
DIY MacBook Stand - ergenekonyigit
https://github.com/ergenekonyigit/diy-macbook-stand
======
xab9
I just love how github ends up being blog, forum, wiki, disqus-clone etc. for
us tech people.

As for the stand I used this cheap ikea-hack:
[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c7/c9/a0/c7c9a072c328a3596186e1b71...](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c7/c9/a0/c7c9a072c328a3596186e1b711b65bf6
--laptop-storage-laptop-desk.jpg) (can't find the original post sry)

~~~
mxuribe
I actually dislike that fact very much. Oh, I don't disagree that github is
that for so many users...and i can not disagree with the convenience of what
github provides...I simply dislike that it is all controlled/owned by
github...a single point of technical/infrastructure failure, and a single
corporate entity where so much content (content beyond raw code, that is) is
hosted...not unlike the facebook effect. I wish people hosted their content in
a more decentralized fashion.

~~~
amelius
Well, at least you can easily get your and other people's data out of GitHub
(unlike e.g. YouTube and Facebook).

It would be easy to create a giant mirror of GitHub, for example (once you
have a distributed storage system).

Also, GitHub doesn't control what users are viewing (unlike YouTube and
Facebook), which makes the platform less of a threat to internet freedom.

~~~
dmd
I'd consider Youtube to be one of the top easiest sites to get one's data (or
someone else's!) out of. Why do you think it's not?

~~~
glenneroo
Do you mean downloading using unsupported 3rd party tools? Because those have
to be regularly updated to ensure they even work and could some day stop
working entirely if Google decided to care about blocking such tools.

In comparison, GitHub offers a simple clone button (among ways) which gives
you everything.

~~~
dawnerd
Youtube-dl?

I mean I get your argument but op isn’t wrong. YouTube is reallly easy to rip
content from.

~~~
TeMPOraL
And the point of that argument is that youtube-dl only works because Google
doesn't care, and the need to patch it regularly is only caused by the
incidental changes in the service. When Google starts caring for some reason,
it'll be a difficult battle.

~~~
dawnerd
I haven’t updated mine in ages and it still works...

~~~
glenneroo
I've had to update several times in the last couple years due to some YT links
not working. Updating always helps.

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falcolas
The diagram of the center spreader piece doesn't make any sense without
context. Are the four pieces glued in place? Is there a tab that isn't visible
in the picture which allows it to be sandwiched between the other two pieces?

What materials? Is there a cad save file for cutting it ourselves?

~~~
ChuckMcM
Agreed it is confusing, the JPEG "is" the CAD file (although there is a DXF
file as well) but laser cutters will often use a JPEG as the profile image.

Here is my guess, you laser it out of acrylic, you slot the two large parts
together to form an 'X' (looking down from the top) and you glue in the four
wedges using solvent glue to stabilize the X shape of the two pieces.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
> laser cutters will often use a JPEG as the profile image.

Laser cutter operator here. Never heard of laser cutter, plasma cutter, or oxy
cutter (our company has all three) accepting a JPG as the input file. I've
spoken to two other local operators and they all require a DXF / DWG or some
other type of NC (Numeric Code) file as input.

~~~
falcolas
I'm guessing it's a reference to GlowForge, which can cut based on pictures or
drawings on the material itself.

~~~
ChuckMcM
And a bunch of the inexpensive Chinese laser cutters, some of which provided a
pirated copy of Corel Draw to do your designs in.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
CorelDRAW is a vectors graphics program.

I often use Inkscape for text I'm going to laser cut because it does a proper
job of creating text outlines compared with Draftsight which manages to bork
the text when I run explodetext command.

What I don't understand using a vector graphics program to generate CNC cut
items is how do you specify dimensions? CAD files have dimensionality
inherent.

How does that aspect work?

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tapia
What makes this a MacBook Stand and not a general notebook stand for any other
13" notebook?

~~~
majewsky
Two guesses:

1\. Adding "Macbook" to the title increases the chance of getting to the
frontpage (like some sort of cheap SEO).

2\. People starting to use "Macbook" when they mean "notebook" like when you
use the verb "google" instead of "search on the internet".

~~~
yeukhon
I can agree about 1 and the last part of 2. But I am willing to bet you
people’d say “laptops” to refer to any non-Apple laptops.

------
discreditable
I recently released a stand I made for my ThinkPad Yoga. It'd probably work
for a Macbook too. They're very close in size. I like mine a little better
because I can put the dock and cables under it.

[https://github.com/KeenRivals/ThinkPad-Yoga-Laptop-
Stand](https://github.com/KeenRivals/ThinkPad-Yoga-Laptop-Stand)

~~~
vaporary
Nice, thank you for sharing!

I'm curious, which 3D printer did you use?

~~~
knolan
It looks laser cut, most schools would have a laser cutter nowadays because
they’re stupidly easy to use.

It would be difficult, and inadvisable to print something this large on a
regular 3D printer.

Thingyverse is literally full of designs like this and often much better.

[https://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:1?q=Laptop+stand&sa=...](https://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:1?q=Laptop+stand&sa=&dwh=125a30729324def)

~~~
discreditable
It's not laser cut. I used a MakerBot Replicator 2. It was actually quite easy
to print. I designed it roughly two years ago after browsing thingiverse and
getting bad print results with the larger stands. The smaller single-piece
stands were too flimsy/unstable. I also wanted the stand to be just big enough
to fit a Lenovo docking station under it.

~~~
knolan
So you printed it in pieces and assembled it?

I’m sorry to be harsh but this is the kind of thing we get undergrads to do on
day one of an internship. Why do you feel it was worthy of posting on HN?

~~~
todd8
But I like the simplicity of the design, the poster’s first hand experience,
mentioning other designs, and the idea of leaving usable room underneath the
laptop. Further, it’s nicely illustrated with a photo.

Not, perhaps, a mathematical tour de force but useful information. Just like
the numerous reports on HN of IKEA products used to prop up monitors. These
ideas won’t win a Turing Award but are often clever and give me ideas to try
out myself.

~~~
knolan
I see your point but from my experience this is closer along the spectrum to
‘hello world’.

~~~
SirZimzim
I don't see what you are contributing here either.

------
abawany
I use this:
[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20302596/](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20302596/)
. Works great at the desk for me since I don't use an external monitor.

~~~
Vinnl
Isn't the screen still pretty low when you use that? (That's actually my gripe
with most laptop stands, come to think of it.)

~~~
abawany
For me, it was a good improvement compared to the stock laptop position (13"
MBP). I guess it reduced the angle of neck-crane by half so for the price, I
was pretty happy.

------
teekert
It's nice but a Samsung FullHD 24" PLS (Samsungs IPS) cost about 130 euro's
nowadays. The DPI is to cry about but it beats working on < 14" any day for
me.

Maybe this solution is nice and useful because you can take it with you
together with the keyboard and trackpad and get a reasonable working posture
anywhere?

~~~
michaelgrafl
Your comment confused me at first, because it didn't even occur to me that
people would use this stand to correct their posture when working with the
laptop on a desk.

I use a laptop stand (stacked carton boxes) at work to use it alongside my two
24" monitors. If I weren't lazy I would build this stand and use it so my desk
would look nicer.

------
dragonshed
I've also made my own MacBook stands, but using MakerBeams[0]. After receiving
a kit as a gift, I messed around with several small projects and simple
things, but I've consistently used the stands since I've built them. Very
solid and stable, yet open, and I'm able to use the desk space underneath them
for dongles, cables, or whatever. Everything I needed was included in the kit,
except for some vinyl endcaps and foam sheet material, both added to protect
the macbook and my desk from scratches.

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/MakerBeam-Regular-anodized-
including-...](https://www.amazon.com/MakerBeam-Regular-anodized-including-
brackets/dp/B00BBH3LZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513121807&sr=8-1&keywords=makerbeam+starter+kit+clear)

------
bhauer
I might be missing something, but it looks like it would work with most 12 or
13-inch laptops, not just Macbooks.

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kevin_thibedeau
Seems like a roundabout way to avoid using an external monitor.

~~~
majewsky
Much cheaper though.

~~~
cocoa19
Geez. Spend $3,000 on luxury laptop, can't afford a $100 external monitor.

~~~
thesmok
You wouldn't want to use a $100 monitor after that Retina display.

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stevenjohns
I personally use an mStand[0] by Rain Design. I was using a small cardbox box
before that and my employer at the time gifted an mStand to me.

The difference is night and day and it made me appreciate my MacBook's display
much more even when it was connected to an external monitor. I also found
myself using multiple (virtual) desktops so much more as well.

If you're able to afford it, I really recommend shelling out the extra cash
for a proper stand. If not, and you have an employer that might buy it for
you, go out on a limb and ask for one. It might really improve how you
interact with your laptop.

[0]
[http://www.raindesigninc.com/mstand.html](http://www.raindesigninc.com/mstand.html)

~~~
bllguo
I'm actually really surprised by this gushing review - I use the same stand at
work, but I don't think too much of it. Could I ask you to elaborate? Just
curious.

~~~
stevenjohns
A lot of other stands don't have the laptop sitting so high above the desk,
making them much closer to the table or even flush but angled upwards from the
back.

As it sits now, it is high enough so that it matches the exact same level of
eyesight as my external monitor. This makes the external monitor compliment it
rather than replace it.

The shape also allows you to move your hands around under it, whereas if it
was lower or if the design was different it would interrupt movement and usage
of an external keyboard.

Other things I like about it is that it's super solid, it's all just a single
piece, made of aluminium (for heat purposes) and the rubber things on it keep
the laptop held securely in place.

------
anotheryou
Anyone else moving his monitors as far down to the table as possible?

I just use a stand to get more space on my desk by the tilting (on my home
setup, where I have one big nice screen). At work it's dual monitors and I
keep my laptop shut while docked.

~~~
wyclif
Yes, I've never liked elevating the monitor. To me it's uncomfortable and bad
ergonomics. I want to avoid tilting my head up to look at the monitor. I want
my eyes looking slightly down from a completely level position, and this
decreases eye strain. I've never understood why so many people want to jack
their monitor up on a box, fat technical book, or stand. The most important
thing is to make sure the surface of your desk is at the right height for
working while sitting or standing.

------
Frye
No one heard of thingiverse?

~~~
ericskiff
I think this is great and like the approach to the design! Amazingly it was
almost 10 years ago that I put mine up on Thingiverse - thing 32, while we
were still testing before making Thingiverse public :)
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32)

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Does the cardboard version in the photos work, or was that just a prototype?

~~~
ericskiff
It works great! I had that on my desk for quite a while. Eventually it gets
beat up and starts to wobble a bit, so wood or acrylic last longer, and in
fact we still use some of these at my office years later.

------
nkoren
I use this for my MacBook stand: [http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/small-
storage-organisers/...](http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/small-storage-
organisers/storage-boxes-baskets/dr%C3%B6na-box-black-art-30219281/)

It folds up compactly, is extremely lightweight, and has survived 4 years of
almost daily use without complaint. Highly recommended.

~~~
jordache
heat dissipation?

~~~
nkoren
Better than sitting on a desk.

------
mfonda
My DIY MacBook stand is simply a pile of old textbooks. Gets the job done and
comes with the added bonus of adjustable height.

~~~
jakelarkin
ah, the mythical $500 MacBook stand (4 or 5 college textbooks)

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Sunk cost though. I use parking tickets as bookmarks. At least I'm getting
some value out of them.

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KayL
I use a roll of toilet paper (not a joke).

~~~
amcnett
I use five little 4oz paper cups (also not a joke).

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mesozoic
I like this. I'd like to see more "open source" easy to make by the average
person accessories.

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jordache
This is wonderful, and vents the bottom of the laptop

[https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Ventilated-Adjustable-
La...](https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Ventilated-Adjustable-Laptop-
Stand/dp/B00WRDS8H0)

~~~
kadal
I have this one and the thing that sticks up pokes my wrist all day. I don't
think a human tested it for any amount of time.

~~~
mikewhy
Do people use their laptops when on a stand? I thought they were to keep them
off your desk and make room for a full sized mouse / keyboard.

~~~
freehunter
I thought it was to bring the monitor to eye level.

~~~
d13
I'm puzzled by this too, can't people just look down?

~~~
freehunter
I had all kinds of neck problems staring down at a 13" laptop on my desk all
day. Once I moved the screen up so I was looking straight, the neck problems
went away.

It's one of those things where you don't notice it until you do. When you do,
it's a big problem.

------
chadcmulligan
I use a couple of kitchen handles connected to a couple of timber angle
brackets all from IKEA, cost about $20 I think and lasted me years so far

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AdamGibbins
I'll stick with my superior Roost, thanks.

~~~
johnwheeler
The nexstand, although a knockoff, is half the price and more robust

~~~
AdamGibbins
It's also depriving the inventors of their return for their excellent
invention and the quantity of R&D that went into making it.

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SimeVidas
A bunch of shoe boxes works fine too

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andrew_wc_brown
I remember building one of these 10 years ago. Nice to see the resurgence

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jressey
Shoutouts to the water bottle acting as an iPad stand.

------
exhilaration
That looks kinda flimsy... I'd be a little scared of putting my (employer's)
$3000 Macbook on that.

~~~
Faaak
Seriously, are you afraid that your macbook can break falling from 10 cm ?

I'm worried when my thinkpad falls from 1 m high.

~~~
pvdebbe
Apple makes nice but brittle bodies.

