software (e.g. Ultimaker Cura)

The book stand has to be rigid and large enough to support a school book :

1. Determining the shape of the object :

I choose to design the stand as a board for holding the book.

I tried to put a book on a plank to estimate the appropriate size of the board: it is 17*26 cm.

2. Determining how it is fixed :

I choose a piece in "U" shape with a screw to grip the desk.

3. Choosing the way to fold it

I could have chosen different ways, I finally chose the one in the last picture.

I used Autodesk Fusion 360 for designing my book stand. It allowed me to simulate the folding movement, and it performs very well.

As formerly explained, the fastening is shaped as a "U" : the only issue of this is the rigidity, because it can be twisted due to the strength of the screw.

I found a solution which is putting two printed stiffeners, which would slide on the main piece : the fixation is far more rigid with this.

The board for supporting the book appears to be quite fragile, but I chose to design it with as little plastic as possible. And it's surely resistant enough, because its thickness is 4 mm.

I made two versions of the board, so that it could be printed with any printer.

• The first one is less good-looking, but it can be printed with a printer of 17*17mm. It's made in three parts (there of which 2 are identical), which can be stuck together with superglue or solvent.
• The second one needs a 26*17 mm printer to be made, but I find it more esthetically pleasing.
• A last piece, the edge, on which the book is put.

I wrote a little "designed in France" on the back of the piece, for fun ;-)

Designing the hinge was quite simple. Each hinge is made with a central piece and two bars which can be glued to the board and the fastening.

One of the biggest constraints of this project (and of any 3D printing project) is the printability.

For example, the thread of the fastening can't be printed directly with the main piece, so it is separately printed then glued. And the main piece does not have a round hole but a diamond-shaped one because the slope is less important so easier to print.

I tried to design something which uses as few support as possible, but we are forced to use them in some cases.

To be esthetically pleasing, an object needs a visual identity, and that of my object is:

• Two colors : e.g. white and orange, white and green, white and blue, black and red etc.
• Bevels : they give a style to the book stand and they are easy to print

Making the rendering was not the hardest part of the project : I designed a chair, a table, a book, a paper sheet, a notebook etc. but it was not very long because there are no real constraints.

To conclude, let us see if the project meets the requirements listed in the introduction :

• It is foldable, thanks to the hinge
• The screw makes it adjustable to any table with a width between 0 and 25 mm
• It is printable with a printer of a maximum volume of 170*170*55mm (which is a very little printer ;-) ) or 170*260*55 (for the single-piece board)
• It is customisable (color, big/little printer)
• It is quite ethetically pleasing

So I suppose that this project is successful !!!

I can't print it for now, because I don't have 3D printer, but I hope to buy one soon (when I have some money :-) )

Goodbye

FrenchDIY (15 years old), Alexis de Tocqueville High School