Laptop Stand Using Wood Trim Board

A laptop stand using 3D printed parts and 1-inch by 2-inch (nominal) wood trim. Optionally, all parts can be 3D printed
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updated March 31, 2025

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This is a very sturdy laptop stand made using 3D printed parts and 1 inch by 2 inch wood trim (actual size is 38.1 mm by 18.3 mm or 1.5 inch by 0.72 inch) - basically some scrap wood that I originally purchased from Home Depot for another project.  The stand was designed so that no angled/mitered cuts would be needed.  Optionally, this stand can be made using all 3D printed parts.  The stand holds the laptop screen fairly high, and I find this makes for a better viewing angle than having the laptop sitting flat on the desk.

To assemble the stand, you'll need the following pieces:

2x “Main Angle”

2x “Back Foot”

1x “Right Front Foot”

1x “Left Front Foot”

3x “Crossbar” (cut from wood or 3D printed - all the same length)

2x “Long Leg” (cut from wood or 3D printed - both the same length)

2x “Short Leg” (cut from wood or 3D printed - both the same length)

36x wood screws (see next paragraph)

The parts all fit very snugly when printed using my 0.6 mm nozzle, and friction fit alone is enough to keep it together (it requires a considerable amount of force to separate the pieces).  I imagine the fit will be a bit looser with a typical 0.4 mm nozzle.  For insurance, I also included several screw holes to fasten the parts together.  I used U.S. #6 flat-head wood screws (¾-inch length), which is roughly the equivalent to metric 3.5 mm wood screws (I'm guessing 3 mm or 4 mm screws would probably also work).

As pictured, the long leg and crossbar pieces are about 10.5 inches (~270 mm) long, and the short leg pieces are about 4 inches (~100 mm) long.  For my 15" Macbook Pro and 16" Thinkpad the long legs could probably be a bit shorter (I'm guessing about 9 inches or roughly 225 mm), and everything would still be fine.

Supports should not be necessary on the “main angle”, “crossbar”, or “leg” pieces.  For all of the “foot” pieces, a small amount of support is probably needed for about the lower ¼ to ⅓ of the curved part (I used tree supports, and they worked pretty well).  If you 3D print the “crossbar” and “long leg” pieces, you may need to turn them 45 degrees or so in the x-y plane to fit on many print beds.

I printed using PLA+ filament with 15% cubic or gyroid infill (depending on my mood), a 0.3 mm layer height, and 3 walls/perimeters.  People printing with a 0.4 mm nozzle might want 4 walls/perimeters, especially if you're printing any of the “leg” or “crossbar” pieces.  The stand shown in the pictures was also painted with a couple coats of white spraypaint.

When assembling, I recommend attaching the crossbar pieces last.  Otherwise, it can be somewhat difficult to access the interior screw holes.  I'm sure that it's not necessary to utilize all of the screw holes, and one screw per piece/joint would probably be more than sufficient.

I'm working on a version 2 that is more configurable and easier to print, as well as a version 3 that can be made using scrap “square dowels”

Onshape Link:  https://cad.onshape.com/documents/eed8c18e42053f78f2472630/w/63415a63699dd6e58f046d13/e/54b8a65dc4a2033c2f7561f2

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The author marked this model as their own original creation.

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