Phone Accessory Plate for Organization and Decoration

As a college student, organization plays a crucial role in my mental well-being and success. With dorm rooms and apartments being small, it is easy for things to become disorganized. Throughout my first two years at college, I’ve found myself often misplacing my phone, AirPods, and chargers. This consistent reoccurrence inspired me to create a designated plate and phone stand for these items. Similar to a jewelry dish, it doesn’t take up much space and encourages the habit of placing everything in the same spot every day, ensuring that nothing gets lost. Additionally, it is a fun and cute accessory for decorating your room!

Materials:

1. Wood
2. Gorilla Glue
3. Ruler
4. Paper (to plan)

Tools:

1. Laser cutter (for both cutting and engraving)

First, to determine the right size and dimensions for your product, it’s essential to sketch and plan. Consider questions like: How big do I want this plate to be? How many pieces will it require? Using a standard ruler, paper, and pencil, draw the plate’s dimensions to scale, using your phone as a reference for the space it will occupy on the stand.

Divide the plate into six separate parts: one bottom surface (4 in x 6 in), four border pieces (two at 6 in x 1.5 in and two at 4 in x 1.5 in), and one back piece for the phone stand (2.5 in x 4 in). It’s important to ensure the product isn’t too large, as this would counteract the goal of creating a cleaner space.

Once the planning process is complete, you need to input the information into Glowforge, the software that connects to the laser cutter we will be using later. You can use pre-formed shapes generated by the computer or create your own lines to produce all the rectangles with the correct dimensions. At this point in the process, if you want a hole in the back of your bottom surface for a charger to go through,create a 0.5in x 0.5in square there now.

In addition to inputting the structure of the phone accessory plate, this is also the time to input any text you want to engrave on the bottom surface. To do this, click the "text" button to insert your text, or use the "image" button to add any image.

Finally, it’s crucial to ensure that you have the correct settings for each part you are laser cutting. There are both "cut" and "engrave" options, so make sure everything is set to cut except for the text or image you are engraving on the bottom surface.

Before we begin the cutting process, follow these steps to prepare the laser cutter:

1. Turn On the Laser Cutter: Locate the on switch at the back right of the machine and turn it on.
2. Open the Doors: Lift both the top door and the smaller vertical door.
3. Load the Wood: Slide your wood piece in with the QR code facing up.
4. Close the Doors: Ensure that both doors are securely shut before starting the cutting process.

In the upper right corner of the computer screen, you’ll find a print button. Once everything is set, click that button—but don’t forget to turn on the ventilation! (we don't need any explosions) The laser cutter will take a moment to calibrate, and then the large circle button on the machine will light up. Press that button and let the magic happen! Typically this process will take around 5 minutes.

Once your cutting is complete, remove the wood from the laser cutter and carefully pop out all of your pieces. It’s easy to forget, but remember that the wood has a protective seal on both sides, so be sure to peel back the seal from each piece. Sometimes, seal will get caught in creases and small segments of your engraving, so peeling those parts off can be tedious depending on what you decide to engrave.

Gorilla glue can be difficult to work with. From a lot of trial and error, I found that breaking up the gluing into 2 segments works the best. Trying to glue everything together without allowing for time to dry in-between will lead to collapsing and glue stains all over your product.

Begin by applying gorilla glue to all four sides of your base and pushing a border on to each side. This should not take a lot of glue, just a thin line along each side. Hold each of the four border on for a minute and then let sit for about an hour. This will allow for these pieces to completely dry before adding the stand to the back.

After an hour has passed, check to make sure your structure is dry and sturdy. Pick it up, shake it around and lightly press on each side. Once everything has been checked, use Gorilla Glue to attach the 2.5 in x 4 in stand to the center of the back border (directly behind the small hole). Position the structure on its side so that the stand rests on the table, which will help with the drying process. Allow it to dry for another hour.

Another important tip is to ensure that the Gorilla Glue isn’t in contact with the surface you’re working on. I made the mistake of using too much glue the first time, and the paper towel it was resting on ended up sticking. It was a hassle to remove! Using a drop cloth or a non-stick surface can help avoid this issue.

Once everything has dried, your product is ready to use!

I learned a lot throughout the process of creating this product. First and foremost, the importance of feedback became incredibly evident. After completing my sketches, I was surprised by the number of small changes I made based on critical input. For instance, I initially considered making the accessory plate to be relatively large, envisioning it as a potential surface for an iPad. However, I quickly adjusted my design after realizing that a smaller size was more appealing to users.

I also enjoyed experimenting with the laser cutter. This was my first experience with such a tool, and while it was challenging, it was also a lot of fun!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in making this product. There are definitely areas for improvement, such as finding a neater way to glue the pieces together or creating a stand for the entire plate. Nevertheless, I feel I developed a unique, fun, and useful product.