Ugly Sturdy Secure Charging Station

We needed a tamper-proof charging station that would stand up to heavy use in a public setting, wouldn't budge/walk off, and still allowed us to change out cords as needed.

Plastic ammo boxes work great for this, but if your institution balks at finding that on a purchasing list, "lockable craft boxes" are what we used.

A year and a half in with heavy daily use, they're all still functioning, though we've needed to swap out cords as they fail/get vandalized, so if yours is going to be facing heavy use, it could be worth prepping backups in advance.

Also, if you have the budget for it and are putting this out in a busy area with high demand, it would definitely be worth investing in fast charging hubs and cords to get more devices done more quickly (we have not tested that as a build, though).

Consumables:

1. Plastic lockable ammo/tool/art supply box
2. Charging hub that fits inside
3. Charging cords (our standard setup is to use 6 ft cords: 2 usb-c, 2 lightning, 1 micro usb)
4. Thermoplastic beads (and kettle, glass bowl, and sticks/spoons)
5. 2 locks
6. Screws, nuts and washers to affix box to surface of choice (murphy bolts work great)

Tools:

1. Drill
2. small drill bit for pilot holes
3. larger bits
4. one the diameter of the charging cords
5. one (probably even larger) for fitting any mounting hardware on the bottom
6. Hole cutter drill bit (1.5" or otherwise large enough for plug to fit through)
7. Metal snips to cut notches

1. Keeping the box closed and latched, use a small bit to drill 6-8 pilot holes along the edge of the lid
2. Be sure to "stitch in the ditch," catching the side of the lid and the lip of the box well, right along the seam
3. Using a larger drill bit (about the diameter of the cords you're using) enlarge the pilot holes
4. Open the box and, using tin snips, cut into the holes on the interior lip of the box to create notches for the cords to sit

1. Drill 2-3 holes in the bottom of the box (for securing to the table in step 5)

1. On the hinge end of the box, use a hole cutter to cut a hole large enough for the power cord plug to fit through
2. Place the charging station inside the box, and thread the power cord out through the hole

(see DIY Material Guide: Polymorph Plastic ( a Thermal Plastic With Low Melting Point) : 3 Steps - Instructables for handling tips)

1. Don't plug any cords in yet.
2. Put a blueberry-to-grape sized amount around each cord about 9 inches from the usb end (not the lightning/android/usb-c end)
3. If you have spare cords for later replacement, prep those too.
4. Fill in the power cord hole, being sure to get some plastic on the inside and outside of the hole, and snug it up against the power cable
5. leaving 2-3 inches of slack on the power cord inside the box will make installation easier
6. let it sit, undisturbed, so the plastic hardens around the cord
7. If the locks' shackles are large enough that they allow the lid to open wide enough to pull a cord out, fill in some of the shackle's empty space
8. To reduce temptation to pick the box up, fill in the space under and around the bases of the handle on the top of the box, press the handle down into it, and finish off with a bit more on top.

1. Mount charging station to counter/table surface:
2. Position the station where you want it to stay
3. be sure you have access to the underside of the surface before marking or drilling holes
4. Trace holes on the bottom of the box onto the mounting surface
5. Drill holes
6. use nuts/bolts/washers to secure charging station to the mounting surface
7. Plug everything in
8. if the hub needs to be powered on, do it now
9. check to make sure your devices charge
10. Close and lock the box